At a press conference today, renowned playwright and Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has announced that he was diagnosed of cancer last December.

Speaking at the June 12 Cultural Center in Ogun State, "Kongi" encouraged awareness and preventative measures in stopping the spread of the disease. He attributes early detection and proper nutrition to his stable health so far.

The 80-year-old said that initially he felt the cancer was “an unwanted squatter in his body." He later resolved that he "had to get rid of it whether it is a slow growing one or malignant.”

While not hinting at the kind or extent of cancer he has, Soyinka's son, Dr. Olaokun Soyinka, Commissioner for Health in Ogun State, told The Nation his father was treated for “prostate cancer.”