According To Soyinka, I Have Never Commented On Nigeria’s Northern Dominance.
A comment about northern hegemony that was ascribed to Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka by Prof. Bola Akinterinwa, a former DG of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), has been refuted.
The former DG, according to Soyinka, was a victim of “Nigeria’s phony attribution business.” In an article that appeared in a national daily, Akinterinwa—who is also the current director general of the Bolytag Centre for International Diplomacy and Strategic Studies (BOCIDASS)—quoted Soyinka as saying that northern Nigeria will continue to control the government regardless of who is elected president because they (the north) created a fictitious constitution and population.
In a statement he personally signed yesterday, Soyinka refuted the quotation, saying: “It is only sad that Akinterinwa has fallen for the schemes of Nigeria’s bogus attribution business, which has now achieved horrific societal dimensions.
“The quote in his essay that you ascribe to me is not mine. It is a product of the cunning actions of Internet trolls with personal agendas who lack the guts to answer questions about their dads. They have a name that fits, but we won’t use it in this context.
The quotation from Professor Wole Soyinka that was brought up in this part is as follows: “Northern Nigeria would continue to rule the government no matter who becomes President. This is as a result of their creation of a counterfeit Nigerian Constitution, a phony northwest population, and more states in the north.
During the administrations of Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, Northern Nigeria was in control of the government. Northern Nigeria would continue to have political sway even if you make the Igbo president. Nigeria’s dilemma can best be solved by negotiating our continued existence.
Soyinka defended himself, saying, “I never said such a thing. We have repeatedly issued warnings. One nation will ultimately catch fire after another as a result of the increasingly distorted social media, finally resulting in a worldwide firestorm. The main perpetrators will be the deformed subhumans who lack the confidence to stand up for themselves and are forced to do more impudent acts of identity theft.
