Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has scored President Muhammadu Buhari high in his anti-corruption battle.
Prof. Soyinka said the efforts made by President Buhari in the anti-corruption battle shows that it’s no longer business as usual in Nigeria.
The Nobel Laureate, who spoke on BBC programme, Hardtalk, anchored by Zeinab Badawi, on Monday, April 22, said several prominent persons including bankers, legislators and former governors are on trial on corruption related charges.
He was quoted as saying, “We have this issue of corruption, which is… and I frankly despise those who try to trivialise it in Nigeria simply because they don’t like the face of the man who is behind it.
“But, it’s no longer business as usual in Nigeria because we have bankers who are on trial; we have legislators who are on trial and we have former governors who are on trial.
“Immediately they step out of the office, they are grabbed by the anti-corruption agencies.
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“On corruption, as far as I’m concerned, he scored the best,” Soyinka said.
The Nobel Laureate, however, criticised the president’s response to the clashes between herders and farmers, describing the president’s response on the issue as slow.
He continued, “Well, he is making progress, but then another problem has sprung up and that is where the problem is.
“Yes, he is very slow in responding. Buhari has failed in that respect,” he said.
Soyinka also raised allegation against former President Olusegun Obasanjo, claiming he (Obasanjo) contributed to the growth of Boko Haram terrorism by not dealing with the menace early.
He said another former president, Goodluck Jonathan, also failed to deal with insurgency in a timely fashion in 2015.
The scholar noted that supporting Jonathan in 2015 would have amounted to a continuation of the corruption association with his administration and that Nigerians were caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.
