It’s a tragic end-of-year for Nigeria’s literary giant, Prof. Wole Soyinka. The family of the Nobel Laureate has been thrown into mourning following the death of his daughter, Iyetade, a mother of two.

A story this morning in The PUNCH quoted a statement signed on behalf of the Wole Soyinka family by a senior journalist and art promoter, Mr. Jahman Anikulapo, a close friend of the Soyinka family, as disclosing that Iyetade died while receiving treatment for an undisclosed ailment at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

Anikulapo was quoted as saying that Iyetade was born on June 6, 1965, attended Staff School and Queens School, Ibadan before reading Medicine at the University of Ibadan. He described Iyetade as an “affable, intelligent and sometimes capricious,” lady who “struggled with her health in recent years,” adding:

“In spite of this, she greeted every day with a smile and doted on her two children. She took ill quite suddenly and passed away while being treated at UCH, Ibadan. Iyetade leaves behind two children, both parents, numerous siblings, nieces and nephews.”

The statement was silent on when Iyetade would be buried.

•Photo shows bereaved Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka.