Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has lambasted former military dictator, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, saying he is not fit to be in the gathering of writers whom he hated so much while he was the head of state.
The playwright took a swipe at Babangida at a press briefing he addressed ahead of the NLNG Awards Night which Babangida was invited to attend and which comes up tonight at the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos.
Babangida was invited by the organisers as the keynote speaker. In the past, Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Dele Olojede, Bath Nnaji and Chief Folake Sholanke, the first female Senior Advocate of Nigeria, were the keynote speakers.
Soyinka said he was not opposed to the organisers inviting Babangida to any of its functions but certainly not to a gathering of writers.
He said writers stand for life, democracy, human rights, etc. whereas Babangida was opposed to all these and even killed Maman Vatsa, who was not only a soldier but a writer, over a trump up charge of coup plotting.
Soyinka said Babangida was so callous that when Vatsa’s wife challenged his action, he told her that Vatsa’s life was not more precious than the lives of other victims of the alleged coup plot that were snuffed out.
He said Babangida could be invited to attend chamber of commerce meetings and other social events, not to a gathering of writers with whom he shares nothing in common.
He also lambasted Godwin Daboh, Babangida’s acolyte, who published a paid avertisement lampooning those opposed to Babangida’s invitation to the LNG lecture.
Soyinka said Daboh is a liar and asked him to refund the money he (Soyinka) gave him during the June 12 struggle.
He said Daboh had approached him to assist him with money to pay his daughter’s school fees, adding that now that Daboh has enough money to sponsor an advertorial, he should be in a position to refund the money he took from him years ago.
There has been furore over the invitation of Babangida for the upcoming annual NLNG Awards Night which the creme of Nigerian writers are also billed to attend.
