Soyinka Criticizes Federal Government Over Nnamdi Kanu’s Detention
Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka has sharply criticized the federal government for detaining Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
In a recent interview, Soyinka argued that Kanu has the right to advocate for an independent Biafra, emphasizing that he has never been accused of violent acts such as bombings or killings. Soyinka described the government’s actions as akin to kidnapping, asserting that it was a mistake to imprison Kanu.
“It is a mistake keeping Nnamdi Kanu in prison, I believe. In fact, they kidnapped him. His language was inciteful, yes, no question about that. But you don’t arrest, you don’t kidnap people. Buhari had an obsession with kidnapping people. That seemed to be his trademark. It is like he couldn’t fulfil himself unless he put somebody in a crate and brought them back,” Soyinka said. He added that if the government has any substantial charges against Kanu, they should proceed with a trial rather than delay and avoid the core issues, which he views as counterproductive.
Soyinka also expressed concerns about Kanu’s rhetoric, describing it as disrespectful and inciteful. He noted that Kanu and the younger generation of Biafra activists are determined not to repeat the mistakes of their predecessors, but criticized Kanu’s incendiary language on Radio Biafra as disrespectful, even towards his own people.
“I used a certain expression in recent contributions, those of us who stood on that side, we fought for a Biafra of conscience and for me, that is very critical. People like Nnamdi Kanu, IPOB, or MASSOB, the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, for that matter, should not act against what I call the core of our humanity, which is one of conscience,” Soyinka
concluded.
