Nigeria Should Break Up If It Will Solve Our Challenges — Soyinka

Prof. Wole Soyinka

Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka declared on Thursday that Nigeria ought to split up to address its issues.

Soyinka gave a speech at PUNCH Newspapers' 50th anniversary lecture in Lagos.

Nigeria should be decentralized so that Nigerians can enjoy their country more, according to Soyinka's assertion in his lecture titled “Recovering the Narrative.”

This week-long celebration of PUNCH's 50th anniversary featured a lecture from Nobel laureate.

The elderly statesman declared that leaders in Nigeria ought to quit dragging their countrymen along for the ride and that decentralization would bring governance closer to the people.

“I know the fear. The fear is collapse, break up. That's been the excuse given by several regimes. But suppose the nation is breaking up informally, in other words as a fact rather than as a theory. Then, and you better address this. Come straight on and see exactly what happened. What is wrong with general representatives seeing them and saying this is the protocol of our association, Anything outside of it? Anyone who does not want to accept these protocols, abide by these protocols and manifest these protocols in the act should take a walk. I have no problem at all.

“We live in what is known as the nation, beginning as a vast football field and ending up as a ping pong table. If that is going to restore dignity to citizens. If that is going to guarantee three square meals a day then so be it. One of my favourite expressions with people is Let nations die, that humanity may live.”

He stated that although politicians in Nigeria understand the value of restructuring, once they gain power, they tend to change their positions.

He said, “What do you mean by restructuring? Well, I don't even like the word restructuring. I use, I prefer expressions like reconfiguration and decentralisation. Everybody can grasp that, decentralisation. And those who lead, recognise the necessity of it. They recognise the importance, almost the inevitability of it until they get into power, yes, that's the difference.”