Professor Wole Soyinka, the Nobel laureate, said he rejected Nigeria’s centenary award bestowed on him because of the inclusion on the honours list of the late Nigerian tyrant, General Sani Abacha and other known killers and looters of Nigeria’s treasury.
In a rejection note headlined ”The Canonisation of Terror”, Soyinka observed that the inclusion of Abacha on the list does not only show a failure of a moral rigour but it calls into question ”the entire ethical landscape into which this nation has been forced by insensate leadership”.
He reminded those who have forgotten so soon that General Sani Abacha was a vicious usurper under whose authority the lives of an elected president and his wife—M.K.O and Kudirat Abiola— were snuffed out.
It was under Abacha, he said, that assassinations became routine, that torture and other forms of barbarism were enthroned as the norm of governance.
”Nine Nigerian citizens, including the writer and environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa, were hanged after a trial that was stomach churning even by the most primitive of standards of judicial trial, and in defiance of the intervention of world leadership. We are speaking here of a man who placed this nation under siege during an unrelenting reign of terror that is barely different from the current rampage of Boko Haram. It is this very psychopath that was recently canonised by the government of Goodluck Jonathan in commemoration of one hundred years of Nigerian trauma”
Soyinka said that the refusal of successive governments to remove the signposts in the nation’s capital bearing Abacha’s name, the inability ”to muster the temerity to wipe out the memory of the nation’s tormentor from daily encounter” demonstrates national self-degradation and a patent lack of political courage.
Soyinka argued that: ”What the government of Goodluck Jonathan has done is to scoop up a century’s accumulated degeneracy in one pre-eminent symbol, then place it on a podium for the nation to admire, emulate and even–worship.
“There is a deplorable message for coming generations in this governance aberration that the entire world has been summoned to witness and indeed to celebrate. The insertion of an embodiment of governance of terror into the company of committed democrats, professionals, humanists and human rights advocates in their own right, is a sordid effort to grant a certificate of health to a communicable disease that common sense demands should be isolated. It is a confidence trick that speaks volumes of the perpetrators of such a fraud”. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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Yes! The environmentalist, had he been honoured? (for where?, dem no no am) but you can honour person like Dangote(the only person that has every "rights" to import anything importable) and all the crooks that holds our economy to ransom.
ReplyDeleteWell said sir but he served as head of government at some point.
ReplyDeleteSo did Hitler in Germany. Do you think that state awards him. When you reduce your standards for your people others will reduce it further for you. Repeat after me "I am a human being and not a monkey". Good child.
Deletei was not also comfortable with the inclusion of abacha's name and the exclusion of saro wiwa's name & others from the list. this is madness. the last time i was in india, i understand that the indian economy is more stable than that of nigeria this is because they never saw the british colonization as an achievement but as a slavery of indian's to Britain but prefer's to celebrate there 60yrs tie with japan. Nigeria is a comedy Country.
ReplyDeleteAs the nobleman by name Bishop Edokpolor of blessed memories said a roguee is a roguee. Nothing can come out of mediocrity.
ReplyDeleteVery unfortunate many of us don't understand the basic political gimmicks being carrying out by GEJ/PDP; the aim of Abacha's inclusion is basically to appease Hausas sake of 2015 presidential ambition. However, it is shocking for not seeing Ken Sarowiwa which means RIVERS people should open their eyes.
ReplyDeleteIt‘s only a ‘FOOOOLISH and a MADMAN‘ dat celebrate in a situations and times like dis.
ReplyDeleteAwake Nigerians!!!! It is a pity wasting money in decorating looters murders and crooks. I also pity those that accepted such clown decorations.
ReplyDeleteIs it not shameful of these unpatriotic ones among us rushing for a show of shame when School Children were slaughtered without any of those cheap heroes doing anything to save their innocent lives.
Rubbish, do you think you deserve to be honoured .
ReplyDelete