Buhari heeds Soyinka’s advice, convenes conference

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the convocation of a national economic conference aimed at rallying the country together to offer solutions to the current economic challenges facing Nigeria.

President Buhari

A top government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, disclosed this to a group of journalists in Abuja on Thursday.

The approval came barely a week after Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, called on the President to summon an emergency economic meeting to recommend specific solutions to the nation’s prevailing economic challenges to save the country’s economy from further drift.

The nation’s currency has slumped drastically against the dollar in recent months due largely to the scarcity of the foreign currency and the tough regulations of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

This appeared to have led to spiralling inflation in the country as most products are produced abroad, putting the nation’s foreign reserves and currency under intense pressure.

The price of crude oil in the international market has continued to fall since November 2014, threatening to frustrate the provisions of the nation’s N6.07tn 2016 budget.

Soyinka, who made the call when he visited the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in Abuja last Thursday, had said experts and consumers should be invited to the meeting.

“The President should call an emergency economic conference with experts to be invited – consumers, producers, labour unions, university experts, professors, etc. I think we really need an emergency economic conference, a rescue operation, bringing as many heads as possible together to plan the way forward,” Soyinka had said.

But the government source said the idea of the economic conference, which had tentatively been fixed for March 10 and 11, was first discussed at the 65th National Economic Council meeting held on January 28.

The council, presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, had all the state governors and the Central Bank Nigeria Governor, Secretary to the Government of the Federation and some ministers as members.

It has a constitutional role of advising the President on economic matters.

The source said the NEC members had in their deliberations called for a major conference, where the current economic situation of the country could be thoroughly discussed by all the states and the Federal Government.

He added that in approving the idea, the President himself would declare the conference open and participate fully in order to demonstrate his personal commitment to the idea.

He said the views of the private sector and non-state actors would also be sought at the conference.

The source explained that well-respected global experts were expected at the conference to aggregate the views of other governmental, inter-governmental and non-governmental institutions.

The government official stated, “The NEC retreat, as is being called by the Federal Government and the states, becomes imperative amid dwindling oil prices with a direct and significant impact on the money now available for federal allocation and sharing between the FG, states and local government councils.

“For instance, the FG states and local governments shared a sum of N370.4bn a few days ago for the month of January 2016, which is a drop of more than N17bn from the N387.8bn shared the previous month of December last year.

“That could be compared for instance with what was shared in January 2014, which was N629bn and N503.6bn the previous December, both higher significantly than the present situation.

“Another concern of the FG and the states necessitating the economic conference is the drop in foreign reserves of the country, which is now already below $30bn and compelling the CBN to adopt tough forex measures, including the ban on certain items from forex funding and rationing.

“The depreciation of the value of naira has also become an attendant impact of the foreign exchange scarcity.”

He added that it was the President’s expectation that the conference would be solution-centered and also create an opportunity to rally the nation, the FG, states and private sector together for a clear and mutually beneficial economic direction.

“It is interesting that a respectable Nigerian (Soyinka) recently raised the idea of a national economic conference earlier this month, the same idea that had been decided by members of NEC at their January meeting. It shows there is indeed a wide consensus on the idea,” he said.

He explained that although government was not calling the conference an emergency one, it was clear that both federal and state governments agreed on the need to discuss frankly and develop innovative ways to take the country out of the economic challenges of the day.

The source explained that while the FG was clear on what direction it intended to drive the country economically, there was the need to rally the entire nation.

He said there was the need to call on the government and the people to tighten their belts and prepare for sacrifice.

“The President has already set the tone for frugality in spending by cutting off routine security votes among other cost-cutting measures.

“Besides, the idea of a Zero-Based Budgeting and Treasury Single Account are parts of the attempt by the Federal Government to tighten public revenues and finance,” he added.

Buhari heeds Soyinka’s advice, convenes conference

Soyinka N82m Dinner: Semenitari is a pathological liar - PDP

The Rivers State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has described the explanation by the former Commissioner for Information and Communication in the Rotimi Amaechi administration, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari embodied in a press statement entitled “Rivers State Government and the song and dance about N82 Million dinner as hollow, petty and childish.

PDP

PDP said that the N82m dinner is a fraud committed under the guise of a birthday celebration for Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka.

 

The party said that Mrs. Ibim Semenitari is “bitten by the bug of pomposity and dancing in the ring of illusion, adding that she thinks every Rivers person except she, is a “dunderhead”

PDP added “In a manner typical of her, she tried to explain away her corrupt practices while serving as commissioner, by appealing to the emotion of Rivers people rather than to their intellect, as she struggled to justify the siphoning from the state’s treasury, a whooping N82, 000,000.00.

“While we agree that the Nobel Laureate deserves any form of honour in any part of the world, we find it a terrible disservice to Professor Soyinka to use his name to steal public funds and mischievously pretend to be more protective of the man’s international reputation than the rest of us, thereby propagandistically portraying officials of the Rivers State Government as adversaries to the Laureate.

“How can a former Commissioner for Information and Communications become so uninformed as to misinform the unwary public and try in vain to deform their psyche.  For lack of accounting straws to cover the crime she supervised, she said the N82,000,000.00 was not used only for the party but that the expenses covered costume design, set design, drama, highlife band, dinner, transportation, decoration and logistics.

“That was what N82M, tax payers money belonging to Rivers people was spent for. What a fallacy yet Mrs. Semenitari wants the people to believe these incoherent fabrications.

“These items should naturally be expected to form an important part of the birthday celebration. If they were left out, what else would make the party a befitting one for a man of the stature of Professor Soyinka? Is it only eating, drinking and dancing in a boring ambience that would be called birthday party for Professor Soyinka of all people? How much did the listed items amount to? Are we talking of N8, 000,000.00 or N82, 000,000.00? Shame to criminals in the garments of government officials!

“A pathological liar, Mrs Seminitari during her days as Commissioner for Information and Communications, engaged in such pernicious propaganda that Josef Goebels’ propaganda art paled into insignificance before hers.  Even the public servant with the shortest memory can recall the lies she transmitted about former Governor Amaechi’s politics of denying workers and pensioners their monthly pay. Many in certain sections of, and parastatals under her ministry then, can tell of her unaccountability exploits.  Must every can of worms be exposed?

