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Professor Wole Soyinka: Let this Yar’Adua be By Babatunde Adenodi NEW JERSEY, USA
Professor Wole Soyinka, Africa’s first Nobel Laureate in literature has come a long way. In 1965, by his own account, he forced his way into the NBC studios in Ibadan to switch Chief Akintola’s victory speech for his own. While his “crime” was political, his prosecutors sought to make it criminal by charging him for armed robbery! He escaped being criminalized by whiskers!
He took it upon himself to mediate between Ojukwu’s Biafra and the Federal Government of Nigeria during the civil war. He became the emissary of Brigadier Banjo who asked him to seek for free passage through the West from Colonel Obasanjo who was then the commander of the Ibadan garrison. Obasanjo turned the tide against him by reporting falsely (allegedly) to his boss in Lagos: General Yakubu Gowon. He was locked up on the orders of Yakubu Gowon until the end of the civil war.
When Mamman Vatsa was convicted of plotting to overthrow General Babangida, Professor Soyinka along with Edwin Clark and others, got IBB committed to freeing Vatsa from certain death. As we all know, he had Vatsa shot anyway.
Then came the June 12, 1992 debacle. For this, he was forced to “Set forth at dawn” hurriedly out of the country of his birth in order to escape Abacha’s gun men who were seeking to make a mince meat out of his fragile frame. It was the longest of his escapades. He formed the NALICON, Radio Kudirat and became a source of fear to General Sani Abacha and his cohorts. He mounted an international diplomacy that extended to all western capitals and Israel. He barked! It is not known whether he would have been able to bite had Abacha not died.
For all of the above, Soyinka suffered untold hardship in the hands of those governments he was fighting. He lived up to the dictum of his book “The man Died” who keeps quiet in the face of evil! He is a man of courage; a man of guts!
Professor Soyinka knows former President Obasanjo like he knows the palm of his hands. They are both from Abeokuta in Ogun State. They are of the same age and their paths have crossed quite a few times in the last 35 years. He does not know Yar’Adua that well, if at all. So whatever problem there is with Yar’Adua is not of Yar’Adua’s making. It is a problem created by Olusegun Obasanjo.
What Obasanjo and Iwu did was done by Shagari and Ovie-Whiskey in 1983! Soyinka was in Nigeria in 1983 when Shagari rigged the federal elections. It involved Obafemi Awolowo and Shehu Shagari. Soyinka faces a dilemma whenever there is this type of scenario. He does not like to be accused of tribalism by other ethnic groups that may be involved. He did not go to the Capitol in Washington DC to have the elections quashed. He could not do this because Shagari would have accused him of favoring Awolowo, a Yoruba man just like Soyinka. Gani Fawehinmi, Femi Falana, Olu Onagoruwa, and late Beko Ransome Kuti, all have this same dilemma. On the other hand, he would go to any length to fight injustice if the perpetrator is a Yoruba man. This is why he went in front of a committee of US House of Representatives in Washington to ask the US Congress to fight the “injustice” of Yar’Adua’s election.
You might say Abiola was Yoruba and Soyinka fought for him! Yes indeed. He had to. Babangida’s annulment of Abiola’s election was an affront on all decent people of the world. It was unprecedented in the history of Nigeria. Even in the world. It happened in Algeria and for a good reason. The Islamic fundamentalists were on the way to victory in Algeria and the military in that country was not going to tolerate a Taliban-like government in their country. Just like the military in Turkey has consistently refused to allow the fundamentalists from taking over in Istanbul. Besides, the election of Yar’Adua cannot be compared with the annulment of Abiola’s election. While it is not unusual to have a northerner elected as Nigeria’s President, it was history that Abiola defeated a northerner in an election organized and supervised by a northerner!
The crudity of Obasanjo can be unsettling. What manner of man would snitch on his kinsman like he did on Soyinka in an all Yoruba affair? What manner of man would engage in such a public display of “bad belle” between himself and his vice? What manner of man would invite a non indigene to observe a meeting between himself and his kinsmen? What manner of man would save USD 45.00 billion in foreign reserves when his nation is reeling in want and deprivation? What manner of man would provide a parting gift of N85.00 to the liter (USD3.00 per gallon) of petrol only 6 hours to his departure from office? What manner of man would be in power for 8 years and still be so hated by his own people?
Yes, Obasanjo had issues! But there were only four candidates of promise in the presidential elections: Muhammadu Buhari, Abubakar Atiku, Pat Utomi and Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. The most credible, but untested of all was Pat Utomi. This was his debut into Nigeria’s politics. He is inexperienced and unknown beyond industrial cycles. Even if all southerners voted for him, he could not win. He could not muster 1/3 of votes cast in any state beyond Kwara. He was a distraction and I bet he knew it. He should prepare himself for the presidential elections of 2014.
Buhari and Atiku were well-known. Buhari’s antecedent as a wicked tyrant and partial arbiter on issues concerning the nation is public knowledge. His religiosity is also in question. He is a polarizing figure in Nigeria. He has a record and cannot rule Nigeria again. Ditto for Atiku who is now best known for his open battle with his boss. He defiantly ran for president in order to make a point. He knew that he could not win. And even if he won, Obasanjo would not have handed over to him.
Umaru Musa Yar’Adua is the son of the legendary Musa Yar’Adua, minister of Lagos Affairs in the government of Tafawa Balewa. He is brother of late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, Obasanjo’s deputy in the 70’s. Musa was the only northerner to have formed a workable coalition with Awolowo which was heading for victory in 1983 before Sunday Adewusi stopped it. Was this why Obasanjo chose to hand over to Umar Yar’Adua?
There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Yar’Adua’s election was gravely flawed. Even the president admitted that much. But indications were that he would have won that election if Obasanjo had allowed it to be relatively free from abuse. He would not have won at that scale. But he would have won anyway. And whatever actions taken by the opposition would not have changed the course of the election dramatically.
Meanwhile, Yar’Adua has been recognized by Group of 8. He even attended their summit in Europe. USA and UK have given him their blessing. All of Africa have recognized him. And most importantly, he has approached the job with the wisdom uncharacteristic of African leaders holding olive branch to all that matters in Nigeria. He has approached his job with the urgency it demands. The militants in the delta region have suspended their action because of his approach.
Professor Soyinka should give the period of honey moon always accorded new leaders to Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. Don’t pull the rug from under his feet. He has enough to contend with. Let this Yar’Adua be.
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