Author(s): Segun Alexandra Adeniyi

Abstract: One of Wole Soyinka’s memoirs, ‘You must set forth at dawn’, in which he states that ‘the road and I thus became partners in the quest for an extended self-discovery’ (p.50), appears to mould a critical collection of history, politics, and culture in the collective ongoing post-colonial discourses. Possibly, different post-independence realities such as corruption and banditry facing various African nations have also made it incumbent on authors such as Wole Soyinka to use their lives’ stories for purposes such as agitations, activism and protests other than the conventional focus of autobiographical works. It is in the light of the above that this paper critically analyses Soyinka’s construction of a ‘new identity’ despite the challenges that impact such desire in a post-colonial African society. The paper argues that the agony of colonialism, the failure of ‘post-independence leaderships’, and the ‘lack of effectiveness in modern administrations’-all of which Soyinka demonstrates in his autobiographical work You Must Set Forth at Dawn-are among the major determinants of how a public life is represented in a post-colonial setting. Thus, by closely examining the memoir, the paper offers a critical perspective on Soyinka’s efforts to construct and deconstruct such realities that go/move beyond ordinary personal narratives. This is especially true given that Soyinka’s ongoing commentary on almost every aspect of or occurrence in his environment, no matter how close or distant, is almost, if not completely, habitually protestant.

Keywords: post-colonial identity, post-independence realities, African politics and culture, ‘You must set forth at dawn’, Wole Soyinka.

Article Info: Received: 07 Jun 2025; Received in revised form: 02 Jul 2025; Accepted: 05 Jul 2025; Available online: 09 Jul 2025

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.104.14