Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka has called on Nigerians to subject him to psychiatric test any day he decides to associate with former President Olusegun Obasanjo or even become a member of his Coalition for Nigeria Movement that is seeking to unseat President Muhammadu Buhari. Soyinka who stated this during an interview with BBC Yoruba said the coalition was not meant for people like him. He called on Nigerians to view the Movement with suspicion as the former President might be up to something sinister.
“Me? Obasanjo would establish a group and I will become a member of such group? That means they should get a psychiatrist to examine me. People should get suspicious when former presidents speak because there is the possibility that what they have in mind is different from what we have in mind.
Reacting to the statements issued by Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida, he said;
“When these soldiers begin to speak, we are supposed to get suspicious and ask what exactly do they have in mind? It is possible that what they have in mind is different from what we have in mind You can look at it from two perspectives, the messenger and the message. The message should be examined closely. We should not look at the misdeeds of the messenger alone. Let’s start by asking, is he saying the truth or telling lies, or is he being tricky?
If he is saying the truth and talking about things that are beneficial to the masses, we would allow that be. After that, we would now look at the person speaking, what is in his mind …even if it’s a little child who is speaking, as far as that child is saying the truth, we won’t ask the child to keep quiet. We won’t ask the child what do you know? We would listen. It is the same situation with those who have presided over the affairs of this nation without making significant progress.
We have seen their weaknesses, we have seen their nakedness in public, if they now want to be covered by saying that they have turned a new leaf, we would examine that, too. What I am saying in essence is that what they have said should also be examined,” he added.
He called on the youths to present a credible candidate for the 2019 elections in order to cease power from the older generation.
“We have a lot of them. It is the turn of the younger ones. If they come together, as we speak, if they can start now and bring out one individual among them, we will work with him. We are going to give them the support they need to transform the country. People like us are supposed to sit somewhere,” Soyinka added.
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