Soyinka: GMB most brutal dictator after Abacha - Opinion
Wole Soyinka, a professor and Nobel Laureate, has described Muhammadu
Buhari, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC),
as the most brutal face of military dictatorship after Sani Abacha.
The revered professor, who spoke to the BBC, suggested that Nigerians
are in a serious dilemma with lack of alternative.
When asked about his comments about the general as a brutal devil,
Soyinka said he did not exactly call him the devil, but a brutal
dictator.
"I didn't exactly call him a devil, but of course I talked about
dinning with the devil with a very long spoon, but he (Buhari), I
didn't even want to dine with him at all," he said.
"After Abacha, he represented the most brutal face of military
dictatorship, there's no question at all about that.
"I've got to the point whereby I look at the possibility of a genuine
internal transformation with some individuals. I have been
disappointed before, and we must always be ready to be disappointed
again."
Speaking about deepening democracy in Nigeria, the 80-year-old said:
"There are many, many actions, especially by the government in power
which I won't say are exactly democratic. Let's have a fair war, it's
not yet deep enough."
He went on to speak about the abducted Chibok girls, branding
insurgency in the north-east a failure of leadership by Jonathan and
his predecessors.
"What happened was a clear failure in leadership. One cannot hold the
government solely; the responsibility spreads, because the Boko Haram
thing began in various ways a long time ago.
"There was a time when they announced the Islamisation of Nigeria;
they should have been stamped upon by the constitution, using the
constitution as a weapon.
"While definitely, the responsibility of what is going on rests with
Jonathan, the bigger problem began with previous governments."
On the options before Nigeria in the coming presidential elections,
the erudite scholar urged Nigerians to be prepared to go back to the
trenches if the wrong choice is made.
"Basically, for me, anything which so smells of soliciting permanent
incumbency or littling the options is not palatable. But you know, the
environment changes, the circumstances change and then even the worst
military can become demobilised, self-internally demobilised if you
like.
"All I know is that if a wrong choice is made, we must all be
prepared, we should start preparing to go back to the trenches,
whatever it takes.
"Let's put it this way: the way you fight a civilian misrule is
different from the way you deal with people like Sanni Abacha.
"So I'm saying Nigerians should be prepared to deal with any new
betrayals by any ruler with the same kind of passion, commitment and
understanding of a lack of alternative as they did with Sani Abacha,
because we cannot continue this cycle of repetitious evil and
irresponsibility."
source: https://www.thecable.ng/.Vsck5soBr18.whatsapp
Buhari, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC),
as the most brutal face of military dictatorship after Sani Abacha.
The revered professor, who spoke to the BBC, suggested that Nigerians
are in a serious dilemma with lack of alternative.
When asked about his comments about the general as a brutal devil,
Soyinka said he did not exactly call him the devil, but a brutal
dictator.
"I didn't exactly call him a devil, but of course I talked about
dinning with the devil with a very long spoon, but he (Buhari), I
didn't even want to dine with him at all," he said.
"After Abacha, he represented the most brutal face of military
dictatorship, there's no question at all about that.
"I've got to the point whereby I look at the possibility of a genuine
internal transformation with some individuals. I have been
disappointed before, and we must always be ready to be disappointed
again."
Speaking about deepening democracy in Nigeria, the 80-year-old said:
"There are many, many actions, especially by the government in power
which I won't say are exactly democratic. Let's have a fair war, it's
not yet deep enough."
He went on to speak about the abducted Chibok girls, branding
insurgency in the north-east a failure of leadership by Jonathan and
his predecessors.
"What happened was a clear failure in leadership. One cannot hold the
government solely; the responsibility spreads, because the Boko Haram
thing began in various ways a long time ago.
"There was a time when they announced the Islamisation of Nigeria;
they should have been stamped upon by the constitution, using the
constitution as a weapon.
"While definitely, the responsibility of what is going on rests with
Jonathan, the bigger problem began with previous governments."
On the options before Nigeria in the coming presidential elections,
the erudite scholar urged Nigerians to be prepared to go back to the
trenches if the wrong choice is made.
"Basically, for me, anything which so smells of soliciting permanent
incumbency or littling the options is not palatable. But you know, the
environment changes, the circumstances change and then even the worst
military can become demobilised, self-internally demobilised if you
like.
"All I know is that if a wrong choice is made, we must all be
prepared, we should start preparing to go back to the trenches,
whatever it takes.
"Let's put it this way: the way you fight a civilian misrule is
different from the way you deal with people like Sanni Abacha.
"So I'm saying Nigerians should be prepared to deal with any new
betrayals by any ruler with the same kind of passion, commitment and
understanding of a lack of alternative as they did with Sani Abacha,
because we cannot continue this cycle of repetitious evil and
irresponsibility."
source: https://www.thecable.ng/.Vsck5soBr18.whatsapp
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