An X user has criticized Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka for referring to former President Goodluck Jonathan as “Nebuchadnezzar” in 2014, a year before he lost the presidential elections....For More READ THE FULL STORY▶▶
The user, @masuzaf, pointed out that when Soyinka made the comment about Jonathan, the prices of basic food items were fairly affordable for all Nigerians.
“When petrol was at ₦87, a bag of rice cost ₦10,000, a packet of spaghetti was ₦60, and a family-sized loaf of bread was ₦150. It was during this time that Wole Soyinka used his literary skills to suggest that Goodluck Jonathan was worse than NEBUCHADNEZZAR!” she said on X, along with a photo of the December 2014 newspaper clipping.
This post follows the recent increase in fuel prices at NNPCL outlets in Lagos and Abuja. The product, previously sold for N897 in Abuja, is now priced at N1,030.
Soyinka’s 2014 statement described Jonathan, at the peak of his presidency, as worse than the neo-Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, portraying him as a President who embraced impunity.
In his speech, Soyinka stated, “I shall not insist that the historical/biblical figure of Nebuchadnezzar is uniquely apt for the pivotal figure of the ‘democratic’ history in the making at this moment – for one thing, Nebuchadnezzar was a nation builder and a warrior.
“One could argue even more convincingly for the figure of Balthazar, his successor, or indeed Emperor Nero as a reference point – you all remember him – the emperor who fiddled while Rome was burning. However, you should easily recall why I opted for King Nebuchadnezzar – the figure that currently sits on the top of our political pile himself evoked it, albeit in a context that virtuously disclaimed any similarities, even tendencies.”
Soyinka held Jonathan responsible for the security breach at the National Assembly, where lawmakers had to climb the fence to access the chambers.
He stated, “The act of scaling gates and walls to fulfill their duty by the people must be set down as their finest hour. They must be applauded, not derided. If shame belongs anywhere, it belongs to the Inspector General of Police and his lavish adherence to illegal and unconstitutional instructions – to undermine a democratic structure, convoked in response to an emergency of dire concern.
“What sticks to this policeman (Abba) is worse than shame, it is infamy. Such a public servant deserves to be publicly pilloried, tried, and given a punishment appropriate to treasonable acts, if only to serve as a deterrent to others in positions of responsibility under the law. To demand less is to reduce ourselves below the status of free citizens of a free nation.
“For this latest outrage, one in an escalating series of impunity, the buck stops yet again at the presidency and the incumbent, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, continues to surprise us in ways that very few have conjectured.”...For More READ THE FULL STORY ▶▶
