Soyinka Advises Nigerians, Africans on Coups, Path to Nation Building at PUNCH 50th Anniversary Lecture

Segun Atanda/

Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka shared his thoughts with Nigerians today on the true path to nation-building and urged Africans to stop celebrating coups.

Soyinka projected among other issues, the changing face of neo-imperialism, implications of Africans celebrating coup d’état across the continent, nation-building, and the way out of Nigeria’s troubled nationhood as he delivered PUNCH 50th Anniversary Lecture before a host of top-flight professionals, captains of industries and academics who converged on the Civic Centre along Ozumba Mbadiwe Road in Lagos.

Pondering over Nigeria’s troubled nationhood in his lecture titled ‘Recovering the Narrative’, Soyinka presented decentralisation as a solution.

He insisted that decentralisation would bring power closer to the people and that “productivity can really be manifested as a product of citizens, not simply as a manna from heaven”.

He added, “What do you mean by restructuring? Well, I don’t even like the word restructuring. I use, I prefer expressions like reconfiguration and decentralisation.

“Everybody can grasp that, decentralisation. Those who lead us recognise the necessity of it, the importance and inevitability of it until they get to power.

“Reconfiguration, decentralisation, all these are necessary to maximise development. We speak about food hunger, which is real, but palliatives are temporary stop-gap policies that do not reach the heart of the problem, which is why we must decentralise development as massively as possible.

“It’s about time leaders stopped taking this nation for a ride. We must decentralise. Security, you know, has become a burden to bear. From all corners of the nation, that is the crime.

“Decentralise so that government can come closer to the people, and productivity can really be manifested as a product of citizens, not simply as a manna from heaven. That is the attitude obtained at the moment.

“I know the fear. The fear is collapse, break up. That’s been the excuse given by several regimes. But suppose the nation is breaking up informally, in other words, as a fact rather than as a theory.

“Then, and you better just address this. Come straight on and see exactly what happened. What is wrong with general representatives seeing them and saying this is the protocol of our association? Anything outside of it?

“Anyone who does not want to accept these protocols, abide by these protocols and manifest these protocols in the act should take a walk. I have no problem at all.

“We live in what is known as the nation, beginning as a vast football field is ending up as a ping pong table. If that is going to restore dignity to citizens.

“If that is going to guarantee three square meals a day, then so be it. One of my favourite expressions with people is: Let nations die, that humanity may live.”

Soyinka also dwelled on government crimes and injustice in Nigeria. He recalled cases, including that of Dele Giwa’s murder.

Soyinka’s lecture was part of a week-long activity marking the 50th anniversary of PUNCH.

He also cautioned Africans who troop out to celebrate coups. He said that he could tell that nothing good would come out of it because “we have been there before”.

He spoke about high ideals, the changing dynamics in International politics and Vladimir Putin’s Russia finally throwing off its mask for everyone to see that it is behind regime changes in African countries.

Founded in March 1973, PUNCH, Nigeria’s foremost newspaper, clocked 50 on March 18 last year but its board of directors moved the 50th-anniversary celebration to this year because the anniversary month fell within an election month and year.

The 50th anniversary is being marked with the 40th anniversary of the passing of PUNCH founding Chairman, the late Chief James Olubunmi Aboderin, who died on February 28, 1984, at the age of 50.

The weeklong activities began last Saturday with a colourful novelty football match at the Onikan Stadium in Lagos.

On Wednesday, a three-day photo exhibition, showcasing 50 iconic photographs from PUNCH rich archive, opened at the Alliance Francaise de Lagos/Mike Adenuga Centre in Ikoyi, Lagos.

The gathering of intellectuals and lovers of arts was led by a former Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture in Lagos State, Steve Ayorinde, who was the curator of the exhibition.

The ceremonies will continue on Saturday, March 2, 2024, at Eko Hotels and Suites in Lagos, where PUNCH will host a black-tie dinner to acknowledge the contributions of its stakeholders to the success of our organisation.

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