Soyinka’s tirades on Iwu, self-serving…. INEC

By Emma Ovuakporie

ABUJA—The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday described the recent statement by Prof Wole Soyinka, calling on Iwu to either “resign or be forced out” as self-serving.

In a statement in Abuja by the Public Affairs department of the commission,  said: “To the discerning minds, the idea of Soyinka calling on Iwu to either “resigns or be forced out” can only be seen as self-serving, if not bestial. This call coming from a supposed apostle of democracy is not only undemocratic but reprehensible.

“It smacks of a jungle justice, the Hobbesian era when the strongest held sway.  It is unimaginable that a Noble laureate and an intellectual of high repute would condescend so low as to call for the removal of a public officer through unorthodox approach.”

The  statement, however, noted that “Professor Wole Soyinka is a revered citizen of the world. As a Nobel Laureate and a renowned intellectual, when Soyinka speaks, the world cannot but listen. By implication, this international recognition conferred on this intellectual icon has therefore bestowed on him a responsibility that should not be toyed with. Regrettably, the erudite Professor and playwright often times abuses the exalted position that his cerebral works have conferred on him.