Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka: One of the most
well known
and respected people in Nigeria, Mr. Soyinka
has sparked a
storm of controversy by saying he would
'stone' President
Obama if he visited Nigeria, because this
would be a kind of
stamp of approval for Nigeria's corrupt
leadership.
The Daily Sun, Nigeria
The 'Stoning' of President
Barack Hussein Obama
"In
the event that he visited Nigeria, why did Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka threaten
to stone Obama, a man he has confessed an admiration for? What was the hidden
message in the warning? America is the world’s greatest democracy, therefore, its
president must never fraternize with election riggers. … An American leader
should not consort or associate with electoral thieves, lest he be guilty by
association."
By Femi Adesina
June 12, 2009
Nigeria - The Sun - Original Article (English)
Just a stone's throw away from
Nigeria is Ghana, a much smaller African state that will host President Barrack
Obama between July 10 and 11. The first Black American president has given
Nigeria a wide berth - and good for him, because he could get pelted with
stones if he ventures here. Who would throw the stones?
When Nobel Laureate Professor
Wole Soyinka opens verbal fire on anyone, you would think hailstones were
dropping.
Ask former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. Sometime
in 2003, Obasanjo wrote a letter to Soyinka accusing him of “perfidious
falsehood.” It turned out to be one of the greatest mistakes of the Otta
chicken farmer’s life. Soyinka opened fire on him - not only from the hips, but
from every direction. I remember writing a piece then, which was headlined
"Soyinka’s weapon of mass destruction."
Soyinka is again in the mood
to open fire. But this time not verbal missiles - physical ones. Stones. Listen
to him at an art exhibition held at the Italian Embassy in Abuja, recently: “If
Obama decides to grace Nigeria with his presence, I will stone him. The message
he is sending by going to Ghana is so obvious, is so brilliant that he must not
render it flawed by coming to Nigeria any time soon.”
Trust the hirelings, ever
quick to defend their masters, whether reasonable or not, to take up the
gauntlet. Ambassador Jibrin Chinade, special foreign policy adviser to
President Umaru Yar’Adua, took up Soyinka, saying his comments were “most
unfortunate and undiplomatic.” He added that the writer embarrassed the Italian
ambassador to Nigeria, who had invited him to the art exhibition. Is Chinade a
mind reader? How does he know that the ambassador wasn't silently applauding
Soyinka for telling the bitter truth?
From time immemorial, stones
had always been offensive weapons. In the Holy Bible, God rained stones from
heaven to help the Israelites conquer an enemy nation. And in modern times, Palestinian
youths find stones a ready weapon to hurl against Israeli troops in their
never-ending hostilities.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
Even in the animal world, stones
are worthy allies. There is a chimpanzee at the Furuvik Zoo in Sweden. Its name
is Santino. What does it do every blessed day? It has a tidy pile of stones in
its enclosure, which it throws at visitors to the zoo. Even Santino knows the
power of stones as a weapon of protest and assault.
SEE ALSO ON THIS:
The Ghanaian Times, Ghana:
'Why Obama Snubbed Nigeria'
This Day, Nigeria:
Obama's Choice to Visit Ghana and Not Nigeria Should Be a Lesson to Us
Boobab, Nigeria:
If Obama
Comes to Nigeria, 'I Will Stone Him'
In some other climes, shoes
are what they throw. Remember last December 14 when former American president George
Bush visited Iraq and addressed the press. So incensed was Muntadar al-Zaidi, a
reporter with Cairo-based network Al Baghdadia Television, that
he removed his shoes and flung them one after the other at Bush. The American
president had to duck again and again as the projectiles flew in his direction.
The journalist is today cooling his heels in jail, having been found guilty of
assaulting a foreign leader.
But on a very serious note, why
did Soyinka threaten to stone Obama, a man he has confessed an admiration for? What
was the hidden message in the warning? America is the world’s greatest
democracy, therefore, its president must never fraternize with election riggers.
He must never be seen to hobnob with beneficiaries of do or die elections. An
American leader should not consort or associate with electoral thieves, lest he
be guilty by association.
Obama is going to Ghana, because
the latter got its democracy right.
The world watched keenly as
Ghana voted last December - and there was a stalemate. Eventually there was a
run-off and the opposition coasted to power. Outgoing President John Kufuor didn't
manipulate, distort or influence the process with the power of incumbency so that
his preferred candidate could win. Honorable.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
In April 2007, the whole
world including America watched, as Olusegun Obasanjo and Maurice Iwu conducted
what is now on record as the world’s worst election. It was roguery at its
worst. Daylight robbery. Brigandage. Heist. Plunder. The beneficiary of that
evil is in office, pretending to be an elected president, and the man who
supervised the elections is equally still in office, deluding himself day after
day that he leads an independent commission. And you expect an American
president to mingle with them?
NIGERIA
GHANA
And that on his first trip to
Sub-Saharan Africa? Such a president would deserve to get stoned.
Remember that former U.S.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was among those who cried foul after the 2007
elections. She was here, and almost died of apoplexy at the brazen and bizarre
spectacle she beheld. Remember what current Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said
of the election? She said it was disappointing and that it “failed that
nation’s citizens.” These are some of people that shape American foreign policy.
Do you think they would then advise their president to visit Nigeria in its
current state? It won’t happen.
If Obama had mistakenly
ventured here, and by chance Soyinka carried out his threat, what would we do
to him? Arrest and lock him in jail as Iraq did to Muntadar al-Zaidi? It would
by no means be strange to the Nobel Laureate. It is a road he's familiar with. The
man truly dies in him who keeps silent in the face of tyranny.
kulikulii@yahoo.com
[Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US June 18, 10:18pm]
