By Dan Amor
In a feat of acerbic verbal tantrums, Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka Tuesday December 2, attacked President Goodluck Jonathan and likened the Nigerian leader to Nebuchadnezzar, the Biblical autocrat and king ofBabylon
who initially denounced the Living Supreme God. Soyinka who addressed a press
conference on the state of the nation at the popular Freedom
Garden in Lagos , said that Jonathan is tyrannical
because the Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, stopped the attempt by
the defected speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, to enter
the Green Chamber of the National Assembly with thugs. The respected professor
of dramatic literature who is clearly biased in his recent pronouncements given
his current alignment with top leaders of the opposition political party, the
All Progressives Congress (APC), said so many unprintable things against the
administration of President Jonathan.
In a feat of acerbic verbal tantrums, Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka Tuesday December 2, attacked President Goodluck Jonathan and likened the Nigerian leader to Nebuchadnezzar, the Biblical autocrat and king of
*President Jonathan and Prof Soyinka
Indeed, the distinguished playwright is entitled to his opinion especially in a wide democratic space in which freedom of association and of speech is the norm. But it is unfortunate that the renowned literary icon could allow his judgment to be beclouded by ahistorical considerations. By this recent act of likening Jonathan to Nebuchadnezzar, Soyinka has come down from his Olympian height as a global citizen and statesman to the sheer pedestrian rabble of petty villainy and rancour. It is a pointer to the fact that every great intellectual has his weak points. Our own Kongi is no exception. Even with the unsavory political development in Anambra State in 2004 which led to the unfortunate withdrawal of the security personnel of former Governor Chris Ngige after his attempted abduction by the police, no Nigerian, not even Professor Chinua Achebe who rejected former President Olusegun Obasanjo's national award due to that crisis, went as far as comparing the former President with Nebuchadnezzar.
For the benefit of the reader who might not know the ancient/Biblical story, Nebuchadnezzar was the king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire who reigned c. 605BC-562BC. He was said to have constructed the
Leader Bola Tinubu, Wole Soyinka, Gov
Babatunde Fashola of Lagos
(pix: vanguard)
Every discerning Nigerian who can read between
the lines knows where Soyinka is coming from. His recent outburst is yet
another purely political statement by an APC sympathizer meant to rattle the President
and sway the sympathy of Nigerians from his administration. Suddenly everyone
who thinks he has something to say has now turned to a primary school
headmaster wielding a big stick to whip the leader of the world's largest Black Country . "Jonathan-Bashing"
is the name of the game. Soyinka who relishes controversy, who enjoys being
primed in the fantasy of the media has cooked yet another meal to attract
acclamation. But the applause he received in Lagos in the name of Jonathan-bashing to
humour Nigerians was a soured one. It is a grand, though disingenuous alibi not
only for parrying the barbs of those who see him as hobnobbing with the
opposition, but also a ploy to curry favour from Nigerians for those who have vowed
to make the country ungovernable and still planning to form a parallel
government if Jonathan wins in 2015.
Of course, Soyinka has always been tactless in his political (mis)adventure and intellectual overbearingness. Yet, it is unthinkable that Soyinka is now on the side of the feudal forces still determined to keepNigeria
in perpetual medieval servitude. Without necessarily alluding to his rapport
with the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida whom he described as an
autocrat soon after IBB refused to grant their (he, Achebe and J. P. Clark)
petition to spare the life of the poet/soldier Mamman Vatsa, and he burnt his
fingers, Soyinka has not always been ideologically so refined as to escape the
crudity of the orthodox left. In spite of everything, those of us his younger
admirers still manage to ask ourselves: why did Soyinka abandon his search for
the killers of Dele Giwa, the colorful Nigerian journalist who was bombed in
his study on October 19, 1986?
Of course, Soyinka has always been tactless in his political (mis)adventure and intellectual overbearingness. Yet, it is unthinkable that Soyinka is now on the side of the feudal forces still determined to keep
King Nebuchadnezzar II (pix: pinterest) |
As a renowned statesman and global citizen, Soyinka's words should act as a soothing balm which would heal this troubled land of ours instead of taking sides in petty partisan showmanship thereby heating up the polity. It is amply absolutely absurd and anti-intellectual for Soyinka to circulate that a man like Jonathan, who cannot hurt a fly, who is so mild and apolitical that even the opposition branded him "clueless" is worse than Nebuchadnezzar. If the truth be told, just as Jonathan has dwarfed the achievements of past administrations in terms of infrastructure, so is also his achievements in the area of fundamental human rights. Jonathan is the most abused and attacked President in the annals of this country, and if not for his humane temperament
*Rivers Governor Rotimi Amaechi and Prof Soyinka
(pix: nairaland)
Yet, how many Nigerians or even his political opponents are unjustly harassed or languishing in goal? How many are reported killed as a result of political vendetta or envenomization? How on earth would a man like Jonathan be branded an autocrat, not even by those who have an open agenda to pull him down but by a respected international figure such as Soyinka who claims to be the conscience of humanity and yet hobnobbing with corrupt politicians? Why has Soyinka not condemned this eerie act of déjà vu called political defection, which is being used to tear the country apart by politicians of all shades? How right can Soyinka be if he encourages this brand of opposition which daily breathes fire and brimstone against the Jonathan administration and sometimes sounds as if it would not mind the extreme option of even taking up arms against the government?
Yet, how many Nigerians or even his political opponents are unjustly harassed or languishing in goal? How many are reported killed as a result of political vendetta or envenomization? How on earth would a man like Jonathan be branded an autocrat, not even by those who have an open agenda to pull him down but by a respected international figure such as Soyinka who claims to be the conscience of humanity and yet hobnobbing with corrupt politicians? Why has Soyinka not condemned this eerie act of déjà vu called political defection, which is being used to tear the country apart by politicians of all shades? How right can Soyinka be if he encourages this brand of opposition which daily breathes fire and brimstone against the Jonathan administration and sometimes sounds as if it would not mind the extreme option of even taking up arms against the government?
Why would the police allow Tambuwal to invade the National
Assembly with political thugs? When has thuggery become constitutional because
it favours a particular political party that has the support of the Nobel
laureate? Nigerians of goodwill should condemn Soyinka's attempt to demonize
President Jonathan.
Amor is an Abuja-based journalist and public affairs analyst contributed this piece to SCRUPLES.
Amor is an Abuja-based journalist and public affairs analyst contributed this piece to SCRUPLES.
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