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Soyinka raises alarm
IHEANACHO NWOSU
NOBEL Laureate, Prof
Wole Soyinka, yesterday raised alarm over what he called gradual drifting of the
country "towards a total mockery of constitutionalism".
He specifically accused President Olusegun
Obasanjo of openly endorsing violence in the polity through individuals loyal to
him (the president) who, he said, were embarking on acts contrary to democratic
norms.
Prof Soyinka, addressing newsmen in Lagos,
expressed displeasure with political happenings, in Oyo State arising from the
recent impeachment of Senator Rashidi Ladoja by the State House of Assembly. He
blamed the president for the situation in the state which, he said has taken the
form of anomie.
According to him, "Obasanjo has openly
endorsed violence as a means of governance..."
Buttressing his allegation that the
removal of Ladoja and the subsequent crises that have followed the action had
the imprint of President Obasanjo, Prof Soyinka said "it would be pure
self-deception to propose that Obasanjo’s conduct lies in inaction in a failure
to arrest the state of anomie into which Oyo is now plunged".
"He (Obasanjo) has been an active,
propulsive and unabashedly partisan in the formulation of that crisis", he
further alleged.
On the speculation of plot by President
Obasanjo to go for third term, the Nobel Laureate cautioned against taking such
political step, warning the president to be mindful of not leaving office when
the ovation would not be loudest for him.
Using the former Kenyan President Arab Moi
was example, he advised Obasanjo: "do not leave the such lacerating memories
with such a bad taste in the month that the people dismiss even your successes
as mere accidents".
He urged him to "leave now... leave today,
right now", reminding the president that serving out his term, expected to end
on May 29, 2007, was dependent on his obeying the constitution.
"If you do wish to sever out your term
however, which is predictable, then you must begin a reversal of constitutional
acts. You must begin by obeying the decisions of the courts to the letter," he
said.
Advising Nigerians on what to do now, prof
Soyinka urged them to mount pressure on elected representatives to perform their
duties.
"I urge the nation to commence plans for
an orderly convergence on our elected representatives from all parts of the
nation to couple then to act", he stressed.
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