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Nobel laureate, Prof. Soyinka has backed former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s criticism of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, as playing a key role in dividing the country as never before.
He said this in a statement titled, “Between ‘Dividers-in-chief and Dividers-in-law” released yesterday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, saying though he is not a fan of Obasanjo, he supports any accurate description of Nigeria as a country on the brink of collapse.
Earlier, Obasanjo had alleged Nigeria was gradually becoming a failed state and more divided under the Buhari administration.
His claims were countered by the presidency who described the former leader as a ‘Divider-in-chief.’
In his reaction, Soyinka backed Obasanjo saying, “I am notoriously no fan of Olusegun Obasanjo, General, twice former president and co-architect with other past leaders of the crumbling edifice that is still generously called Nigeria. I have no reasons to change my stance on his record.
He added he welcomed the responsibility of calling attention to any accurate reading of this nation from whatever source, as a contraption teetering on the very edge of total collapse.
“We are close to extinction as a viable comity of peoples, supposedly bound together under an equitable set of protocols of co-habitation, capable of producing its own means of existence, and devoid of a culture of sectarian privilege and will to dominate,” Soyinka narrated.
According to Soyinka, he said, “The nation is divided as never before, and this ripping division has taken place under the policies and conduct of none other than President Buhari; does that claim belong in the realms of speculation? Does anyone deny that it was this president who went to sleep while communities were consistently ravaged by cattle marauders, were raped and displaced in their thousands and turned into beggars all over the landscape?
“Was it a different president who, on being finally persuaded to visit a scene of carnage, had nothing more authoritative to offer than to advise the traumatised victims to learn to live peacefully with their violators? And what happened to the Police Chief who had defied orders from his Commander-in-Chief to relocate fully to the trouble spot – he came, saw, and bolted, leaving the ‘natives’ to their own devices.
“Any disciplinary action taken against ‘countryman’? Was it a spokesman for some ghost president who chortled in those early, yet controllable stages of now systematised mayhem, gleefully dismissed the mass burial of victims in Benue State as a “staged show” for international entertainment?
“Did the other half of the presidential megaphone system not follow up – or was it, precede? – with the wisdom that they, the brutalised citizenry, should learn to bow under the yoke and negotiate, since “only the living” can enjoy the dividends of legal rights?” Nobel laureate asked.
This post was written by Obiajulu Joel Nwolu.
The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions.