Madam Tinuola Aina, the older sister of Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, has passed away at the age of 90. Her family announced her death, which occurred on November 7, 2023, in a statement issued on Tuesday.
Born on April 29, 1933, Madam Aina was the first of seven children of a school teacher, Mr. Samuel Ayodele Soyinka, and trader-homemaker, Mrs. Grace Eniola Soyinka (neé Harrison) at Ake Vicarage, Abeokuta. She began her education at St. Peter’s Primary School in the Vicarage, and later at Abeokuta Grammar School (AGS), Igbein.
Following her secondary education at AGS, Tinu moved to England to pursue her lifelong ambition of becoming a nurse. She obtained her SRN, SEN, and Queens Nurse at South Shield and worked in England for a while before returning to Nigeria in 1959. She joined the then-Western Region at the Psychiatrist Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta.
In 1963, she married Dr. Kola Aina, and the couple was blessed with two children, Oluyomi and Adebiyi. Mrs. Aina later joined the Federal Government Service, working at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). She rose through the ranks and became the principal of the Nursing and Midwifery School at LUTH in 1986, a position she held until her retirement in 1993.
READ MORE: ATBU Student Dies in Brave Attempt to Retrieve Girlfriend’s Handbag
After retirement, she started an advisory clinic at her church, The Christ King’s Church, which she ran with two other retired nurses and church members. The clinic, open to all members of the community, irrespective of faith or creed, is completely free.
Known as “Tinu,” the matriarch of the Soyinka family was a caring, loving, and devoted mother, sister, aunt, and cousin. She kept the family united and left behind a strong, happy legacy.
The funeral rites for Madam Aina will begin with a service of songs on Thursday, December 7 in Lagos, and conclude with a private interment in Lagos on Friday, December 8.