The 83-year-old professor of literature and political activist was responding question on how long he intends to live.
He replied, “By all logic, I should not be alive right now because of my lifestyle. “I flout everything they teach at medical school, including the fact that I don’t drink water. I eat only when I want to.
“I don’t obey the rules of cholesterol.” He further revealed that he used to smoke hard cigarettes such as Gitanes, Gauloises, cigars and cheroots, but he had quit smoking.
“I lost interest several years ago,” Soyinka said while also revealing an argument he once had with the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro on the perils of smoking.
He added, “I had an argument with Fidel Castro about it. By that time Castro had got religion about the perils of smoking and he rounded on a guerrillero, saying, ‘This is bad for you. I have medical evidence.’
