Nigerian
writer, playwright and poet, Nobel Prize Laureate (1986), Professor Wole
Soyinka had his say on the most discussed news of the weekend - All
Progressives Congress leaders' visit to Nigeria's ex-President Olusegun
Obasanjo.
He criticized the move to court Obasanjo's support, saying the
country is heading "for a shipwreck" with such political
"romance".
Prof. Soyinka, one of the most prominenet critics of the former President,
titled his statement "Shipwreck Ahead". In it, he alleged that our
country would need "rescue operations" should the APC choose Mr.
Obasanjo to "serve as a navigator for the ship of the state."
"An APC-led group, we understand, has been paying courtesy visits to
former Heads of States. Would it be correct to state that their purpose is
captured in the following Mission Statement? 'Tinubu added that the APC had
resolved to rescue Nigeria, appealing to Obasanjo to lead the mission. We're
resolved and determined to rescue Nigeria. We want you as navigator,' he
said," the short statement read, in part.
"If this attribution is correct, may I urge you, as an urgent public
service, to advise families to begin the stockpiling of life-belts for the
guaranteed crash. Don't forget to alert the coastguards — ECOWAS (Economic
Community of West African States), AU (African Union), UNO (United Nations
Organization) etc, to be on the alert for possible salvage operations.
"If General Sani Abacha were alive today, would he also have been on
the ship's complement? As Captain, perhaps?" Prof.
Soyinka rhetorically asked in the conclusion.
It will be recalled that Mr. Obasanjo wrote a public letter criticizing
President Goodluck Jonathan for "deception and dishonesty," stating
that the incumbent President was "reneging on a commitment not to seek a
third term in office." In her response, former president's Boston,
Massachusetts-based daughter Iyabo Obasanjo wrote her own public letter to him,
accusing her father of being a "liar, hypocrite, megalomaniac and
narcissist". President Goodluck Jonathan has also issued a reply.
Vanguard
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