I Didn’t Break Into A Radio Station, I Sneaked In – Wole Soyinka Speaks At 90

https://ift.tt/WrA9mnX

Professor Wole Soyinka on the occasion of his 90th birthday celebration has explained why he broke into a Radio Station during the military era in Nigeria which seemingly fueled the political public unrest in the then Western Region and aftermath of it, directly or indirectly led to the Nigeria-Biafra Civil war that ended with millions of people including children and women killed.

Wole Soyinka who is known to be the founder of Pyrates Confraternity, a group also known to be the first Secret Cults in Nigeria was charged with armed robbery for breaking into the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation studio in Ibadan during the heady days of the Western Region’s political crisis in 1965.

Wole Soyinka who was said to be fully armed, was alleged to have asked the man in the studio to use his own (Soyinka’s) recording, asking the premier  to get out.

Wole Soyinka received the Nobel Prize for Literature from King Gustaf of Sweden on December 1986 as the first Africa Noble Laureate in Literature.

As part of activities to mark his 90th birthday celebration, at the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco, Professor  Wole Soyinka was awarded the Gold Medal “for his contribution to the development of world literature”. The award wast presented to him by Margarita Al, President of the World Organization of Writers (WOW).

Professor Wole Soyinka in a statement on Monday,  said he did not envisage that he would live up to 90 years.

Soyinka stated this at the 2024 edition of his International Cultural Exchange Programme, held at his ARI residence,Ijegba, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

The Noble Laureate said he decided to be a writer to correct some anomalies from stories he listened to while growing up.

Giving the reason he broke into a radio station during the military era, Soyinka said: “I never broke into a radio station, but sneaked in. The radio station was holding on to something that belonged to the people, and I decided to retrieve it. If that item had been played, it would have demoralized the people and established the culture of brutality.”

Wole Soyinka condemned Nigerians for always criticizing the State, but refused to examine themselves.

According to him, crimes like kidnapping and robbery, among others, are not because of poverty or inequality, but selfishness and the desire to live a luxury life.

The 2024 Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange Programme drew students from different parts of the country who participated in an essay competition on national and international topics.

The Ogun State Government, led by Governor Dapo Abiodun, awarded scholarships to nine students who excelled in an essay competition marking Prof. Wole Soyinka’s 90th birthday.

The competition was part of the 2024 Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange Programme, which aims to promote education, cultural exchange, and leadership.

Celebrating Wole Soyinka at 90, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in a statement he personally signed said in quote thus: “I am pleased to join admirers around the world in celebrating the 90th birthday of Nigeria’s iconic son and the world-renowned Professor Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde, famously known as Wole Soyinka.

Tomorrow, July 13th, will be the climax of the series of local and international activities held in his honour.

To underscore the literary giant’s global relevance, a symposium and poetry reading were held in Rabat, Morocco, on 9 July. The event was organised by the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco and the Pan African Writers Association (PAWA).

Professor Soyinka, the first African to win the Nobel Literature Prize in 1986, deserves all the accolades as he marks the milestone of 90 years on earth. Having beaten prostate cancer, this milestone is a fitting testament to his ruggedness as a person and the significance of his work.
It is also fitting we celebrate this national treasure while he is still with us.

I am, accordingly, delighted to have the honour to announce the decision of the Federal Government to rename the National Theatre in Iganmu, Surulere, as The Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts.

We do not only celebrate Soyinka’s remarkable literary achievements but also his unwavering dedication to the values of human dignity and justice.

Our paths crossed during our just struggle for the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria following the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election.

When faced with a trial in absentia and death sentence by the military regime at home, he galvanised opposition in exile through NALICON and NADECO. His global stature made him the face of our struggle to validate June 12 and restore democracy in Nigeria.

Today, I join the world to celebrate his profound influence on generations of writers, scholars, and activists who have been inspired by his work. I celebrate him for giving us the spark to fight and confront military dictators in our country.

I celebrate him for his enduring spirit and for teaching us that literature and drama can be used as a powerful tool to challenge the status quo.

I wish Professor Soyinka an incredibly happy 90th birthday. May he continue in good health to find creative fulfilment in the next decade leading up to his centennial.

May he continue to inspire us all to build a nation where people are free from oppression and our teeming youths can live up to their dreams without being a wasted generation”, President Bola Tinubu words end in quote.

No Evidence Emefiele Is ‘Sick’ – Court Refuses Ex-CBN Gov Abroad Medical Trip

https://ift.tt/hZrIUB8

Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has refused to grant medical leave application filed by former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele on the ground that there is no evidence that the former apex bank Governor is plagued with any ailment.

The Court on Tuesday thereafter refused to release his international passport to travel to the United Kingdom for medical trip.

Details of the court proceeding as made available by the Public Relations Unit of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC in its news release few minutes ago are presented verbatim below:

“Justice Hamza Mu’azu of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT High Court Maitama, Abuja on Tuesday, July 16, 2024 dismissed the application of a former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele for a leave of the court to travel to the United Kingdom (UK) for medical examination, stating that there was no evidence to show that the defendant is plagued by any ailment.

Emefiele had through his lawyer, Labi-Lawal on Monday, July 8, 2024 filed an affidavit seeking the release of his passport to enable him embark on a UK medical trip, which was opposed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC through its prosecution counsel, Muhammad Abbas Omeiza.

Omeiza, through a counter-affidavit, told the court that there was no medical report before it that showed that the defendant was plagued by an ailment, and if there was, no evidence was advanced by the defence to show that it could not be treated locally in Nigeria.

The prosecution counsel in addition noted that Emefiele deposited his passport with the court as part of the fulfilment of his bail conditions, arguing that releasing it to him would amount to the court varying his bail conditions.

Arguing also that Emefiele was a flight risk, the prosecution counsel noted that “the defendant has co-conspirators all over the world.

One Anita and Tony are all aides of the defendant who are currently in the UK. The defendant might be tempted to jump bail because he is standing trial in three different courts.”

In response, the defence counsel dismissed the prosecution’s arguments as speculative, noting that the EFCC can issue an international red alert on Emefiele to enable his arrest if he made the foreign medical trip and refused to come back.

In dismissing the application on Tuesday,, Justice Mu’azu held that there was no medical report indicating that
Emefiele was plagued by any ailment and that the fact that he is standing trial in three different courts was fatal to the application.

“It is an exercise of the court’s discretion to allow the defendant to go on a medical trip. The defendant through his counsel undertook an affidavit to produce him in court, and his offences are bailable and where there is need for the court to grant him the application to travel, the court should do so, but as it is, I failed to see any letter of medication in the defendant’s applications.

“As it stands, I cannot exercise my discretion to allow the defendant to travel out of the shores of the country, moreover he is also standing trial in three other courts, therefore the application has failed, and hereby dismissed,” the judge held.

The EFCC is prosecuting Emefiele on 20-count amended charges bordering on conferment of corrupt advantages, conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, forgery and obtaining by false pretences to the tune of $6,230,000.00 (Six Million, Two Hundred and Thirty Thousand United States Dollars)”.