Wole Soyinka, Nobel laureate,
says the government of President Muhammadu Buhari has attained an unprecedented
level of paranoia.
Soyinka said this while reacting
to the government’s charge against Omoyele Sowore, who is accused of treason
and of insulting the president.
In a statement issued on
Saturday, the professor said at first he did not believe the report of the
charges to be true.
“This is utterly depressing news.
So, the Sowore affair has moved beyond harassment and taken on a sinister
direction,” he said.
“Outside the country where I
happened to be engaged at the moment, I can testify that the immediate reaction
around me was to dismiss this as yet another grotesque product of Fake News, of
which Nigerians have become the greatest practitioners. I confess that I also
joined in this school of thought — at the start.
“Further checks have however
confirmed that this government has indeed attained an unprecedented level of
paranoia. I do not believe that the Justice department itself believes in these
improbable charges, as formally publicised.
“So, once again, we inscribe in
our annals another season of treasonable felony, History still guards some
lessons we have yet to digest, much less from which to learn.
“Welcome to the Club, Mr. Omoyele
Sowore.”
Sowore, presidential candidate of
the African Action Congress (AAC) in the last general election, has been
detained since August by the Department of State Services (DSS).
The DSS previously accused him of
threatening the public peace with his planned nationwide #RevolutionNow
protest, and subsequently got a court order to detain him for 45 days.
The 45 days elapsed on Saturday
and lawyers have called on the DSS to release the activist.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
I recall, in my young days that M. Buhari, a soldier, on 31 December 1983 came to power in a military coup d'etat. He went on to rule for about 2 years. Should M Buhari not be tried for treason, felony, treasonable felony or any other...I am not a lawyer, having disrupted a legitimate Nigerian democratic government led by Shehu Shagari. Those who know should please clarify.
ReplyDelete