Nigeria’s Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, on Monday met with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, presenting him with a Portuguese-translated edition of his classic work, Myth, Literature and the African World.
The meeting took place in Brasília as President Bola Tinubu continued engagements on his two-day state visit to Brazil.
According to a statement released on Tuesday by Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to the Nigerian President on Media and Publicity, Soyinka’s meeting with Lula ran parallel to Tinubu’s official activities.
“Yesterday, while President Tinubu was carrying on with other activities of his state visit to Brazil, President Lula da Silva received Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka,” Ajayi said. “The global literary icon presented his translated book titled: mito, literatura e o mundo africano to Lula.”
President Tinubu arrived in Brazil’s capital on Monday, where Nigeria and Brazil signed five memoranda of understanding (MoUs) covering trade, diplomacy, aviation, science, and financial cooperation.
Tinubu commended President Lula for his commitment to revitalising ties between both nations, stressing that Nigeria remained an open economic frontier with vast opportunities for Brazilian investment.
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He highlighted ongoing efforts to address challenges in Nigeria’s aviation sector, particularly plans to establish a maintenance and service hub that would cater to the subregion’s growing fleet of aircraft.
“Honourable Ministers of both countries, members of the Brazil Business Group, I have listened carefully to my friend, President Lula. We had a lengthy discussion. We talked about history and about African and Brazilian heritage,” Tinubu remarked.
“This is my third visit to the country. First, I came for the G20, second on climate change and BRICS, and today, this official visit feels very emotional. We must now move beyond past setbacks to unlock the full promise of Nigeria-Brazil relations.”
The state visit marks Tinubu’s third trip to Brazil and signals renewed determination by both governments to deepen cultural and economic cooperation.