The protests of the last ten days left regrettable but avoidable tragic traces on Nigeria’s socio-political firmament. Even though it may not be witnessed so soon again, one of the issues thrown up in the course of the demonstrations is the exposure of the underbelly of Nigeria as a country of contradictions. The varied degree of either disavowal, partial, or full participation in the protests across states not only validated the growing divisions in the country but also conveyed the difficulty in integrating the disparate entities in Nigeria into one nation buoyed by a common vision.
Beyond that, the protests yielded a surprise which apparently helped to unravel the persona of the Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka in view of his silence on issues in recent time. That the rare iconic literary figure spoke after a long time of volitional silence generated an issue amongst those issues that propelled the protests. His silence for too long a time was unusual; so, it’s understandable why that disposition bred incredulity in the minds of numerous Nigerians. He is not just an acclaimed writer, but also an eminent person whose voice commands listenership from a broad spectrum of the populace, especially in moments of national crisis.
Without doubt, a percentage of our compatriots had before his latest speech on the protests found his silence very unacceptable and unbecoming in the light of his earlier interventions in Nigeria’s affairs mostly through speeches, lectures, and participation in protests. As far much as I know, the quintessential Soyinka is one that regals his countrymen and citizens across the globe with his views on any matter that tends to aggravate the human predicament, especially the human species condemned to citizenship of the beleaguered Nigerian space.
A number of questions had been asked about the reasons for the unusual silence of Soyinka between the first quarter of 2023 and the second quarter of this year. Could it be a matter of personal choice? Is it at the instance of medical advice in view of his age? Could it be that the man in Soyinka had lost his voice at an old age? Is there any ulterior motive such as subordinating his critical voice to solidarity with Tinubu on account of their shared ethnicity?
For months, those questions were left unanswered and the fact that Soyinka neither condemned the fraudulent conduct of the 2023 presidential election nor the controversial victory of President Bola Tinubu elongated his silence. Besides, the complicity of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as well as the judiciary in the post-election contestations did not elicit even a non committal statement from him. That scenario left a lot of Nigerians wondering if his silence had not become emblematic of the persona in his prison memoirs, “The Man Died.”
As those probing questions agitated the minds of Nigerians, Soyinka unfolded the predominant reason in an interview on Channels Television in May this year which he upbraided Mr. Peter Obi, the presidential flag bearer of Labour Party(LP) for his alleged inability to reign in on his broad group of supporters known as Obidients. While Soyinka said that Obi did not win the 2023 presidential poll and retorted that he should not contest the 2027 poll, he was criticised in many circles for his manifest ethnic bias against Obi but at the same time pledging a cryptic support to the putative second-term ambition of Tinubu, a fellow Yoruba.
Granted, Soyinka’s opposition to Obi’s likely interest in the 2027 presidential election remains his prerogative, but it has altered the perception of the literary figure by discerning members of the public. The respect accorded him before seems to have been reduced as his recent 90th birthday celebration was denuded of an appreciable national colouration which attended his previous natal attainments. Quite lamentably, Soyinka is seen in some circles as an ethnic jingoist rather than the pan-Nigerian they knew in the bygone years.
As an admirer of Soyinka, my concern is whether he has found his voice at last or if he merely devised such a fitful development to beguile those that have criticised him for what seems an unmanly and gutless silence. Without doubt, his latest speech on the high-handedness of the security agents towards protesters is a part of the stuff he’s made of. Of course, his denunciation of the crackdown reflected the Soyinka phenomenon we knew years back before the emergence of Tinubu administration.
It’s however doubtful if Soyinka’s recent speech will thaw the ice and lower the decibel of criticisms against him. This is hinged on the mildness of his statement and its superficial focus on the response of the security agents as opposed to berating President Tinubu for imposing extreme poverty, severe hardship, and crippling hunger on Nigerians with his thoughtless twin economic policies. The intelligentsia and other categories may be confounded by Soyinka’s recourse to ambivalence or outright reticence on such an existential issue at the present time.
So many enlightened Nigerians are worried about the sudden metamorphosis of Soyinka from the respectable character of an advocate for the good of Nigeria to an emerging ethic champion, ostensibly to provide a bulwark for President Tinubu. As his friend and younger brother, Tinubu will go at the expiration of his tenure; so he needs not sacrifice his invaluable accomplishments on altar of ethnocentric fervour.
Soyinka should resist the allure of the presidency, guide his steps and guard his luminous name from being corroded by fleeting material benefits which may becloud his sense of judgment. He should not erode his calling as a committed writer with fidelity to truth, objectivity, and service to society. If none of his contemporaries who embody the post-colonial African literature had never ever deviated from this creed, why does he want to do so? For instance, Ngugi wa Thiong’O neither supported Kenya’s founding president, the late Jomo Kenyatta nor his son, Uhuru Kenyatta, even though he’s Kikuyu like the Kenyattas. Our compatriot of blessed memory, Chinua Achebe, did not waiver in his philosophical posture as an artist, either on the living pages of his enduring novels or in his subdued activism in the Nigerian society.
My wish is for Professor Soyinka to regain his voice and ensure that it towers vociferously as it did over the years before the unfortunate incident generated by Tinubu’s contest and questionable victory took its toll on his image and personality. We need him to provide leadership to the younger generation in literary circles and in the larger society as we seek ways to untangle our country from the series of problems created by the leadership and the citizens.