“Mrs Semenitari should be advised to concentrate her energy on ruining the NDDC under her charge with half-truths, disinformation, deception, outright lies and embezzlement of public funds which she knows how to do best. After all, no APC member can be corrupt.

Soyinka N82m Dinner: Semenitari is a pathological liar - PDP

N82m Dinner: APC apologises to Soyinka

•Says Wike’s allegation the unfortunate ranting of a drowning man

The Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has apologised to Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, over the embarrassment caused him by the recent allegation of embattled caretaker governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, that the immediate past Rivers State Government under the watch of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi spent a whopping N82 million to organise a birthday dinner in honour of the revered statesman in the state capital, Port Harcourt. Rivers APC in a statement signed by its State Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya and issued Monday in Port Harcourt described Wike’s allegation as unfortunate.

Watch And Pray, Watch And Prey By Wole Soyinka

“On behalf of the good people of Rivers State, we hereby tender an unreserved apology to Prof. Soyinka and to assure him that Wike’s vile attempt to link him to an imaginary corruption will fail. This accusation is nothing but the ranting of a drowning man looking for whom to pull into the stinking pool but Wike has over-reached himself this time because Prof. Soyinka is globally renowned as a man of unimpeachable integrity who has never been associated with corruption in his over 80 years on earth”. The fact remains that Chief Wike is currently in a pit full of faeces, looking for whom he will splatter the faeces and sadly he remembered our revered Prof and as rightly observed by Prof Soyinka in his reaction, Wike is ready to, “splatter sewage in all possible and improbable directions,” Rivers APC said.

The party noted that Wike in his desperation to demonise Amaechi and whoever that is associated with him must have forgotten that his panel of Inquiry that investigated Amaechi’s tenure exonerated him of any financial misdeeds. The statement made it clear that the great achievements of the Amaechi administration cannot be wished away or cancelled through cheap blackmail.

Rivers APC said the sad outbursts of Wike made through the state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Dr Austin Tam-George, did not come to the party as a surprise, knowing Wike’s antecedents as a controversial politician. “For him to try to disparage a respected personality like Prof. Soyinka in this manner only exposes him as a drowning man looking for any tool to stay afloat,” the party said.


It wondered why Amaechi should spend such a huge sum to host a birthday celebration, asking: “If Wike is sure of his records, why doesn’t he go to court to retrieve the said sum?”

To us as a political party, It is very sad and unfortunate that Wike and his confused Team in their wild accusation failed to appreciate the pivotal role Prof Soyinka played in securing Port Harcourt as the UNESCO World Book Capital City 2014. The feat, which put not only Rivers State but indeed Nigeria on the global map necessitated the dinner in honour of the Nobel Laureate. All said and done we are happy to note that this bare-faced lies deliberately hatched to smear the character and image of the literary scholar as well as the Acting Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mrs. Ibim Semenitari have failed woefully as Nigerians are gradually coming to terms of what Wike stands for.

The party admonished Wike to stop making a bad name for the state, “as he has done enough damage to the general psyche of the Rivers people through his visionless administration which is now in the process of winding up having been declared illegal by the courts, which ordered fresh elections to be held soon to formally bury the Wike administration.”

N82m Dinner: APC apologises to Soyinka

Soyinka vows to draw blood with his new book, InterInventions

Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka yesterday vowed to “draw blood” with his latest book,InterInventions.

Watch And Pray, Watch And Prey By Wole Soyinka

The book, he said, would be his “vengeance” against “unprovoked assault of public lies” directed against him.

The popular playwright and essayist spoke at the formal inauguration of The Wole Soyinka Foundation, a retreat haven for writers.

He described InterInventions as “the nastiest book” he has ever written.

The 130  – page work  – InterInventions, Between Defective Memory and Public Lie, A Personal Odyssey in The Republic of Liars, was presented to the public at the June 12 Cultural Centre Kuto, Abeokuta by the Edo State governor, Adams Oshiohmole.

Soyinka said the book is “so truthful that it hurts” and recommended it to people who “feel vengeful” towards purveyors of public lies because of its expected therapeutic value.

“(InterInventions), it is the nastiest book I have ever written. It is so truthful that it hurts… it is my vengeance against public lies. It is not one of the butterfly books. No, it is not a butterfly book.

“I want to draw blood (with it). I’m warning all of you, if you feel vengeful, read this book and you will be alright. It is like homeopathic medicine,” Soyinka said.

He lamented that public lies have become an industry of sort, multiplying itself and worsened by the social media facilitating the predisposition for lies.

On page seven of the book, he decried public lies – “lies of staggering impudence, especially considering the fact that, in most cases, both victims and their traducers are still living.”

According to him, there is the need for a “ritual of public purgation where both sides – such victims of lies and the traducers, are brought together before the public tribunal for the world to know the truth.”

Soyinka also gave insight into lies, allegedly against him by some individuals and past leaders, including former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, stating in first paragraph of page 82 that “it was a great fun (for him, Soyinka) to watch him(Daniel) lie his head off.”

He said he “would have gone insane” if he had not found a serene place to hide himself while doing his creative work.

Oshiomhole described Soyinka as a great and relentless fighter, saying the nation needs social warriors who speak the truth without giving a hoot whose ox is gored.

The governor, who attended the event in the company of his wife, added that The Wole Soyinka Foundation is a worthy cause that should be identified with by Nigerians.

Soyinka vows to draw blood with his new book, InterInventions

Oyinlola is a liar - Wole Soyinka

The controversy surrounding the status and ownership of the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding deepened on Friday as the Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, described former Governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, as a liar.

Watch And Pray, Watch And Prey By Wole Soyinka

Reacting to some issues raised by Oyinlola on Thursday when he addressed a press conference in his town, Okuku, Osun State, Soyinka , on Friday, gave the former governor a one-week ultimatum to retract his statement.

According to him, Oyinlola lied against him when he said he opposed the establishment of the centre in 2008 and that he (the dramatist) discussed the matter with the late President, Umaru Yar’Adua.

Soyinka said in a statement he tagged ‘Prince Oyinlola in the Republic of Liars’, “How does one begin to slash through this thickening tissue of lies? Prince Oyinlola must be put to the strictest proof to substantiate several outrageous claims in his recent press statement. Failing to do so within one week from today will result in his taking his well-earned place in company of the current inmates of ‘The Republic of Liars’ – next in my series of ‘Interventions’, a public service series published by Bookcraft, due out in the next month.”

