Politics
Stop the fallacy, Nigeria’s unity is negotiable, Soyinka chides Osinbajo
Nigeria’s literary icon and Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, on Friday disagreed with the position held by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and other Nigerians who claim that the unity of Nigeria is non-negotiable.
The non-negotiability of Nigeria has remained the positions of different administrations in the past including the President Muhammadu Buhari-led current Federal Government.
Following agitation for Biafra by some groups in the South East, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has continuously made it clear that Nigeria’s unity is non-negotiable.
On June 25, he had while addressing Muslim leaders in the State House said, “Our unity is not negotiable. We should make sure that we remain united in order to enjoy the resources God has blessed Nigeria with. So many nations envy what we have as a nation.”
But speaking in Bayelsa on Friday, Soyinka argued that the unity of Nigeria as a nation is an issue that must be debated so as to address lingering issues of marginalization.
He said, “The claim that the unity of Nigeria is non-negotiable is a false statement,” Mr. Soyinka said. “The right of the people to determine their future is what is non-negotiable.”
The Nobel laureate was in Bayelsa to join the state governor, Seriake Dickson, in the commissioning of a new high school, Ijaw National Academy, in Kaiama, Bayelsa State.
Soyinka who listened with rapt attention as one of the female students recited one of his poems “Abiku,” later had a brief exchange with the students on his exploits as a renowned writer.
Read also: Jihad has been launched in Nigeria, Danjuma, Christian leaders cry out
Afterwards, Soyinka lashed out at those insisting that Nigeria’s unity is non-negotiable.
He said, “Don’t tell me that Nigeria, as it is, is non-negotiable. To me, that’s a fallacy.
“Negotiation involves ensuring that there’s no marginalisation. Negotiation involves ensuring that the major components of the country are not feeding on the centre.”
Reiterating his belief in the unity of Nigeria, Professor Soyinka cautioned against opposition to the mounting demand for the restructuring of Nigeria.
He said those against restructuring should stop being ‘dogmatic and dictatorial ‘in their stand.
By Ebere Ndukwu …
RipplesNigeria ….without borders, without fears
Click here to download the Ripples Nigeria App for latest updates
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
German Police bust alleged Nigerian scam dating ring
German authorities have arrested eleven individuals suspected of being members of a Nigerian mafia group involved in a large-scale dating...
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
Anita Kingsley
July 15, 2017 at 9:48 am
God bless this man for Biafrans. It is not a must for us all to remain as Nigerians, as a matter of fact, Biarans won’t reside in Nigeria anymore before the end of this year. Enough is enough, the government should stop deceiving Nigerians for its own benefit. This system of government isn’t working for the masses but those in government alone and we are tired!
seyi jelili
July 15, 2017 at 10:14 pm
OK, I laugh at your foolishness, who will grant Biafra to the extent you are saying this year. Your vision is big but blur
Animashaun Ayodeji
July 15, 2017 at 9:51 am
I’m really disappointed in Soyinka! With all the academic titles vested on him, he has still failed to think like a reasonable human being. Nigeria’s unity can never, and will never be negotiable. With what we have as a people, we can never utilize them when separated. What we need not is seriousness, dedication and service to the people of Nigeria, not some break up.
Abeni Adebisi
July 15, 2017 at 9:54 am
You sounded so serious like you as a common Nigeria is part of this government. And YES! Soyinka is very right, we’ll negotiate the unity of Nigeria, we cannot keep having a government where the citizens have no say at all. Our voices must count if Nigeria will keep being in one piece and that starts from restructuring that everyone wants.
yanju omotodun
July 15, 2017 at 10:59 am
An atheist will always remain shallow in thinking, wole Soyinka is too full of himself. Nigeria’s unity remains nonnegotiable
JOHNSON PETER
July 15, 2017 at 11:00 pm
Foolish talk. Too much book makes people mad but prof Soyinka know what he is relaying to us. We can’t live as one, we have to split