‘Stop False Promises, We Need to See Actions’ – Soyinka Tells Buhari
Prof. Soyinka said President Muhammadu Buhari must speak like “a leader who is awake to the realities of the situation.”
Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, has called on Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, to drop his false confidence and start taking actions on the country’s challenges.
The problems of the country can be addressed with the right actions by the leaders, Soyinka said during an interview on Arise Television.
President Buhari has repeatedly said his administration is committed to combating the myriads of challenges facing the country, particularly insecurity, with the rising spate of kidnapping and the decade-long Boko Haram insurgency.
But Soyinka said the President must speak like “a leader who is awake to the realities of the situation.”
In his Democracy Day address on Saturday, June 12, 2021, the president refuted claims that he was not bothered about kidnap incidents ravaging the country, saying “every incident, however minor, gives me great worry and concern.”
He assured Nigerians that all security challenges would be addressed and that perpetrators of crimes would be brought to justice.
“Like I said, we are going to treat them (terrorists) in the language they understand. We are going to give the police and the military power to be ruthless and you watch it, in a few weeks time, they will be different,” the president said in an exclusive interview with Arise TV on Thursday, June 10.
According to Soyinka, Nigeria is on the “edge,” and the president needs to move beyond mere talk, and take urgent action to set the country on the right path.
“Let us see actions being taken,” he said.“I’m tired of hearing things like ‘you will see differences in a few weeks’ time’. We are tired of that.”
“He’s got to put his cards on the table and take people into confidence.He’s got to stop exuding a false confidence, because that kind of confidence is totally false.”
He said it was no longer a problem of the people but a problem of leadership, “because the people have shown themselves ready to act, to save their own community.”
Meanwhile, he said lawmakers were shedding their constitutional responsibilities of putting the executive arm on its toes.
He also urged Nigerians to stop spreading false news about him challenging the government, saying distorting constructive narratives would not help them.
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