1. Wole Soyinka, 80 (Playwright)

This venerable and phenomenal personality is a Nigerian Playwright and author who, in 1986 became the first African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Indisputably the most famous playwright ever to emerge from Africa, the intellectual juggernaut has published over 20 plays including The Lion and the Jewel, A Dance of the Forests and The Strong Breed.