He described the allegation that he opposed the establishment of the centre as an exercise in “mind-blowing impudence.”

He added that it was also a lie that he (Soyinka) discussed the matter with former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Instead, he said, it was Oyinlola who wrote a letter to Jonathan requesting him to “call Wole Soyinka to       order.”

Besides, the celebrated writer noted that he was not the one that instituted or initiated the law suit on the status of the centre.

“On the other hand, I did oppose, and most strenuously, the conspiracy by some parties to transfer the Ulli Beier archives to the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, situated in Abeokuta, even though paid for with the funds of Osun State. I opposed the recognition of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library as an affiliate of UNESCO in any category, since that library is a product of fraud, extortion and corrupt diversion of a nation’s resources.

“In this context, I collaborated with the late Gani Fawehinmi and Femi Falana. Action was taken in the same spirit as has continued to animate a number of civic organisations on the continent to prevent international image laundering by African leaders of questionable character, after losing credibility in governance. This has included higher institutions of learning and culture where millions were offered to endow chairs in their name.”

On Thursday, Oyinlola stressed that his permanent chairmanship of the Board of Trustees of the CBCIU was the condition given by the late Ullie Beire for giving his archives to the centre.

According to him, the condition was approved by the UNESCO and other stakeholders, including the Federal Government.

Oyinlola presented relevant documents and a court ruling in this regard.

But Soyinka, who was appointed the chairman of the board by Governor Rauf Aregbesola, insisted that such a clause and the fact that the centre was incorporated at the Corporate Affairs Commission were an anomaly.

As the controversy rages, stakeholders believe the Aregbesola administration has a duty to make its position known on the matter.

It has, however, yet to do so, as efforts made to get its reaction were not fruitful on Friday night.

But reacting to Soyinka’s ultimatum and allegations on Friday, Oyinlola denied lying against Soyinka.

Oyinlola said in a statement, “Soyinka should put his own (Soyinka’s) name on top of his list of liars now that he is writing his Republic of Liars. Liars hardly acknowledge truth when they see it.”

Oyinlola is a liar - Wole Soyinka

I don"t deserve several embarrassment from Soyinka - Oyinlola laments

Former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola of Osun State has said that the recent criticism of him by the Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, over the chairmanship of the Board of Trustees of the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding, Osogbo, was borne out of an alleged friction between him ( Soyinka) and former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Oyinlola

There has been heated argument as both Soyinka and Oyinlola have laid claim to the chairmanship of separate boards for the UNESCO-approved centre.

While documents of the agreement that established the centre make Oyinlola the permanent chairman of the board, the Rauf Aregbesola administration had established another board and chose Soyinka its chairman, upon succeeding Oyinlola.

But apart from the fact that the matter has been a subject of litigation, Soyinka, last week, accused Oyinlola of illegally carrying on as the board chairman.

At a press conference held in Oyinlola’s home town, Okuku, the former governor said, “Why all these attacks on my person? I have asked myself repeatedly. Could it be a case of transferred aggression? If he has any problem with his brother, elder statesman, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, why transfering the aggression to me? I have never done anything in the past to warrant what I have been getting from Soyinka.

“Does Soyinka know that an elder in Yorubaland operates within certain ethical boundaries? Does he know that elders must never be seen playing the hen otherwise foul smell will be their companion?”

Oyinlola, who is one of the political associates of the former President, said the CBCIU was a joint property of the UNESCO, the Federal Government, Osun State and the late Ullie Beier, whose works form the bulk of the items kept at the centre.

He presented the documents and said they were available for Soyinka to view.

Oyinlola noted that Aregbesola, who appointed Soyinka as the board chairman, had eventually discovered the true status of the centre, and had even initiated a process to reconcile him and Soyinka.

But he added that the former governor said the Nobel laureate had rebuffed all efforts he made to have a meeting with him.

He said, “Because I believe, to the best of my knowledge, that there is no personal animosity between me and Professor Soyinka, I have, in consultation with my governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, made some moves

to meet the professor to give him the correct information on the centre for him to be properly guided. All the moves have, sadly, been rebuffed.

“I paid a visit to his house in Lagos on the advice of the governor. He was not at home and never acknowledged the visit. I made several phone calls to him which were never answered. I tried reaching him unsuccessfully through his daughter, Mrs. Moremi Onijala. The last was an intervention organised between us by Aregbesola for Senator Sola Adeyeye to broker peace.

“The senator met with me and promised to meet Soyinka and get back to me. I was waiting for the feedback when I read Soyinka, an elder statesman and a supposed culture icon attacking me once again.”

I don"t deserve several embarrassment from Soyinka - Oyinlola laments

Centre for Black Culture: Soyinka tells Buhari to caution Oyinloa

The controversy that surrounded the birth of the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding, Osogbo, Osun State, in 2008 erupted again on Tuesday when the Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, accused former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola of perpetuating himself as the chairman of the centre’s board of trustees.

Watch And Pray, Watch And Prey By Wole Soyinka

He, thus, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to caution him in the spirit of the President’s anti-corruption stance.

The process of establishing the centre in 2008 was marked by accusation and counter-accusation between Soyinka and Oyinlola, as the renowned dramatist had vehemently opposed an alleged plot to locate the centre at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta. He claimed that the former President was using federal might to achieve this.

But while the main centre was eventually located in Osogbo, with a unit in the latter, trouble erupted again when the Rauf Aregbesola government came to power in 2011, as Oyinlola wanted to continue as the board chairman, based on a clause in the original law that established the CBIU.

The argument simmered in 2012 when the state House of Assembly amended the law to stop the permanent chairmanship.

Aregbesola had subsequently appointed Soyinka as the centre’s chairman.

But apart from legal issues that later arose, trouble reared its head again with a planned international conference set to hold at the centre.

At a press conference themed, ‘CBCIU: for Culture or Penkelemeesi?’, held at the Freedom Park on Tuesday, Soyinka warned Oyinlola against presenting himself as the chairman.

Noting that he had reported the development to UNESCO authorities, he said it was unethical for any office holder to claim perpetual ownership or leadership of any institution built with public funds.

According to him, the amendment made to the law establishing the centre, as carried out by the Osun lawmakers, remains valid as no court of law has nullified it.

