During an
interview on the programme “Roadmap 2023” on Channels Television,
Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka has called for the leading presidential
candidates in the just-concluded election
in Nigeria to take responsibility for
the divisive narratives that are impacting the country. He believes that
Nigeria can still achieve a successful democratic process if it starts to do
things right.
Soyinka
noted that while there were some appearances of a level playing field during
the election, the electoral process was still ongoing until the final
pronouncement is made. He called for a return to the moment when Nigeria had a
common purpose during the June 12 demonstrations, which demonstrated that the
country knew what democracy is and how to practice it. He also stressed that
Nigeria had agreed to take back its political volition and get rid of the
military regime, and it could still come back to that moment with this
election.
Soyinka
believes that the first step towards achieving this is for all political
parties to send their spokespersons on vacation and speak in their own voices.
He cited a recent pronouncement from one of the leading party’s spokespersons
on the wake of ethnic profiling in Lagos, which he found disappointing. He
described the spokesperson as a lawyer who should be using his education to
pour oil on troubled waters.
In
conclusion, Soyinka called on all political parties to take responsibility for
their actions and to work towards creating a peaceful and united Nigeria.
