Wole Soyinka, the once vibrant and cosmopolitan intellectual can, in the condition in which we find him now, pass for a hick. He is a frightened one at that.
Why is the Nobel laureate scared stiff? What is he worried about?
A certain Peter Obi is the nightmare he cannot come to terms with. He is worried that this former governor is bestriding the Nigerian political space like a colossus. He is frightened that, if this politician with a message of hope is allowed a free reign, he could spoil the broth for Bola Tinubu. He is, therefore, poised for an all-out battle with this man that you cannot easily pigeonhole.
But as Soyinka, together with those who procured him, struggles to diminish Peter Obi, Nigerians are aghast at what has become of the once celebrated intellectual giant. They have come to notice, most regrettably, that Soyinka has, in the evening of his life, transformed very tragically into a factotum, a handyman who is ever ready to do the bidding of the master.
To ensure that he does not fail his master, Soyinka has made Obi an object of pursuit. He is the prey that must be shot down. In the frenzy to get at Obi, Soyinka is out for a kill. His mission is to unnerve Obi so as to strengthen those that recruited him for the odd job. Regrettably, in doing this, Soyinka has become parochial, bigoted and dangerously prejudiced. Those who used to respect him are not just disappointed in his latter-day disposition, they are shell-shocked. They do not know what to make of the Man Friday that Soyinka has become.
In his normal days, Soyinka’s focus was on Nigeria. He fought the buccaneers and the ills they wrought on the country. In all this, Soyinka came across as a moral compass. He was looked up to in our collective drive to get Nigeria working. That was then. But not anymore. In the face of his vanishing pan-Nigerian outlook, it does appear that Nigeria has become too big a constituency for Soyinka. He has lost his once potent voice. He no longer has the gravitas to confront Nigeria and its ills. That may be why the rape and despoliation of 2023 that ushered Nigeria into the present mess has not attracted his attention. Instead, he has become fixated on one man called Peter Obi.
Just the other day, Soyinka was caught once again in his new pastime called Obi-bashing. He said that Peter Obi, the man who brought impetus and verve to bear on the presidential contest in Nigeria, should not present himself for election in 2027. Reason? Soyinka said Obi was unfit to be Nigeria’s President because he could not rein in the “Obidients”, the angry young men and women who are pushing for a new Nigeria. This is the reason, according to Soyinka, why Obi, the man of integrity whose fresh and refreshing message to Nigerians has been making all the difference, should disqualify himself from future presidential contest.
The absurdity in Soyinka’s call invokes pity. It raises the inevitable question: what is driving this elder statesman into infantilism, the type that should be the lot of imbecilic proles? We can find a ready answer in the fact that Soyinka is procured. He is no longer the independent-minded radical who spoke truth to power. There is every reason to believe that he has been compromised by the Presidency, so much so that he has become the super salesman of the Bola Tinubu administration. This would have been tolerable if Soyinka has a good product to market. But what he has on his hands is putrid. He is romancing with the noxious product that is killing Nigeria. All this is happening because Soyinka has a brief. He has been recruited to focus on the biggest nightmare of the administration, which is the Peter Obi challenge.
No doubt, the Tinubu presidency is challenged by the phenomenon called Peter Obi. His interventions and interjections are a source of concern to the government. I said elsewhere in recent weeks that Obi is the lone voice crying in the wilderness. His patriotic and humanistic engagements are a source of concern to the never-do-wells who populate the seats of power in Nigeria. The presidency is ill at ease with this man who they said lost the presidential election, yet there has not been anything about him that is suggestive of lack or loss.
Soyinka’s job as a presidential pimp borders on how to get at Peter Obi. He has a responsibility to blackmail, irritate and distract Obi so as to weaken his resolve to ensure the enthronement of a new Nigeria. Soyinka is working hard to deliver on this assignment. But he is not succeeding. His biggest headache is that he wants to sell ice to Eskimos. He wants Nigerians to go against their best interest by seeing Obi in bad light. But Soyinka’s effort will remain an exercise in futility because Nigerians are no fools. They know that a possible Obi presidency will change Nigeria for good. That is why his support base knows no region or religion. All Nigerians of goodwill who wish their country well cannot be dissuaded from this noble cause. Soyinka is worried, indeed frightened, that Obi is gaining more ground even in the face of efforts by him and his cohorts to diminish the man. This fright is leading him into desperation. That explains his latest childish effort to give Obi a bad name.
But what makes Soyinka’s effort ultimately loathsome is the blind eye he turned to the controversies surrounding those in government. He was once known for his forthrightness. The government of the day, many believe, has destroyed Nigeria. Feeding has become a luxury reserved for the fittest.
If Soyinka were not procured, he would have been at the forefront of the cries of disapproval that have rent the air over Nigeria’s situation.
Indeed, it is preposterous for Soyinka to say that Obi, the selfless patriot, is not fit to govern Nigeria. Such bunkum. Soyinka can tell his story to the marines.