He suggested that even if there were still some legal intricacies surrounding the development, ethics demanded that it be subjected to public debate.

Soyinka said, “My immediate contribution to that debate shall be phrased along the same terms as I addressed Madame Bokova in Kazakhstan (of UNESCO). Only that, this time, it is addressed to this nation’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, who has unusually elevated the anti-corruption struggle to the very top of his governance agenda. I must warn President Buhari – in the absence of a foreign minister – that the nation is being dragged into a sleazy situation through the attempted co-option of its foreign missions into logistical support for their global enterprises.

But while our correspondent’s efforts to reach Oyinlola proved abortive on Tuesday, one of his former aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the ‘attacks ‘ against the former governor were unwarranted.

The source said, “We view this as a continuation of Prof. Soyinka’s failed 2008 campaign to frustrate the approval of the centre by UNESCO. But on this renewed attack, we will react appropriately at the appropriate time.”

Efforts to also speak with Aregbesola or the commissioner for culture in the state also proved abortive.

But an official who also spoke on condition of anonymity noted that although the matter appeared complicated, it would be resolved in a way that it would not affect the significance and smooth operation of the centre.

The source said, “Both Prof. Soyinka and Prince Oyinlola are dear to us. So, the matter will be resolved in the best interest of the people and cultural development of the state, Nigeria and Africa in general.”

Centre for Black Culture: Soyinka tells Buhari to caution Oyinloa

Soyinka describes Buhari as a born-again phenomenon

ABUJA — Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, has described President Muhammadu as a “born-again” phenomenon on the Nigerian political landscape, who is ready to make amends for his past mistakes.

Watch And Pray, Watch And Prey By Wole Soyinka

Soyinka, who spoke in an interview with Zero Tolerance, a periodic publication by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, noted that Buhari has already paid some debts to the Nigerian community, describing him as a lucky man.

Soyinka noted that although Buhari has not come out openly to apologise for his wrong deeds in the past, he has nonetheless accepted the fact that he had made some mistakes.

He said: “He (Buhari) has not brought himself round to apologise; if he had done that, I might have been less ambiguous about him. But I think from my findings about him, he is a born again phenomenon. If I am wrong, well, too bad. Though I don’t believe in ‘born-againism’ but I think this may be an exception.”

Nigerians should’ve challenged Jonathan for defending stealing The laureate also descended heavily on former President Goodluck Jonathan for trying to differentiate between stealing and corruption, saying Nigerians should have challenged him on that.

Soyinka noted that it was wrong for a president to have taken such a position on a serious issue like corruption, thereby playing down its negative impact on the nation and its people.

He said: “The media should have challenged President Jonathan to define what stealing is, when he said that stealing is not corruption. How can a public figure, an intelligent person like that, come out to tell the public that corruption is not stealing? Then you should have asked him, what then is corruption? The media should have challenged him.”

Pyrates Confraternity isn’t a cult The pioneer Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, chairman, who is believed to have co-founded the Pyrates Confraternity in Nigeria, said it was wrong to lump cultism with confraternity, arguing that the two were not the same.

According to him, belonging to confraternities is a normal culture in colleges and not an evil cult, as wrongly portrayed by ignorant persons in Nigeria.

Soyinka said: “Everybody knows that fraternities are a normal culture in all colleges. It exists in all colleges. President Clinton was a member of a fraternity. In fact, anybody who goes to college in the United States is a member of a college fraternity. There is absolutely nothing evil or occultic about fraternity.

“But here, the media is largely responsible for fuelling the ignorance of society of the words ‘cultism’ and ‘fraternity’. This is a disservice and I have said it again and again. There are evil cults, whose members must prove themselves by going to rape. There are others whose entry is to slash or eat somebody or rob; it has nothing to do with college fraternity.

“The media owes the responsibility to constantly tell the public the truth. But they go on and children grow up, believing that college fraternity is Satanic, demonic and this is wrong.”

 

Soyinka describes Buhari as a born-again phenomenon

I stand by my comment on Soyinka, says Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that he maintains his view, as expressed in his three-volume autobiography, My Watch, that Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka has better expertise in wine matters than in political analysis.

In the book, Obasanjo wrote, “For Wole, no one can be good, nor can anything be spot-on politically except that which emanates from him or is ordained by him. His friends and loved ones will always be right and correct no matter what they do or fail to do. He is surely a better wine connoisseur and a more successful aparo(guinea fowl) hunter than a political critic.”

However, last year December, shortly after the book went public, Soyinka had, in a piece titled ‘Watch And Pray, Watch And Prey’, vehemently protested that description of him, calling Obasanjo an expert liar, who lies to boost his ego.

But in an interview granted a private television station, Channels, on a programme tagged ‘Book Club’, Obasanjo, while holding on to his words, said what he wrote about Soyinka was purely his view, adding that Soyinka did not have to agree with.

The former President, who added that he did not write the book to please anybody, also disclosed that there is a lingering feud between him and the Nobel laureate, who, he said, had vowed that the differences between the two of them would not be resolved on earth.

Obasanjo, however, said he had told Soyinka that, in that case, whichever of them gets to heaven first should wait at the gate to welcome the other.

He said, “Wole Soyinka is a gifted man, I have always acknowledged that but he is a bad politician and I have also always said that; and that is my own point of view. He may agree with it, he may not agree with it.

“But having said that, I also, in my book, bring out Wole Soyinka as I see him and that’s my own judgment; that’s my own perspective of him. He may agree, he may not agree but anybody can bring out his own perspective of me.

“For instance, I know that if I want somebody to give me the best wine, one of the people I will go to is Wole Soyinka and I know he has a taste for good wine and I said that in the book.”

Obasanjo also dismissed a rejoinder to his book titled ‘Watch the Watcher’, written by the Publicity Secretary of the Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, saying the book is not worth to be kept in anybody’s library.

Obasanjo, who said Odumakin was paid by former President Goodluck Jonathan to write the book, said he could not be worried because Odumakin did not write anything that will last.

Obasanjo said, “Yinka Odumakin was hired to do the hatchet job and he did it.

“It was part of the campaign of Goodluck Jonathan and he did serve the purpose of Goodluck Jonathan. But whether Goodluck Jonathan gained from it or Yinka Odumakin gained from it, well, it’s now left to history.

