If there is one person that wants punishment for the military men who prevented governors under the umbrella of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from joining Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State during his campaign last Thursday, that person is Professor Wole Soyinka
The literary icon on Saturday, during a press conference at the Freedom Park, Victoria Island, Lagos, urged the affected Governors, including Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers and Adams Oshiomhole of Edo States to go to court and sue the military for trampling on their rights.
He called the military men thugs comparing them with thugs hired by politicians to wreak havoc on opponents. He also accused them of attempting to truncate Nigeria’s democracy saying in this wise, they could be considered “allies of the Boko Haram.
He said just like the Boko Haram did not believe in politics and democracy, the military, by their actions prior to the election in Ekiti had shown that it is averse to democracy.
He also asked President Goodluck Jonathan to come out and tell Nigerians who exactly sent the soldiers to prevent governors from carrying out campaigns in favour of their colleagues, which he said was constitutional. He reminded the President of a statement he had made saying nobody blood should pay for any election.
He described the action of the military as unconstitutional and criminal, saying the affected governors would be doing injustice to themselves and their electorate if they did not take any action against the military for such behaviour.
According to him, the action was more of a Nollywood movie as he wondered what could have happened to the military to make them bring shame to the country.
He said he never took Nigeria’s Vice President Namadi Sambo serious when he said the Ekiti election was going to be war. He said, to him, it was just part of the electioneering.
He however said he began to take the matter serious since that Thursday when Governor Amaechi was waylaid and Oshiomhole’s helicopter was grounded by soldiers who said they were acting on orders “from the top.”
Urging members of the National Assembly to stand up and investigate who was behind the “order from above”, he said it was time to really put the military where it belongs by ensuring that the culprits were punished.
“To prevent governors from attending a campaign for the success of their own party is, for me not just unconstitutional, it is criminal. And such people must be charged to court. It is no different from rigging the election…When did the army begin to act like thugs on account of elections?
“It is about time we abandoned the language of ‘orders from the top’. We want specifics. Who gave orders like that? Is it an Army commander somewhere? Amaechi has a name, Oshiomhole has a name, Nyako has a name, Fayemi has a name. But why is it that those who prevent the exercise of citizens’ rights do not have names?” He asked.
He warned that if the legislators failed to do what was supposed, he would be forced, in conjunction with some Nigerians, to set up the Citizen’s Court where the country’s government would be put on trial.
He recalled how such court was used against the late Sani Abacha and his military government. He also said if the government attempts to frustrate that Citizens Court, they would relocate elsewhere and solicit the United Nations and other such bodies to bring more shame to the government.
Soyinka also criticised Jonathan for posting photographs of him and his girl children on Facebook as part of his celebration of Fathers’ Day when many girls from Chibok, Borno State are still in the hands of the Boko Haram insurgents after they were kidnapped nearly three months ago.
He reminded the president that as the Commander-In-Chief of the country, issues of security lie on his shoulder and that he should therefore desist from deliberately trying to provoke the people of the country.
