thugs Nobel laureate vlashed out yesterday at the military for allegedly dabbling into politics. He said soldiers should face their constitutional duties and leave politics to politicians. His grouse with the military is the role played by soldiers in preventing some governors of the All
Progressives Congress (APC) from attending last Thursday’s rally of the party in Ado Ekiti. The aircraft scheduled to fly Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo to Akure on the day was grounded in
Benin as was the one that flew Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers to the Ondo State capital. But the governor could not proceed beyond Akure after soldiers halted his convoy and detained him by the
roadside for a while. They claimed to be acting on ‘orders from above’. The Presidency has denied involvement in the soldiers’ action. But addressing reporters in Lagos yesterday, Professor Soyinka said President Goodluck Jonathan should
tell Nigerians who authorised the soldiers’ action. The National Assembly, he said, should in fact set up a commission of enquiry to unravel the brains
behind the governors’ humiliation. “Supposing the governors were thugs, we will say that what the army did was constitutional. When the
army starts acting like thugs, I see no difference between their action and waylaying the governors. So I
am asking the military: when did you take up the job of electoral thugs? The governors should sue whoever
is responsible,” he said. Recalling the role of the immediate past Police Commissioner in Rivers State, Mr. Joseph Mbu in the
political crisis in the state, he said: “When we spoke in this hall, people said what business does Wole
Soyinka have with Rivers, what does Femi Falana have in Rivers State? What we were saying that day
was that if we allowed this kind of conduct to be accepted, there will be escalation. It will happen in
dangerous dimensions in any other place in Nigeria.” “We have a responsibility in any part of Nigeria where the rights of the citizens are violated. It does not
matter whether the person is a motor mechanic, governor or legislator. We have a responsibility to cry out
and to tell Nigerians. “If you don’t speak now, it will come to you. And it is going to come with fatal consequences. It is about
time we put a stop to that.” He continued: “Who gave orders like that? Is it the Chief of the Army Staff? Is it a General somewhere? Is
it the Korofo as they call them? Enough is enough. Fayemi has a name, Amaechi has a name,
Oshiomhole has a name. Why is it that those who prevented them from exercising their citizens’ rights do
not have names? It is always ‘order from the top’. “Sometimes we don’t even know where the top is. It happened in Rivers State. And now there is ‘order
from the top’ to stop the governors. That type of language should stop. The military is being paid from the
public purse. They are now taking sides in a political election. What do we do about this situation? The
legislative houses must live up to their duties. They must wake up to their duties.” He said a commission of enquiry should be put in place to unravel what actually happened. “We want a
specific investigation. We want to know who is responsible. Who gave the order? We want these people to
be called to give evidence. All the governors should sue for the violation of their human rights. They should
make a case out of it. “Let us make an example once and for all. We cannot continue with this kind of misconduct which makes
us a laughing stock all over the world. Can you imagine what happened in the States just yesterday
afternoon. Can you imagine the language that is being used to describe Nigerians. People were asking
about what was happening in the wonderland of ours. Some said they heard that some governors were
stopped, while one was tear-gassed.” “That embarrassment must stop. So we will not be satisfied with anything less than making us know who
gave the order. If that does not happen, we will set up a citizens’ court. We did it in the fight against
Abacha, and for Albashir of the Sudan. We got victims, witnesses and journalists to come and testify on
the violation of human rights. “We will ask for international help. If we can’t hold it here, we will hold it elsewhere. It will be a shame if we
are forced to hold it outside. We will place the government on trial. This must be the very last time that
such an incident will happen. I still cannot believe that this thing happened. It appears like some kind of
fantasy, some kind of Nollywood film.” “Using the military is dishonouring the military. I am talking to the military now. Allowing yourself to be
used this way is demeaning yourself. It is bringing yourself down. And the military has a lot to answer.” On the Boko Haram insurgency, Professor Soyinka asked Nigerians to “please support the actions of the
security forces in defending the security of this nation,” because, as he put it, the sect ‘despises
democracy.’ And on the abducted Chibok girls, he said their rescue is the type of assignment the soldiers should be
used for. “The military should be used specifically in bringing back the girls, not embarrassing the governors.” He referred to a recent photograph of the President and his daughters on facebook and said: “we all want to
pose with our daughters and children and I am very happy for the President for putting that on Facebook.
He must ensure that the military is posted to places where they are really needed, not in any act that
violates the constitution.” He observed that “What happened in Ekiti is a violation of the constitution and those who are responsible
should be exposed and punished where necessary. I want to use this opportunity to tell Nigerians to accept
that this is a very delicate situation. “And to get back hostages is a multidisciplinary task. And I am not holding anyone accountable at this
moment for failure in that respect. What we will not accept is the misuse of facilities, especially security
forces that should be directed at this priority. The security forces should not be used in any way to
sabotage what we fought for.”