“But how should I worry about that? That Yinka Odumakin was hired by Goodluck Jonathan to do a job, which he did and Yinka Odumakin didn’t write anything to last. He wrote current affairs, not a book that anybody will seriously want to keep in his library and that’s the way I see it. And a book should be something that somebody wants to keep in the library.”

I stand by my comment on Soyinka, says Obasanjo

Buhari can go anywhere he likes but he must defeat b’haram – Soyinka

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, in this interview with Success Nwogu addresses topical national issues

A lot of Nigerians still wonder why you chose to endorse the candidature of Muhammadu Buhari. Why did you do that?

I was exercising my democratic right.

So, how do you see Buhari as someone who is competent to rule this country?

Watch And Pray, Watch And Prey By Wole Soyinka

Let us put it this way, if this country had gone on the way it was going, the way things were shaping up; if this nation had continued for another two years, in fact, I will say, it would not have lasted two years. So the word, ‘change’ for me, was not a slogan. It is not a mere slogan. The nation needed new hands at the wheels of governance. That is quite clear.

In essence, you are saying that the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan did not do well and could have plunged the nation into ruins?

Mr. Journalist, do not try to put words in my mouth. Listen to and report exactly what I tell you. This country could not have survived another two years, in my view, in my assessment in so many directions if the status quo had been maintained for another two years.

Since Buhari has been inaugurated, are you part of those who think he should have hit the ground running by making all the necessary appointments?

I believe that any incoming political leader, anybody at the head of government should be given at least a little time to develop his own rhythm. I do not think it is right to impose one’s own sense of governance rhythm on anyone. This county was not coming from ground zero. This new administration is not just getting in at ground zero, but somewhere below zero. So I think, we should just give some little time for any incoming government to find its pace, decide its own priorities. I have mine, you have yours. Everybody here has his or her priorities. In fact, mine changes all the time, depending on whether electricity is flowing or it is not flowing. So let us just give the government a little time.

In your opinion, who do you expect to see in Buhari’s cabinet?

I do not answer questions like that.

Do you think the diplomatic shuttle by Buhari to Niger and Chad is capable of defeating Boko Haram?

That is an answer to an earlier question which you posed. Obviously, Boko Haram is very much on his mind and constitutes a priority.

But some people have said that he should stop seeking for outside help?

This is exactly how we got into this mess because we did not seek help at the right time. If we had sought outside help when those girls were kidnapped, things would not have been the same. But it was too late. They would have been rescued if help was sought at the proper time or necessary actions had been taken. So we dragged our feet and I heard statements like ‘oh this is a national problem, we will solve our own problem.’ So there is cynical false pride. And when lives are at stake and the future of our children is at stake, people should swallow their pride and look for help because that becomes not just a national priority, it becomes a humanistic priority. So, if he wants to travel round the entire globe in order to solve the issue of Boko Haram, please just let him do so.

Some people are of the opinion that Buhari would have done well if he is able to tackle just power and security, do you share such view?

In how many days do you want him to tackle those problems? Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, how many years did he stay there, looking for a third term and electricity still did not flow? Now you want Buhari to start giving you electricity right now. When was he inaugurated? Just May 29.

Conversely some may be of the opinion that if Jonathan had concentrated on tackling just power and security, he would have done better. May we know your view?

Ahh!! That is a very simple question to answer. The answer is yes!

Do you have any suggestion for Buhari on how to deal with pressing issues of security, power and oil and gas?

No.

But you are one of the fathers of the nation. You may have an idea.

I am not omniscient. Just leave this government. And I would say the same; there is so much mess already. Let him take his time, take his stand and fix his own priorities but make sure that he concentrates on them. I say that about any incoming regime. I want to make that clear, I say that about any incoming regime, whether I approve of that regime or not is irrelevant.

Do you agree with the opinion that Buhari should trim down the size of his cabinet to reduce cost of governance?

The system we are running is too expensive. I will say it again and again. I would like to see it revamped completely. We cannot afford this system. So the issue of a large cabinet or a small cabinet is contingent on the fact on the system you are running.

For instance, constitutionally, apparently, he is obliged to observe geographical spread. Can you imagine that? You do not run a country like that! So the constitution we are running is, in fact part of the problem; a major problem. We need a system of change, a total systemic revamp. That is my view.

The government has started pleading with Nigerians to be patient, that the problems confronting the nation cannot be solved overnight. Do you blame them?

You have just more or less answered that question. Nigerians sometime want to sprint without even getting running shoes. So opinion could differ. But I am saying that it is too early in my view. It is just too early for people to form that drastic opinion like that.

Some people feel that you may be constrained to criticise the government of the All Progressives Congress because your son is an appointee of the party in Ogun State. Is that correct?

My son is up to 21 years. He can go in any direction. I had a daughter who was in Obasanjo’s cabinet.She was an adviser on refugee problems. What my children do is of no relevance in how I think or what I do. Everybody is grown up. We all have our different ways. So it has nothing to do with me.

What is the relationship between you and former governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi as you never criticised him?

I never criticised him? Are you sure about that? Did you ever read everything I have written about him? I can remember immediately a couple of criticisms I made about him when he was in government.

But you were very close to his government?

I like him. I like him. The man is great. He was very courageous and I am proud to say that. I like what he did and what he said.

Generally what is your assessment of the last elections?

I am going to wait. You know elections are not over yet. As long as the tribunals are still sitting, elections are not over. I just hope those who rigged, especially those who rigged violently, are very drastically punished. I think, it is about time, we learnt to be very straightforward with elections. There were killings, you know, killings during that election. Can you imagine in 2015, we ran an election and some people were slaughtering one another?

What is your impression about Kwara State University, Malette as the guest lecturer of its third convocation?

Well, the university so far is what I call work-in-progress. What I can discern is planning. Obviously, it is not an ad-hoc approach. I can see definitely some comprehensive planning. That is all I can say about the institution as at the moment.

Many Nigerians are concerned that the standard of education is falling. What is your view? And what are the solutions if you agree that the standard of education is falling?

I agree. It is apparent. This is a terrible truth. I just hope that there will be a transformation.

Transformation in which area?

