Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka on Thursday
charged President Muhammadu Buhari to respond positively to the demands of the
Niger Delta militant groups.
Soyinka, who spoke at a press conference at
the Freedom Park, Lagos, said the feelings of the militants were that the
Buhari government was not seriously responding to their outreach.
He said he was approached personally by the
militants and that he had responded personally to some of the militant groups
just like he did when the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND)
was the umbrella body of agitation in the Niger Delta during the reign of
former President Goodluck Jonathan.
“I want to make an appeal to the government
to respond positively to the outreach from the militant groups, that is a
request which has been made by some of the groups. At the moment, they feel
that the government of President Buhari is not seriously responding to their
own outreaches and I wish to make a personal appeal to the government to
respond positively and let us see where it ends.
“I was approached personally and I have been
responding to some of these groups just like I did when President Goodluck
Jonathan was in power and MEND was the umbrella group of the insurgents. I made
that appeal to the government to please respond to the efforts of these militant
groups to arrive at a holistic and comprehensive solution,” he said.
Soyinka debunked claims that he was part of
an international body contracted to resolve the Niger Delta crisis, asking how
he could he be part of an international group that did not exist.
“The real reason is that I had a meeting in
London, in the House of Lord and the meeting was not about the main subject
that took me to Aso Rock which among other things is the problem we have in the
Niger Delta. But, I used that opportunity to link with several international
figures, parliamentarian, royal heads, etc to pass on the message
internationally.
“Let me make a plea. It’s bad enough
distorting whatever happens, events, statements on certain subjects, bad
enough. But on an issue like the insurgency in Nigeria, the Delta in
particular, we are on very delicate grounds and the media have a huge role to
play in that. And the immediate role people like me must demand of the media is
accuracy.
“There can be no invention in this kind of
situation. There can be no adumbration, there can be no extrapolation, not even
second guessing. You have got to be accurate. Otherwise, there’s a loss of
confidence and therefore a lack of solution. People must be confident that what
they say to you is what you translate and transmit to those to whom you are
sent,” he said.
“You cannot publish a statement attributed to
me saying I am part of an international group when the international group is
not even in existence. There is no international group which has been formed. I
like to go further; and attributed to me is a statement that the international
group had already contacted President Buhari. What kind of extreme invention is
that? How can a group which does not exist be meeting with the Head of State
and how could I, who just happened to be meeting with the Head of State, say
that the two entities have met when one of them does not exist? I have taken a
decision not to speak about the Delta situation, I will not be talking to the
press any longer because I cannot spend my time correcting falsehood. I’m not
responsible for the falsehood, and that burden should not be placed on my
head,” he said.
