Has Wole Soyinka Regained His Voice?

By TONY EKE

The first hunger protests left regrettable but avoidable tragic trails on Nigeria’s socio-political firmament. Even though it may not be witnessed so soon again, one of the issues thrown up in the course of the demonstrations is the exposure of the underbelly of Nigeria as a country of contradictions. The varied degree of disavowal, partial, or full participation in the protests across states not only validated the growing divisions in the country but also conveyed the difficulty in integrating the disparate entities in Nigeria into one nation buoyed by a common vision.

Beyond that, the protests yielded a surprise which apparently helped to unravel the persona of the Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka in view of what can be described as his sabbatical silence in recent time. That the iconic literary figure spoke after a long period of volitional stillness raised an issue beyond those issues that propelled the hunger protests. It’s understandable why that unusual disposition had bred incredulity in the minds of numerous Nigerians. He is not just an acclaimed writer, but also an eminent person whose voice commands listenership from a broad spectrum of the populace, especially in moments of national crisis.

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Before his latest speech on the protests, a large number of Nigerians had found his silence unbecoming for a conscious man who had earlier intervened in Nigeria’s affairs through speeches, lectures, and participation in peaceful protests. The quintessential Soyinka, we know, is one that regals his countrymen and citizens across the globe with his views on any matter that tends to aggravate our predicament, especially the human species condemned to citizenship of the beleaguered Nigerian space.

A number of questions were asked about the reasons for an unusual placidity of Soyinka between the first quarter of 2023 and the second quarter of this year. Could it be a matter of personal choice? Is it at the instance of medical advice in view of his age? Could it be that the man in Soyinka had lost his voice at an old age? Is there any ulterior motive such as subordinating his critical voice to solidarity with Tinubu on account of their shared ethnicity?

For months, those questions were left unanswered and the fact that Soyinka neither condemned the fraudulent conduct of the 2023 presidential election nor the controversial victory of President Bola Tinubu elongated his silence. What’s more, he was mum on the complicity of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as well as the judiciary in the post-election contestations. That scenario of emergency dumbness left a lot of Nigerians wondering if his silence was emblematic of a major thematic aspect of his prison memoirs, “The Man Died.”

As those probing questions agitated the minds of Nigerians, Soyinka unfolded the predominant reason in an interview on Channels Television in May this year in which he upbraided Mr. Peter Obi, the presidential flag bearer of Labour Party(LP) for his alleged inability to reign in on his broad group of supporters known as Obidients. After Soyinka said that Obi did not win the 2023 presidential poll and retorted that he should not contest the 2027 poll, he was criticised in many circles for his manifest ethnic bias against Obi, while at the same time pledging a cryptic support to the putative second-term ambition of Tinubu, a fellow Yoruba.

Granted, Soyinka’s opposition to Obi’s likely interest in the 2027 presidential election remains his prerogative, but his diatribe against the former has altered the perception of the literary figure by discerning members of the public. The respect once accorded him has been reduced in some measure as gleaned from his recent 90th birthday celebration which was bereft of an appreciable national colouration, quite unlike his previous natal attainments. As of today, Soyinka is perceived in some circles as an ethnic jingoist rather than the pan-Nigerian they knew in the bygone years of altruistic advocacy.

As an admirer of Soyinka, my concern is whether he has found his voice at last or had merely devised such a response to attenuate the standpoint of his critics. His latest speech on the high-handedness of the security agents towards protesters captures a part of the stuff he’s made of. Without doubt, his denunciation of the crackdown reflected an aspect of the Soyinka phenomenon we knew years back before the emergence of Tinubu administration.

It’s however doubtful if his recent speech will thaw the ice and lower the decibel of criticisms against him. His focus on the response of the security agents instead of berating President Tinubu for imposing grinding poverty and its attendant hardship on Nigerians was superficial. Therefore, such a verdict may not have resonated with the intelligentsia and other categories. It’s confounding reading Soyinka’s statement with its preoccupation with the consequences of an action, and not the thoughtless causative initiative.

So many enlightened Nigerians are indeed worried about the sudden metamorphosis of Soyinka from the idolised character of an advocate for the good of Nigeria to a covert defender of Tinubu, ostensibly to provide a bulwark for Yoruba ascendancy in power at the centre. Yes, Tinubu may be his friend and younger brother, but the latter will go at the expiration of his tenure; so he needs not sacrifice his invaluable accomplishments on the altar of ethnocentric fervour.

Soyinka should resist the allure of the Tinubu presidency by guiding his steps and guarding his luminous name from being corroded by fleeting material benefits which may further becloud his sense of judgment. He should not erode the worth of his calling as a committed writer with fidelity to truth, objectivity, and service to society.

If none of his contemporaries who embody the post-colonial African literature had never deviated from this creed, why does he want to do so? For instance, Ngugi wa Thiong’O neither supported Kenya’s founding president, the late Jomo Kenyatta nor his son, Uhuru Kenyatta, even though he’s Kikuyu like the Kenyattas. Our compatriot of blessed memory, Chinua Achebe, did not waiver in his philosophical posture as an artist, either on the living pages of his enduring novels or in his subdued activism in the Nigerian society.

My wish is for Professor Soyinka to regain his voice and ensure that it towers vociferously as it did for decades before the cataclysm of Tinubu’s presidential conquest took its toll on his image and personality. We need him to provide leadership to the younger generation in literary circles and in the larger society as we seek ways to untangle our country from stagnation caused by poor leadership indirectly activated by unquestioning citizens.

Tony Eke, based in Asaba, Delta State, can be reached via [email protected] or 08035504896 (text only).