Transformation in terms of education. I mean about the various disciplines. Because I speak with my colleagues in various disciplines and what applies to the Humanities in any instance, simply applies to the Sciences. It is lack of material for experiment in the sciences; the libraries are sub-standard in many instances. There is shortage of academic publications such that lecturers in some cases cannot keep up with the latest developments in their disciplines. So most of the money which should go towards building of the institutions, is being cornered by private individuals who are now, I believe, setting up institutions which are better equipped and better staffed than what you might call the public institution.

Buhari can go anywhere he likes but he must defeat b’haram – Soyinka

Soyinka advises Buhari on Boko Haram, insecurity

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka yesterday tasked President Muhammadu Buhari to expedite more action to end pervasive insecurity in the country occasioned by the outlawed Boko Haram sect.

Watch And Pray, Watch And Prey By Wole Soyinka

Soyinka, who made this disclosure during a lecture delivered at the third convocation ceremony of the Kwara State University, (KWASU) Malete, also warned that the temple of learning may soon be eroded in the country.

According to him, “Nigerians should not see the sufferings, brutality and terror and insurgency being witnessed by some states in the northern parts of the country as their problems alone”.

He expressed fear that looking at insurgency as problem of a section of the country could cause spread of the hazards, adding that no fresh approach had been involved in the fight against the menace by the new administration and thus no difference witnessed so far.

He also emphasised that the temple of learning must be protected irrespective of gender or religion, saying, “no woman, no nation”.

Soyinka, in a lecture titled, ‘Science and Imagination in Temple of Knowledge’, asked rhetorically, “can science and religion co-exist?”, and described members of the Boko Haram sect as enemies of sound knowledge.

He said members of Boko Haram are not actually without any knowledge, since they knew the science of making bomb and killing people, adding that they had failed to acquire knowledge on human co-existence.

He also decried agony, humiliation and trauma of the abducted Chibok girls in the hands of their captors, as they embarked on their secondary school qualifying examination, saying that he was always sad whenever he relived the imagination of experience the girls would be going through, described the situation as irony.

Also speaking, the Chancellor of the university, Prof. Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, warned that education sector in the country was in dire straits, due to constraints of funds.

“Basic infrastructural, teaching and learning facilities are pathetically lacking in most areas of academic pursuits in our universities which has painfully led to the ‘half-baked graduates’ syndrome”, he said.

Soyinka advises Buhari on Boko Haram, insecurity

Wole Soyinka denies insulting igbos

• Harvard University to release video in a week

The Harvard University Hutchins Centre for African and American Research in the United States has said that it will release the video of the lecture delivered by Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, within a week.

Watch And Pray, Watch And Prey By Wole Soyinka

This was contained in an email reply to one of our correspondents on Soyinka’s alleged comments that he labelled Igbo as people who voted in the last general elections based on their “stomach.”

Some online media had quoted Soyinka as saying Igbo were politically naive while delivering a lecture titled, “‘Predicting Nigeria, Electoral Ironies,” at the institution.

He was quoted as saying “The Igbo are probably the only group of Nigerians that you can predict with great accuracy whom they will vote for in an election, because they tend to put their votes where their stomachs take them; suffering as it were, from incurable money-mindedness, as they would stop at nothing in their quest for personal financial gain.”

However, Soyinka said in a statement on Tuesday that it was unfortunate that people could tell lies against him.

The playwright described those who believe the report as morons.

He said the entire lecture was recorded on video and anyone who was interested could access it on the Internet.

He said, “I have just read a statement attributed to me on a news outlet, evidently one of the Internet infestations. My lecture at the Hutchins Centre, Harvard University, was video recorded. Anyone who believes what I am alleged to have said must be a moron – repeat, a moron.

“It is demeaning, sickening and boring to have to deal with these cowards who cannot fight their own battles but must fasten their imbecilic pronouncements on others. Only the mentally retarded will credit this comment attributed to me regarding the Ndigbo voting pattern in the last elections.

“I strongly suspect the author of this despicable concoction, and may make a further statement, once the source is verified.”

The Harvard centre, has however, stated that it will post the video online. The institution, however, said it would not release transcripts of Soyinka’s lecture.

The email read, “We expect the recent Wole Soyinka talk to be posted via video on the Hutchins Centre website within a week. However, transcripts of the talk will not be provided. Thank you for contacting the Hutchins Centre.”

Wole Soyinka denies insulting igbos

INEC must probe Ekiti ‘rigging’ tape – Soyinka

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, says the audio file which purportedly captured some Peoples Democratic Party leaders giving orders to a general to rig the June 21, 2014 governorship elections in Ekiti State must be investigated by the Independent National Electoral Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.

Watch And Pray, Watch And Prey By Wole Soyinkayink

Soyinka said this in a statement while reacting to a front page advert in the PUNCH sponsored by Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, in which the governor discredited the authenticity of the tape based on a report by the US that the Ekiti governorship poll was transparent.

The playwright said the issue was too weighty to be dismissed without being investigated.

He said since Fayose had referenced the US report, the Federal Government could also call on the US to assist in investigating the tape.

Soyinka said no one would lose anything by investigating the tape since it was the job of law enforcement agencies to investigate matters of state.

He said, “For those who have nothing to hide, disrobing lies and forgeries and reinforcing truth is regarded as part and parcel of the obligations we owe democracy. The audio could well be one of such forgeries. We are daily inundated with allegations, evasions, distortions, image plundering and image laundering, all under the permissive canopy of electoral proceeding.

“Once in a while, however, we encounter exposure of an exceptional dimension that appears to strike at the very root of democracy, questions the validity of an entire electoral system and even erodes confidence in the integrity of the state. Such an event need not be regarded as a repudiation of the formal mechanics put in place by an electioneering agency such as INEC, but nonetheless extends the scope of its responsibilities, including its projection of looming hazards of future electoral EXERCISES.

“This is why, in the absence of a Constitutional Court or its equivalent, one is left with no other course than to call on INEC to also take formal charge of the recorded incident of this alleged conspiracy to pervert the course of democracy. For those ‘who have nothing to hide,’ it is a call that deserves unstinting support. They should not hesitate to assist in calling on the same US expertise to assist us in exposing a forgery.

“We are speaking here of a development that implicates not only products, beneficiaries or would-be constitutional guardians of the electoral process – that is, an elected governor, a governorship aspirant, but also state agencies – the military, two serving ministers – that is, members of the Executive arm of government, one of them in charge of the nation’s defence portfolio – and others.

