punishment for the military men who
prevented governors under the
umbrella of the All Progressives
Congress (APC) from joining Governor
Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State during his
campaign last Thursday, that person is
Professor Wole Soyinka
The literary icon on Saturday, during a
press conference at the Freedom Park,
Victoria Island, Lagos, urged the affected
Governors, including Rotimi Amaechi of
Rivers and Adams Oshiomhole of Edo
States to go to court and sue the military
for trampling on their rights.
He called the military men thugs
comparing them with thugs hired by
politicians to wreak havoc on opponents.
He also accused them of attempting to
truncate Nigeria’s democracy saying in
this wise, they could be considered “allies
of the Boko Haram.
He said just like the Boko Haram did not
believe in politics and democracy, the
military, by their actions prior to the
election in Ekiti had shown that it is
averse to democracy.
He also asked President Goodluck
Jonathan to come out and tell Nigerians
who exactly sent the soldiers to prevent
governors from carrying out campaigns
in favour of their colleagues, which he
said was constitutional. He reminded the
President of a statement he had made
saying nobody blood should pay for any
election.
He described the action of the military as
unconstitutional and criminal, saying the
affected governors would be doing
injustice to themselves and their
electorate if they did not take any action
against the military for such behaviour.
According to him, the action was more of
a Nollywood movie as he wondered what
could have happened to the military to
make them bring shame to the country.
He said he never took Nigeria’s Vice
President Namadi Sambo serious when he
said the Ekiti election was going to be
war. He said, to him, it was just part of
the electioneering.
He however said he began to take the
matter serious since that Thursday when
Governor Amaechi was waylaid and
Oshiomhole’s helicopter was grounded by
soldiers who said they were acting on
orders “from the top.”
Urging members of the National
Assembly to stand up and investigate who
was behind the “order from above”, he
said it was time to really put the military
where it belongs by ensuring that the
culprits were punished.
“To prevent governors from attending a
campaign for the success of their own
party is, for me not just unconstitutional,
it is criminal. And such people must be
charged to court. It is no different from
rigging the election…When did the army
begin to act like thugs on account of
elections?
“It is about time we abandoned the
language of ‘orders from the top’. We
want specifics. Who gave orders like
that? Is it an Army commander
somewhere? Amaechi has a name,
Oshiomhole has a name, Nyako has a
name, Fayemi has a name. But why is it
that those who prevent the exercise of
citizens’ rights do not have names?” He
asked.
He warned that if the legislators failed to
do what was supposed, he would be
forced, in conjunction with some
Nigerians, to set up the Citizen’s Court
where the country’s government would
be put on trial.
He recalled how such court was used
against the late Sani Abacha and his
military government. He also said if the
government attempts to frustrate that
Citizens Court, they would relocate
elsewhere and solicit the United Nations
and other such bodies to bring more
shame to the government.
Soyinka also criticised Jonathan for
posting photographs of him and his girl
children on Facebook as part of his
celebration of Fathers’ Day when many
girls from Chibok, Borno State are still in
the hands of the Boko Haram insurgents
after they were kidnapped nearly three
months ago.
He reminded the president that as the
Commander-In-Chief of the country,
issues of security lie on his shoulder and
that he should therefore desist from
deliberately trying to provoke the people
of the country.
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