Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka has condemned the violence witnessed during the 2023 general elections, saying he is unsure whether he still believes in Nigeria.
Soyinka said in a statement during the week that ridding the country of time servers who had assumed leadership positions would be an effort to get the country back on track.
He claimed that Nigeria’s democracy had crumbled, and that violence, tyranny, and misinformation had become the norm.
The instigating contest – Nigerian Democracy 2023 – has witnessed much that is innovative – largely in the retrogressive vein,” Soyinka said.
“Violence and ethnic profiling. ‘Spiritual’ warfare in the shape of sacrificial rams to keep ‘disloyal’ communities under restraint – in short, intimidation yet again! Easily overlooked however are those missives of violence directed against dissenting voices, real or suspect.”
Soyinka noted that shielding structures from partisanship and material inducements would set the stage for the country’s revolution.
“Project NIGERIA, I must confess, has become near terminally soul-searing. Do I still believe in it? I am no longer certain but – first, we must rid ourselves of the tyranny of the ignorant and the opportunism of time servers,” he said.
“In any case, there is not much else to engage one on a foundation of ownership stakes. There is of course, always the possibility of a Revolution, with a clarity of purpose and acceptance of all attendant risks, including costly errors.
“Revolutions are not however based on the impetus of speculative power entitlement.
“No matter, until that moment, the structures that ensure just and equitable cohabitation must be protected from partisan appropriation – be it from material inducement, fake news, or verbal terrorism – the last being the contribution of one who is positioned to assume co-leadership of the nation, no less.
“Revolution is not about lining up behind the nearest available symbol. When a symbol does emerge, however, we are still obliged to examine every aspect of what is fortuitously on offer, and continue to guard our freedoms every inch of the way.”
