BY REV FR GERALD NWAFOR
We all have watched and listened to the horror of condescending statements attributed to Wole Soyinka on the person of Mr. Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labor Party (LP) in the last election in 2023. It was an election that put the political terrain of Nigerian politics on global news for some months.
The outcome of the election placed Alhaji Tinubu as the winner, Alhaji Atiku in the second position, and Mr. Peter Obi in the third position. Both Mr. Peter Obi and Alhaji Atiku and the political parties they represent in this case, the Labor Party and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) respectively went to court. The court, out of their free will ,said that the winner of the election was Tinubu. Case closed.Now Mr. Tinubu should face governance and well-meaning Nigerians should help him to govern well and not misstep and misspeak.
The parties that lose the elections should go into opposition politics and oppose the government if the policies and decisions are not in tandem with the tenets and ambiance of democratic principles and policies. The elites of our societies and stakeholders should help the government formulate policies that benefit the people.
If I am looking for opposition politicians, we have Mr. Peter Obi and Alhaji Atiku. If we are in search of well-meaning Nigerians we can look up to Pa Adebanjo. If we are searching for stakeholders, we can mention Alhaji Dangote who is the richest man in Africa and based in Nigeria.
If we talk about intellectuals who are constantly putting the government in check, we can refer to Pat Utomi and Professor Attahiru Jaga who was former INEC chairperson. So, I ask where do we place Wole Soyinka who has chosen to attack Mr. Peter Obi, who is not the president, or the first opposition party?Is he coming from the angle of tribal bigotry because Peter Obi is an Igbo man, not a fellow Yoruba? Is it religious hatred, since Wole Soyinka has said that he is a professed atheist and Peter Obi a Christian? Or, political insensitivity when he claimed that he has no political affiliation but marched with APC on the streets of Lagos in 2012, and called Buhari a repentant democrat, and supported the APC candidate again in 2023, not minding all the negative baggage carried by the candidate? Is it national jealousy because a young Igbo man was accepted across the Nigerian nation, but we know that the north put Soyinka into prison in 1965, and the north declared him wanted in 1996 therefore, why should Obi be a national champion and a professor, a local Yoruba champion? Is it a regional quagmire since he cannot come to terms that all the regions in Nigeria can speak their mind about any burning issues?
He said that the OBIDIENTS were insulting him on social media because of what he said about Peter Obi. He should know that OBIDIENTS are from all the regions in Nigeria and cannot be controlled by one Wole Soyinka somewhere, the earlier he realizes that the better for him. Zonal indifference is a reality in Nigerian politics and that is why there was a clamor for the presidency to come down to the south.
In the south Soyinka should not behave like the ostrich because the southwest had 8 years of the presidency while the south-south had 6 years, so by simple logic it should go to the southeast. Rather than embracing this reality, Soyinka chose to insult the southeast candidate. I wonder why he doesn’t know what Mr. Peter was holding in his hand when he visited him, and he kept saying “He had this thing in his hand that he texted to some people.” Does it mean a professor doesn’t know what is a mobile phone or a laptop? Meanwhile, if the OBIDIENTS insulted you in any way, remember that you were the first to attack and insult their principal who kept calling you “my respected senior brother.” Peter Obi has never insulted you in any way or form, but you have kept on attacking his personality and ambition to be the president of Nigeria. As for the position of the presidency, it is kept for those destined to be there.
Since you do not believe in God, but Peter believes, therefore, Peter understands that all power belongs to God and God gives it to whomever God wants to give: Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, Ibibio, Ijaw, Igala, Efik, and so on. Your attack on Peter Obi would not prevent or stop God’s plan.
Finally, a professor should know the language and traditions of his people before he speaks to the public. I should remind him that mouth cannot visit mouth and go back empty-handed (onu ada-eje be onu gbalu aka). As long as you keep attacking Peter Obi, his foot soldiers will continue to come after you, and the backlash and the whiplash will continue to increase and in some cases, your evil past of being the first person to start a secret society (pirates) in the Nigerian universities would come to the public. And your criminal enterprise of going into a radio station in 1965 to surrender a broadcaster and telling him to announce a fake election result will be made public, and the young generation would know that you have a lot of skeletons in your cupboard.
Now you are fetching the ant-infested firewood and you do not think that the lizards would not come visiting? Think twice Mr. Professor because by misbehaving the way you are doing now at the age of 90, the young generation will cover their faces with baskets and tell him his sins. We have waited for you to speak as an elder and a senior citizen, but you have chosen the path of lies and deceit.
Wisdom has departed from your tongue, knowledge has eluded your mind, treachery and greed have enveloped your senses and you have picked conspiracy over truth. The Nigerian nation does not want to hear you again, goodbye Mr. Professor.
