Wole Soyinka, Nobel laureate, has
accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of protecting and rewarding killers
of Bola Ige, former minister of justice and attorney-general of the federation.
In a statement on Tuesday titled
“Trivialise corruption, Neutralise justice”, Soyinka said the Nigerian
government had refused the offer of assistance from the United States to bring
the killers to justice.
The Noble laureate lamented the
high rate of impunity and corruption in the country which have been trivialised
to score “dismissive political points”.
Commenting on the crisis rocking
the judiciary in regards to the suspension of Walter Onnoghen, former chief
justice of Nigeria (CJN), the foremost playwright said he was concerned with
recent happenings, adding that the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) had lost its
collective voice in rectifying the situation.
Soyinka further accused President
Muhammadu Buhari of “lacklustre, hands-off approach” in handling the menace of
killer herdsmen which has reduced the country to slaughter fields.
“It is heartening news that some
20 CONCERNED LAWYERS have come together to undertake the mission of cleaning up
the Aegean stables that seem to pass today for the Nigerian Judiciary,” Soyinka
said.
“Some of us do need an
institution to which we can look up, of which we should even live in awe. Some
find that in religious institutions, others in traditional fixtures, some even
in family and so on.
“All agree that the Order of
Justice is a pre-eminent candidate for collective regard and even
self-regulation. No matter, we all know that, without Justice, society unravels
at the seams, and its citizens resort to self-help.
“Impunity stalks the land, indeed
it is virtually lording it all social interstices. Let no one take my word for
it – simply turn the pages of the media any day. Impunity’s ravages churn the
mind. Somehow, this nation – and here again we turn to our learned friends –
this nation generally failed to recognize, much less learn from the murder and
enabling implications of the unsolved murder of Bola Ige, the nation’s
Attorney-General and Minister of Justice. The Bar Association accepted the
casual disposition of its erstwhile captain and has – understandably perhaps? –
moved on. For some of us however, the files are not closed.
“The government at the time of
Ige’s killers know the truth. That government protected – I repeat – protected,
and rewarded his killers. Those who wish to dispute this had better first
immerse themselves in the circumstances of that murder, and the unconstitutional,
indeed illegal trajectory of the principal accused, one that not only
facilitated his unconstitutional participation in the ensuing election but
catapulted him straight to the occupancy of the seat that had been kept warm
for him during his trial and absence. On release, he was ushered straight into
the slot of Chairman of the Appropriation Committee of the House of
Representatives. That was not all. The head of that government, General
Olusegun Obasanjo, proceeded to burnish Ige’s memory with characteristic zeal.”
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Soyinka, chart a new course because you have said enough on this topic. Nobody likes anyone to be killed but it has happened. So let it go. What do you want to be remembered for? Next level!
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