"If Buhari fails to listen Nigeria may not celebrate another Democracy Day...." - Wole Soyinka

Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, has said Nigeria may not celebrate another Democracy Day next year if President Muhammadu Buhari fails to listen to all different agitations and initiatives around him............ Talktokemi

Soyinka stated this in an interview on Arise TV on Monday.  The Nobel Laureate also warned that Nigeria will not stay together if the president does not quickly decentralise the country.

He said: “On this so-called democracy, we are embarking on a nose-dive or what I will describe as suicide drive and Buhari needs to listen to all different agitations and initiatives which are taking place around him.

“He should recognize the fact that the tempo of disintegration of this country has accelerated in the last couple of years beyond anything we ever knew since the civil war, and I’m not sure Nigeria can remain as one if we fail to decentralize.

“If Nigeria fails to decentralize as fast as possible, in such a way that people will see it manifesting, then Nigeria cannot stay together. If a nation is on suicide slide, the people who feel that they do not deserve that kind of suicidal slide have a right to say sorry, we are getting off this plane before it nose-dived.

“I am beginning to believe that people have different definitions for democracy, particularly our political leaders and I’m beginning to wonder whether this government, led by Buhari, really understands the implication and full responsibility and commitment involved when people say they are practicing democracy.”

Soyinka said the manner the Federal Government is handling agitations across the country showed that it is not ready to listen to the people.

“In truncating various channels of expression open to any populace, you are actually abrogating the very essence of democracy. Democracy is not sequence or symbolic gestures of June 12 as Democracy Day.

“When you truncate any channel of self-expression of people, you literarily become an enemy of democracy.

“Also the language used by Buhari in responding to agitation for secession is very unfortunate. Any sensitive leader must understand and respond to the reasons behind those agitations, not to start to threaten, bully or intimidate people.

On open grazing, the Nobel laureate scolded governors for being too timid and not able to act promptly on the wishes of their people.

He said: “For instance, Southern governors said on behalf of our people, we do not want open grazing anymore.

“Then somebody who sits in Aso Rock says he will instruct his Attorney-General to dig up some kind of colonial law so he can recover on behalf of a certain private business the old route.

“That is an indication that he is not listening to what governors and the people they represent are saying.”

He suggested immediate sack of some of the President’s aides, saying they are not doing him or the nation any service,

“It is high time he sacked most people around him; they are not doing him or the nation any service, they are people who say to him what he wants to hear, if he is depending on them, then this government is doomed,” he said.