……..,. Condemns targets on Igbo Population in Lagos
…says Buhari leaving office on sour note…….wants incoming government to prioritize decentralisation.
Nobel laureate,Wole Soyinka has faulted the comments by the Labour Party’s Vice Presidential Candidate Datti Baba-Ahmed on a Channel TV program on the just concluded elections describing it as dictatorial, intimidating and unacceptable.
Soyinka said this Wednesday in an Arise TV program,” The Morning Show, monitored by current matters crew.
According to him, when presented to a neutral jury or layman, “the body language, the vocal language and the actual text of Datti’s pronouncement on the 25% Federal Capital Territory requirement for President- elect, reveals incitement saying” This is intimidation and, it’s not acceptable”
” This is trying to dictate to the Supreme arbiter of the nation, whatever he thinks of the Supreme Court, it’s an institution which we all revert to sooner than later, today or tomorrow,if not about this election, maybe about the next election,but Datti kept saying No, the Supreme Court has got in its wisdom to agree with me. That is what is known as farcistic language.It is not acceptable and for me,it alienates people. It alienates even supporters.
He said just when attention was being focused on the Labour party and principal actors which he described as the” New kid on the block” that many who had believed in their mission are thinking otherwise .
The Nobel laureate also condemned the profiling of areas in Lagos with large population of igbos in the last gubernatorial election describing the action as disgraceful.
” There was a real targeting of certain sections of Lagos where the Igbo population was prominent and I think that was disgraceful and it’s there to be condemned by every serious thinking person.
When asked about his assessment of the Buhari’s tenure by the lead anchor, Dr Reuben Abati Soyinka said there was no need to regurgitate on that as it was clear that the president is leaving distasteful memories and legacies behind
” I don’t think we need to even waste much intellectual energy to assess Buhari’s tenure because he is leaving on a very sour note,note of sedism” in reference to the New Currency Exchange policy which he said has impoverished millions and millions of Nigerians.
He said,” If Buhari was hoping to leave his office feeling satisfied then he missed it as the new currency policy has removed whatever positive achievement he made in office.
” If he was hoping to go out on a high note, I’m sorry he has dissapointed. That singular action has really wiped out the major part of his achievement because to have embarked on an action like that,to have attempted, to have moved to disobey the decision of the Supreme Court over the currency validity is a sour legacy to leave to those who believe in democracy, and who believe that the primary duty of any leader is the welfare of the people, so his final act in office I’m afraid has soured the assessment, the positive aspect of the overall assessment.”
On what he expects of the incoming administration in the area of Restructuring, Soyinka said what is required from them is decentralisation where power is devolved to all arms of government.
” Genuine not rhetorical, practical, detailed decentralisation, the real devolution of power to the various tiers of government, state local government, the reinforcement of civil entities, civil society groups.