“In addition to the logical role of the police, the nation’s electoral commission should undertake an independent investigation and make its findings known to the nation. Is this perhaps something INEC can undertake while the nation waits out its suspended electoral sentence? It only requires repudiation – or validation – of the findings of an already advanced forensic enquiry.”

INEC must probe Ekiti ‘rigging’ tape – Soyinka

Buhari’s govt, most brutal dictatorship after Abacha – Soyinka

Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has described General Muhammadu Buhari, the main opposition

Watch And Pray, Watch And Prey By Wole Soyinka

presidential candidate in Nigeria as the most brutal dictator after late General Sani Abacha. He however noted that the two leading candidates in the 2015 presidential election (Buhari and President Goodluck Jonathan) are both problematic, adding that, while one is troubled by the past, the other is troubled by the present.

In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC, he noted that the electorate were in a dilemma as a result of the choices they have been provided by the political parties ahead of the elections that were postponed for six weeks from February to March and April.

“Buhari and his partner General Tunde Idiagbon, after [former military head of state] Sani Abacha, I think they represented the most brutal face of military dictatorship. There is no question about that,” Soyinka told BBC.

“But the environment changes, circumstances change and… I look at the possibility of a genuine internal transformation in some individuals. I’ve been disappointed before and we must always be ready to be disappointed again,” he added of Buhari.

He had a similar scathing assessment of Jonathan. “What happened was a clear failure of leadership – a slow reaction, an inadequate reaction and response,” Soyinka said while stressing that while responsibility for the Boko Haram crisis rests with President Jonathan, the government cannot be held solely responsible for the entire jihadist problem as it began under previous governments,” he said.

Buhari’s govt, most brutal dictatorship after Abacha – Soyinka

Soyinka flays Mbu over comment

0

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has criticised the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 2, Joseph Mbu, for urging the police to kill 20 civilians for a policeman that is killed before, during and after the general elections.

Watch And Pray, Watch And Prey By Wole Soyinka

Mbu, on Thursday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, had also ordered his men during his official visit to the Eleweran Command headquarters, to arrest even the governor of the state if they find him to be violating the law on election day.

“If one of my men is killed, I shall kill twenty of them but don’t shoot first. If they shoot you, shoot back in self-defence. Anybody who fires you, fire him back in self-defence. Our actions and activities will go a long way to decide this election, so, I have come to tell you that we must remain impartial in ensuring free, fair, peaceful and violent-free polls.

“As far as the law is concerned, we are not going to respect anybody and whoever is coming to the booth should vote and leave peacefully. Anyone who comes there to campaign, even if it is the chief executive of the state, a constable at that polling booth would stop him,” Mbu said.

In a letter made available to our correspondent on Saturday, Soyinka described Mbu as a “political jobber” ready to be used by the Peoples Democratic Party-led Federal Government.

“Goliath Mbu is the latest kid in town, fresh from his triumph in ‘taming’ governors all over the nation, and reveling in his new elevation for jobs well done. A political jobber by instinct though a clamberer through the police profession, he has wasted no time instructing his men to return violence for violence, fire for fire.

“He has been displaying his new attire and pips all over the place, demanding to be noticed – as if his facial snarl is not already plastered over the pages of media annals of police infamy, reminiscent of the good old days of one Inspector-General (Sunday) Adewusi, who would appear on television dripping with gas-canisters and grenades, with a detachment of Kill-and-Go,” the Nobel laureate stated.

According to Soyinka, Mbu’s actions and words are similar to that of Adewusi.

He said, “Is history about to repeat itself in microcosm? Adewusi was sacked by the Buhari coup and vanished from the police political rostrum.”

Soyinka also expressed his regrets and anger over the failure of governments to punish persons like Adewusi for his impunity rather he said, those who have acted with impunity were usually accorded state recognition.

“This warped apportionment of deserving it must be that drives such officials to treasonable conduct under democracies. If the trend changes and even the police are made to account for abuses of office, abuses of the collective rights of citizens, then perhaps we might see the end of arrogant partisanship in the performance of police duties,” he added.

In a related development, the All Progressives Congress in a statement issued on Saturday, described Mbu as a “lawless and barbaric” policeman who should urgently be called to order by the police authorities.

“Since his posting to the Zone 2 Command, this contumacious policeman has exhibited an egregious act of lawlessness by barging through the Lekki Toll Plaza without paying toll and then ordering the arrest of policemen and workers at the Plaza. Is it not an irony that a man who is trained to enforce the law is the same who is breaking the law?” Said the APC publicity secretary, Mr. Lai Mohammed.

Viewed 1 times
Soyinka flays Mbu over comment

Don’t Vote For Jonathan, Soyinka Lists Reasons

1

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, declared on Thursday that no one should vote for the continuation of President Goodluck Jonathan’s government, saying that there has been a total failure in leadership.

soyinka and jonathan

He said he has sixty reasons not to vote for the Jonathan regime.

“I will not vote and I will not encourage anyone to vote for the continuation of this government, simply because your colleagues numbering over two hundred were kidnapped, “ Soyinka told students at the 2015 edition of Vision of the Child (VOTC), a yearly programme inaugurated in 2012.

He said the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped on 14 April last year were sent on a mission to acquire an education, but ended up being kidnapped.

“And the government of this nation failed to show leadership. So anyone who says after that event that I will vote or cast my vote or encourage anyone to vote for this regime must be living in Sambisa forest,” Soyinka said, referring to a forest in Borno State where the Chibok girls are believed to be held by Boko Haram.

“There has been a failure of leadership. Our children whom you represent today have been betrayed ,” Soyinka said, adding that no appropriate action was taken to rescue them.

Soyinka said it took the Jonathan government ten days to even accept that the Chibok girls were missing.

“After that dereliction of duty, after that failure of leadership, after that betrayal for our future, for anyone to think or to put words in my mouth suggesting that I will vote or encourage anyone to vote for this regime is a travesty of intelligence,” Soyinka said.

Soyinka laughed off those who had claimed on the social media that he was dead, telling journalists at the event that they should not misquote him. If they do, he added, he will rise from the dead to correct them.

The 2015 edition of Vision of the Child has as theme “The Road To Sambisa”.

This year, a total of 250 student participants from 60 primary and secondary schools within Lagos attended the interview. The age bracket for the participants was 9 to 12 years.

