Author and filmmaker Onyeka Nwelue has said Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka played a key role in helping him secure permanent residency in Japan.
Onyeka disclosed this in posts on X on Sunday, explaining that Soyinka stood as his guarantor during the process.
“With the support of the greatest literary mind in Africa, I have become a resident of the greatest nation on earth, Japan. I remain indebted to this man till my last day on earth.”
He also reflected on his upbringing, writing, “My father realised quite early that there is another man who could do for me, the things he couldn’t do for me. He didn’t fight it. He accepted his fate.”
As part of the process, Soyinka wrote a formal letter in April 2025 introducing Onyeka to Japanese authorities and vouching for him.
“It is with great pleasure that I introduce the novelist and film director, Mr. Onyeka Nwelue, as a bona fide visitor to Japan in promotion of his artistic preoccupations. I stand guarantor for his stated mission in Japan, and his compliance with Japanese laws and socio-cultural norms.”
The playwright added, “I have collaborated with him on a number of projects and affirm him to be a responsible individual and committed professional.”
He further noted, “I know that his visit will enhance the existing ties that already exist between Japan and Nigeria in the cultural field, bringing the young generation writers and artists in productive knowledge of one another’s histories, and contemporary artistic developments.”
In another post, Onyeka stressed the importance of showing appreciation while people are alive.
“I talk about all the good things you have done for me, when you are alive. Dead people don’t read tributes.”
The author also revealed that Soyinka supported his literary career by helping promote his book The Beginning of Everything Colourful.
“To help promote my book, ‘The Beginning of Everything Colourful,’ Professor Wole Soyinka, in his home, posed for my photographer. He doesn’t do this and doesn’t write blurbs for others as well. He found the writing lush and special.”
According to Onyeka, the book, which centres on Japan, helped deepen his engagement with the country, including his interactions with the Japanese Embassy in Abuja.
Wole Soyinka, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986, is widely regarded as a leading figure in African literature, with decades of work spanning writing, teaching and cultural advocacy.
