JUNE 12 INVESTITURE: Soyinka advises Buhari to stop hailing Abacha

Nobel laureate and Nigeria renowned playwright, Professor Wole Soyinka, on Tuesday frowned at President Muhammadu Buhari’s attitude towards an unnamed person he termed late Moshood Abiola’s “Tormentor – in- Chief.”

Soyinka called on Buhari to stop showing admiration and loyalty to the unnamed individual.

While Soyinka did not mention the individual he referred as MKO’s “Tormentor – in- Chief,” there are speculations that he may be referring to the late Head of State, Sani Abacha, who imprisoned Abiola for about five years.

And Buhari has lately made comments praising Abacha for what he said are achievements of that administration.

Soyinka stated these during the Special National Honours linvestiture of Chief MKO Abiola with the award of GCFR, Alhaji Baba Gana Kingibe and Chief Gani Faweehinmi with GCON at the Old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

According to Soyinka, it does not make sense that Buhari should be honouring Chief Moshood Abiola on the one hand, and be admiring the late politician’s “Tormentor – in- Chief” on the other.

For the Nobel laureate, it was an error for President Buhari to be admiring “one of the worst dictators in the history of the country”, who he said should be having his days in court for crimes against humanity.

Revealing that he had a private meeting with Buhari, where he raised issue and wondered how Buhari’s administration could be claiming to fight corruption,when a major road in the Federal Capital Territory is named after a “corrupt former leader.”

READ ALSO: So, who killed Abiola?

Adding that he was not satisfied with the response he got from Buhari during the meeting, Soyinka urged the President to try establishing a Hall of Shame for those who have wronged the country, the same way as a Hall of Fame is set up for the nation’s heroes.

 

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