Their entries were assessed by a panel of eminent jury comprising teachers, artistes, child carers and social workers.

This year, 60 finalists were drawn from 35 schools within Lagos State, said Foluke George, Festival Secretary and Programme Manager for the Vision of the Child.

The finalists will be invited on 7 March to the National Conservation Foundation Park, Lekki, and provided with brush, paint and easel, and will be required to illustrate their literary presentation in the complementary medium painting.

Viewed 1 times
Don’t Vote For Jonathan, Soyinka Lists Reasons

Obasanjo praises Gani Fawehinmi, rubbishes Soyinka, Chukwumerijie in new book

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has showered praises on late Gani Fawehinmi, lawyer and activist, who was a thorn in the flesh of successive administrations in Nigeria, describing him as one of the most genuine politico-social critics in the history of the the country.

Obasanjo

Mr. Obasanjo was effusive in his praise of Mr. Fawehinmi just as he lampooned Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, and Senator Uche Chukwumerije, describing them as self-serving activists.

Writing in his new autobiography, My Watch, the former president said the late Senior Advocate of Nigeria, was not just a critic of his government, but was also the counsel to his ex-wife, Remi, during the couple’s messy divorce.

“Gani was to me a fearless, genuine politico-social critic, who drew no distinction between friends and associates or on ethnicity, geography or religion,” Mr. Obasanjo wrote. “He believed in what he did and did what he believed.”

Mr. Obasanjo also commended Mr. Gani for always speaking up when everyone else was silent, especially on matters of injustice.

He alleged that his ex-wife, Remi, sought the services of Mr. Fawehinmi in order to scandalize him as a senior military officer and a minister in government, but that he (Obasanjo) equally secured Mr. Fawehinmi’s match in Kehinde Sofola.

“But that issue did not diminish my respect for Gani,” he said.

Mr. Obasanjo described Mr. Fawehinmi as an advocate for the poor and the oppressed.

He said the vacuum left by the late legal luminary was yet to be filled in Nigeria.

Mr. Fawehinmi died on September 5, 2009, after a prolonged battle with lung cancer. He was 71.

Soyinka the “aparo” hunter

On the other hand, Mr. Obasanjo described the nation’s only Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, as “a self-serving critic” who always loved to take the lead on all matters.

SOYINKA

“For Wole, no one can be good, nor can anything be spot-on politically except that which emanates from him or is ordained by him,” Mr. Obasanjo wrote. “His friends and loved ones will always be right and correct no matter what they do or fail to do.”

Mr. Obasanjo said he found the Professor of Literature “a misfit as a political analyst, commentator or critic,” adding that it was good that Mr. Soyinka did not go into politics.

“He is surely a better wine connoisseur and a more successful “aparo” (guinea fowl) hunter than a political critic, not to talk of what he would do as a politician,” Mr. Obasanjo said. “I take him seriously on almost all issues except on the political particularly Nigerian politics.”

He, however, noted that the Nobel laureate appeared to have ‘mellowed’ down since turning 80 recently.

As he prayed that Mr. Soyinka celebrates the centenary of his birth on earth, Mr. Obasanjo also stated, “If I go before him, I will bid him welcome when he arrives at the great beyond. I hope he would do the same if he succeeds in getting there before me and we find ourselves on the same side of the divide.”

Chukwumerije lost both “fire” and “brand”

On Mr. Chukwumerije, Mr. Obasanjo said the senator as a younger person used to be sincere, fearless and uncompromising but as he grew older and the reality of life dawned on him with the weight of family responsibility “his pen, if not his mouth, gradually blunted and the fire in him started to dim”.

Mr. Obasanjo also said it then became easy to sway the once fiery, obstinate critic and he became a tool of whoever needed to use him.

“Wittingly or unwittingly, he began to do the bidding of the lurer,” he said. “In the process, the intrepidity waned and the fearlessness disappeared. He became called and coiled.”

He added that by joining politics, Mr. Chukwumerije sacrificed not only the “fire” in him, but also the “brand,” adding that the real Mr. Chukwumerije that was known in the past was gone.

Viewed 1 times
Obasanjo praises Gani Fawehinmi, rubbishes Soyinka, Chukwumerijie in new book

I"m a cancer survivor - Soyinka

The Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, on Tuesday disclosed that he is a cancer survivor.

He disclosed that he battled with cancer and survived only after receiving vigorous medications.

Mr. Soyinka spoke during a press conference at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

He said the disease was first diagnosed December 2013 and thanks to the early detection and compliance with medications, which he completed on October 28, he was free.

He noted that the diseases was not a death sentence.

“For me, this is not a decision which I like but I felt I have all obligation being a member of African Cancer Center and also having even donated a performance during the festival, fund raising for cancer, I am under obligation to make it known and to also demystify cancer,” he said.

“Many people feel it is a death sentence. Family feel it; friends, colleagues, they begin to look at you as if you are a ghost once there is rumour you have cancer. No, cancer is not a death sentence, it is curable, I have undergone the treatment and I am able to tell you that I even have a model, that’s my certificate.”

He said he had a good reason for getting personal about it as a few years ago he was invited to become a board member of the Africa Cancer Center and even delivered the inaugural lecture, Cancers, Lifestyles.

“It never occurred to me to test myself because men have their separate test like women,” he said. “And I have heard people who lost very dear ones, closed ones. They just told me, ‘Prof, we hope you’re having your own?’ And I told them I had one 10 years ago and he said, “No, no, do it regularly.” And by accident in December last year, I discovered that I had cancer.”

Mr. Soyinka said he was interested in using himself to encourage others to take whatever test available to them but more importantly to encourage those in charge of health matters to take seriously the cancer menace.

“The important thing is that I am convinced that we have enough funds in this nation to build cancer centres, including research that this nation require,” he said. “It is very capital intensive, some of it, but there are many ways and treatments for cancer just like there are many kinds of cancer. Even diet forms an important part. Diet is critical.”

Mr. Soyinka told PREMIUM TIMES that when he was first diagnosed he considered the disease a nuisance.

“I just felt that it was a nuisance,” he said. “There were a lot of things I wanted to do and it was disrupting my normal existence. I just felt I should start re-adjusting. I just saw it another challenge in life.”

Viewed 1 times
I"m a cancer survivor - Soyinka