Akeem Lasisi
If barbers rise and protest against the Nobel laureate, Prof. Role Soyinka, tomorrow, they have a reason to do so.
The reason is that the man is ‘owing’ them money, a lot of money that can probably run into millions.
The reason, again, is that since 1959/60, he has cut his hair only once.
Even that one time was forced on him by a domestic fire incident.
This is one weird habit peculiar to the man who turned 85 on Friday.
As he is being celebrated globally, phenomenal.com.ng recalls his narration about his hair, in an interview on ‘Moment with Mo Abudu’.
He had said, ““When I was in England, the barbers were charging too much. I didn’t think it was necessary to pay that much for a hair cut. This was around 1959 or 1960, so I stopped cutting my hair. Besides, I noticed that when I comb my hair some hairs fall off, so my comb has become my barber.
“The only time I cut my hair was when I had my hair burnt by candle light at Abeokuta. There was no light, so I was reading with candle, and after a while, I began to smell something burning, I didn’t know it was my hair that was on fire. So due to this, I had to trim the affected part.”
Beyond his writing, which is often defined by an elevated use of language – many say he is an obscurantist writer, particularly citing ‘The Interpreters and mischievously ignoring the likes of ‘The Trials of Brother Hero’ – a number of other personal choices define him. These include hunting and love for wine – well, some mischief makers will say wines and another w-phenomenon.
But what defines him mostly, in terms of style, is his flowery silver hair, which always gives him out in the largest crowds.
