By Zik Gbemre
…Soyinka and Obasanjo should live above their differences and disagreements, regardless of what they must have said against each other in the past
…Both men should be reminded that they are ELDERS, and the young people are actually looking up to them
For quite some years now and still counting, Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka and former President Olusegun Obasanjo have not been friends, despite the fact that both men are from the Egba tribe, and are actually great Nigerians in their own ways. The quarrel between the two men is beginning to almost look childish because I believe at their level, status, accomplishments, and age, they ought to have buried whatever hatchet and grievances and disagreements between them, to reconcile and forge ahead as grown-ups and elder statesmen.
A past munched video between the two men, in which they ridiculed themselves, recently resurfaced online and is being spread on social media platforms. In the said video, Obasnajo said: “Wole Soyinka and I have been in a running battle. And he has said that it will not end until one of us leaves this world. And I have said in this book (referring to his autobiography book My Watch), that you’re talking about. If he leaves before me, and when I get to heaven, and I too will be there, he should welcome me. If I leave before him, when he comes, I will welcome him. But Wole Soyinka is a gifted man, I have always acknowledged that. But he’s a bad politician or political analyst and I’ve also said that. And that is my own point of view. He may agree with it. He may not agree with it. But it is my own point of view. Then what I know as his character, I pointed it out in this book. And that’s my own opinion. I said Wole Soyinka is a good connoisseur of wine and I know that. Eeh when I was in Dodon Barracks, Wole Soyinka will come and visit me and bring his own special wine, under his armpit. And I loved that. When I became a farmer, Wole Soyinka will bring a good shot. And I describe him as a good guinea fowl hunter. So, between me and Wole Soyinka, I, … have regard for him. But I don’t know how much regard he has for me.”
For Wole Soyinka, he said: “Obasanjo is entitled to his own opinion. Obasanjo on the other hand was once described by Economists (as one who has served this nation), as an economic illiterate. I will quote his name so you don’t think am making it up. They nearly exchanged blows that day. I don’t know if it was Prof. Nwabueze that was there that day who separated them. Believe me it was a very serious squabble and there were witnesses there. So, if an economic illiterate calls somebody else a political illiterate, Hmmm! No problem at all. But I am never bothered by this when somebody like Obasanjo expresses an opinion. For me, I have no respect for him.”
In August 2015, Wole Soyinka told the world that he has commenced the writing of a book that will be titled Republic Of Liars and that it will be based on some of the numerous lies of Nigeria’s ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo. Olusegun Obasanjo on his own, had earlier written in his 2014 autobiographical book titled My Watch, that Professor Soyinka is not as intellectual excellent as he has made himself believe because he actually is an expert in only two directions, which are, that he is a wine connoisseur and a guinea fowl hunter.
Expectedly, Wole Soyinka was angry at this Obasanjo’s trivializing description of him, and in his response, he decided to reply to Obasanjo in writing, and specifically in a book form. Soyinka’s book was, according to news that made round then, was to counter the content of the book written by Obasanjo.
The two men kept everyone wondering if there will ever be an end to their rift, as the Soyinka later released a new book to literarily decimate “the aspiring mongoose” as he described Obasanjo in the fifth page of his new book. The book, Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes? (Which means “Who keeps watch over the watchmen?”), portrays Obasanjo on the cover page as a three-faced statesman with conflicting personalities, taking him to the cleaners with allegations of impunity, negligence, and arrogance throughout his cumulative 12 years of administration as a military and civilian president. One gets to wonder why a Nobel Laureate should make an entire publication to slam one single person, if not for resentment and disdain. The book was launched at Freedom Park in Lagos on August 2, 2018.
It is as if both men like to write, and express their dislikes and opinions about each other, as well as the situations in the country.
For, Obasanjo, who was a military Head of State, and later a democratically elected civilian President, may have his own faults like many of us do, but he still remains, in my own opinion, the most experienced Nigerian political leader (both dead and alive), in the history of Nigeria’s politics. While Prof. Wole Soyinka, remains one of the most celebrated academicians and poets in the world. So, both men are indeed great assets to the country, regardless of their individual flaws and mistakes in the past. Though Obasanjo described Wole Soyinka as a bad politician and political analyst. In my opinion, Wole Soyinka cannot be said to be a politician in the first place. But Wole Soyinka has a strong voice as a public influencer, and he is a great fearless Nigerian. However, Wole Soyinka has been faulted by many for forming the Pirate Club during his University days, which has over the years, given birth to all kinds of other cultist groups in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions. Though, Soyinka’s aim for forming the Sea Pirate confraternity back then was to advocate for social justice. But today, the Sea Pirates and other parallel cult groups have been hijacked by hoodlums/goons who use it for evil, rather than for good. Wole Soyinka is also known for his radicalism and abstract thinking.
Obasanjo is also accused of being one of the major problems of Nigeria because he had the opportunity to put things right in the country, and set the nation on the right path, for the three times he was in Government, but he was unable to do this.
I am aware that Fela Ransome-Kuti never agreed with Obasanjo on so many levels, and Fela didn’t hide this in his songs, especially after the burning of his Kalakuta Republic house in Lagos by unknown soldiers under the then military administration of Obasanjo. Fela and his brothers have also accused Obasanjo of killing their aged mother, who was thrown from upstairs and later died from that torture after some time. The Ransome-Kuti brothers never agreed with Obasanjo till death, even though all of them are from the Egba tribe. I also believe M.K.O Abiola and Fela Ransome-Kuti didn’t see eye to eye, and both men were Egba tribe. I don’t know if these rifts are peculiar with the Egba men in the public space, or something else. But whatever the case may be, I believe these things can be handle and addressed more maturely.
There is a whole lot that can be said about these two great men, Soyinka and Obasanjo – that are both good and bad. But the bottom line here is that both men should live above their differences and disagreements, regardless of what they have said against each other in the past. They should forge ahead as the matured and elder statesmen that they are, and dump all past grievances/disagreements. They should be reminded that they are ELDERS, and the young people are actually looking up to them, and to learn from them. Hence, they should lead by good examples, and stop all of these side talks and jabs against each other.
_*Zik Gbemre.*_
_*June 30, 2021
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