CFR · Commander of the Federal Republic1986 Nobel Laureate in Literature· Conferred 1986-12-31
Prof. Wole Soyinka
First Black African Nobel Laureate in Literature. Conferred CFR. Returned/declined later state honours during the Abacha years in political protest.
The record
Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (b. 1934) won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986 — the first Black African Nobel laureate. He was conferred the CFR in 1986. During the Abacha period he fled into exile and was tried in absentia for treason. He publicly returned earlier honours in protest at state behaviour, accepting later recognitions only after democratic restoration. Plays include A Dance of the Forests, Death and the King's Horseman, Madmen and Specialists.
Tier 1 · primary
Courts. Gazettes. National archives.
Tier 2 · corroborating
OCCRP. HRW. BudgIT. TheCable.
Tier 4 · tertiary, flagged
Wikipedia only where primary is pending. Always labelled.