Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has warned that Nigeria might be headed for a shipwreck as top officials of the All Progressives Congress (APC) visited former President Olusegun Obasanjo to court his support.
Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has warned that Nigeria might be headed for a shipwreck as top officials of the All Progressives Congress (APC) visited former President Olusegun Obasanjo to court his support.
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In a statement titled “SHIPWRECK AHEAD!” Mr. Soyinka warned that Nigeria would need urgent rescue operations if the APC wants to invite people like Mr. Obasanjo to serve as a navigator for the ship of state.
Part of Mr. Soyinka’s short statement read: “An APC-led group, we understand, has been paying courtesy visits to former Heads of States.” Then he asked: “Would it be correct to state that their purpose is captured in the following Mission Statement? ‘Tinubu added that the APC had resolved to rescue Nigeria, appealing to Obasanjo to lead the mission. We’re resolved and determined to rescue Nigeria. We want you as navigator,’ he said.”
Mr. Soyinka, who is one of the strongest critics of former President Obasanjo, then added: “If this attribution is correct, may I urge you, as an urgent public service, to advise families to begin the stockpiling of life-belts for the guaranteed crash. Don't forget to alert the coastguards—ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), AU (African Union), UNO (United Nations Organization) etc etc—to be on the alert for possible salvage operations.
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Nigeria’s foremost living writer then wondered, “If General Sani Abacha were alive today, would he also have been on the ship's complement? As Captain perhaps?”
Mr. Obasanjo recently wrote a public letter criticizing President Goodluck Jonathan of deception and dishonesty, adding that the incumbent president was reneging on a commitment not to seek a third term in office. The former president’s Boston, Massachusetts-based first daughter, Iyabo Obasanjo, then wrote her own public letter to him, accusing her father of being a liar, hypocrite, megalomaniac and narcissist.
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