Playwright and novelist, Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka, popularly known as Wole Soyinka, said Nigeria can not remain as one unless there is decentralisation.
According to the Nobel laureate, there is no hope of Nigeria continuing together as one nation if the incumbent government under President Muhammadu Buhari fails to do the needful with urgency.
This newspaper understands that Soyinka said this during a recent interview with Arise TV.
When asked if he thinks that Nigeria can continue as one, the 87-year-old poet said, “Not if it continues this way. Not if it fails to decentralise. Some people use the word restructure, some people use the word…whatever. Not if it fails to decentralise.
“If Nigeria fails to decentralise and I mean, decentralise as fast as possible, manifestly not rhetoric, then Nigeria cannot stay together.
“Again this is not Wole Soyinka saying this. Generals have said it. Everybody has said; ex-heads of state have said it; analysts have said; economists have said it and that’s what is happening to the people on the streets; that’s why they’re moving; that’s why they’re demonstrating; that’s why they’re defying even threats from the police; from the government “if you demonstrate, you’re traitors, we’ll deal with you…we’ll speak to you in language which you’ll understand.”
According to Soyinka, Nigeria is on a suicide slide and the people feel that they do not deserve that kind of suicidal plunge and they have the right to say “sorry o, I’m getting out of this plane before it nose-dives.”
Source: Akelicious