How graft fuels insecurity, by Soyinka

By GABRIEL OMONHINMIN

Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has observed that corrupt practices in high places and Nigerian political actors’ tendencies to be involved in primitive aggrandizement and mindless accumulation of wealth have combined to fuel the country’s present-day unsettling insecurity crisis.

Along with rights activist, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) and Chief Solomon Asemota (SAN), in a media dialogue in Lagos, entitled, “Forget the Past, Forfeit the Future: A Nation Seceding from Humanity,” Soyinka painted a frightening and graphic picture of how the activities of some politicians were creating apprehension and anxiety in the county.

He remarked: “Between corruption and the attacks in our airports and the train stations, do we believe or think, these things are not connected?

One question most Nigerians must now begin to ask themselves is, people who are presently standing trial for various cases of corruption are the same people who now want to be Nigeria’s president come 2023.

Are these people, not the same people whose cases are still in courts? Some of these politicians cases, have been heard. I think the prosecutors have already finished submissions in some of these cases.

And now, it is their turn, the defense to respond, but they have succeeded overtime in postponing the judgment day through technicalities.

“Now, if these politicians know, that they have really stolen, it is up to them to decide what units of this money to be surrendered, ten units of this money or what? Especially when they know the people are after them.

They might now decide, how much of these units or per centage of the money stolen they are prepared to sacrifice, to make sure at lest they never losses the major part of the money.

They might say, is it one, two, three, four or five per cent of this money? I think some of them may be prepared to go 50-50. “And what would they do with the 50 per cent they are giving away? Or what would they use it for?

One, to keep a standing army. Of that 50 per cent out of a 100 or 5 out of 10 units, what will it cost them, to buy a few of the lose Gadaffi weapons and now recruit a few mercenaries, intermingle with some lunatics religious fundamentalists, get together or form a coalition.

The next thing that will happen is attack. And they will keep everybody busy. So that they will never come to trial. “So when we are looking at bandits, bandits and bandits, we are looking at fundamentalist, religion delusion, those who have been deluded by paradise eventually.

I advise you also to look at corruption. Again, again and again, we have been told, we are going to name those who are behind these corrupt practices, I will travel and return to the country, thinking that by the time I return to the country, they would have been named. I think there is going to be this name ceremony, The Trumpet gathered.

Sadly, this has not happened, simply because of the powerfully corrupt, and the corruptly powerful members of the society. They are not unconnected with the issues of insecurity.

So let Nigerians worry a lot about this.” Soyinka, during a chat with newsmen, was accused of helping to foster Muhammadu Buhari on Nigeria as President as he endorsed his candidature and possibly voted for him, during the 2015 elections that brought him to power.

He responded: “I am very glad that you raised this issue. I didn’t want to worry about it, but since you raised it, if I am convinced that I should vote for Buhari at that time, it is within my right to do so. And if that, that person fails along the way, it is my responsibility to say it.

Were you expecting me to say, just like one political party chieftain in Nigeria, who was told, that his son has failed as Governor of a state, he said, his son should be allowed to reseat as Governor of that state.

“The fact you must know, if I was convinced at that time, that Buhari was the right Presidential material for Nigeria, I would have led the voting. Not when I refused to leave my house on that day of the voting.

But as at that time, I repeat, ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, had lost the trust of most Nigerians, that was why I said, do not vote for Jonathan. Ex-President Jonathan, I respect till tomorrow, because of the way he took his defeat. I will want to remember in that glorious moment when he said no more!

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Please those who are friends of Jonathan, should tell him, that I would want to remember when he said in those glorious moment NO MORE! Please tell him not to be tempted to come out again, because I shall come out again, to say do not vote for him.”

Mr. Femi Falana, in his contribution, said that most of the politicians who have pending cases of corruption against them in courts are desperately jostling to occupy the country’s presidential position, to secure immunity when elected, so that they will no longer face trial for the offences they have already committed, while occupying the seat of the presidency.