Soyinka attacks Balarabe Musa over comment on Amotekun

Professor Wole Soyinka has berated former governor of old Kaduna State, Balarabe Musa, over his comment on the establishment of Amotekun security outfit by governors of the South-West states.

The Nobel Laureate, on Tuesday, reacted to the comment made by Musa over the weekend alleging that the South-West establishment of Amotekun was a ploy by the Yoruba to create Oduduwa Republic.

Soyinka, however, faulted Musa, saying his statement was wrong, saying, “the midwives of Amotekun had repeatedly acknowledged that theirs is only a contribution towards a crisis of escalating proportions and that other states should be encouraged to emulate, not misread such initiatives, then demonize them by false attributions.”

READ: President confirms Salih-Farah as substantive NITT DG

Read Soyinka’s statement below:

“Balarabe is sadly, but I hope not tragically wrong. I invoke the tragic dimension here because the making of a tragedy, especially for nations, often begins when fears are mistaken or promoted as facts, and governments either by themselves, or together with interest groups, are enticed by fears into embarking on precipitate, irrational, and irreversible acts.

“Such acts turn out, in the end, to be based on nothing but fears, sometimes generated by guilt over past injustices, such as inequitable dealing.

“That is the basis of tragedy, towards which nations are propelled by a partial, or wrongful reading of socio-political realities and – history. I would like to see this nation avoid such a blunder. So, I am certain, would Balarabe Musa.

“Raising the spectre of secession was a facile approach to the dangerous, self-evident lapses in governance which Balarabe himself acknowledged in his response to the Amotekun principle made flesh.

“He said the midwives of Amotekun had repeatedly acknowledged that theirs is only a contribution towards a crisis of escalating proportions and that other states should be encouraged to emulate, not misread such initiatives, then demonize them by false attributions, saying “that is the certain recipe for tragedy.”