{"id":11622,"date":"2016-09-25T20:34:30","date_gmt":"2016-09-25T20:34:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=11622"},"modified":"2016-09-25T20:43:32","modified_gmt":"2016-09-25T20:43:32","slug":"niger-delta-dilemma-what-i-told-buhari-wole-soyinka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=11622","title":{"rendered":"NIGER DELTA DILEMMA: &#8220;What I told Buhari&#8221; &#8211; Wole Soyinka"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><code><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- www.deltanewsroom.com --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-2163942495525027\" data-ad-slot=\"1411897411\" data-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/code><\/p>\n<div id=\"yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1474805529279_72919\">Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka has opened up on his discussion with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Thursday, August 11, 2016.<\/div>\n<div id=\"yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1474805529279_72915\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1474805529279_72914\">\n<div id=\"yiv5961809599yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1474814438624_6021\"><span id=\"yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1474805529279_72913\">Soyinka\u2019s meeting with the president on that day was\u00a0<span id=\"yiv5961809599yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1474814438624_12956\">scheduled as private and took place in the Buhari\u2019s office.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><code><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alternativeadvert.com\/show.php?z=30&amp;pl=10781&amp;ad_type=59&amp;rl=180\" width=\"300\" height=\"250\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/code><\/p>\n<div id=\"yiv5961809599yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1474814438624_6024\">He arrived at the villa\u00a0and went straight in for the meeting with the president.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Thereafter, Soyinka told newsmen he discussed<span id=\"yiv5961809599yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1474814438624_12969\">\u00a0\u201cnational and international matters, general matters, that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div id=\"yiv5961809599yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1474814438624_6026\">He declined to give further details but said he would hold a press conference on the discussions.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>Speaking in an interview with Sahara Reporters, the professor\u00a0of Comparative Literature said although he initiated the meeting with the president, the discussion centered around the Niger Delta crisis, kidnapping of the Chibok girls (Boko Haram kidnapped 219 girls from a secondary school in Chibok town, Borno State on April 14, 2014), corruption and what he described as other peripheral issues.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cI was the one who initiated the meeting\u2026I had an appeal from the Niger Delta Avengers \u00a0(NDA) they were willing or close to embarking on a ceasefire but that they needed\u00a0\u00a0the government to respond, in a very positive way, to meeting their grievances.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cI knew that the president had already met some of those spokespersons of the NDA, according to my information. I don\u2019t know their names, by the way\u2026 I sent a message and President Buhari made time for us to meet.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cMy position was that this was an issue that should be treated holistically. We shouldn\u2019t wait until people take to arms in one form or the other before addressing certain social anomalies, social grievances, dissatisfaction, sense of alienation, etc. No matter what!<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cMy position is that the Delta insurgency and restlessness is an integral part of a certain dissatisfaction with the internal arrangements, socio-political arrangements of the nation.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cIn other words, for me, I just see this as an aspect of a call for restructuring \u00a0because of the peculiar history of the Delta region in relation to others, has giving rise to militarism which surges again and again and again.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cSo, I believe we had a very, I believe, positive discussion on that. In fact, I remember telling him that each time you say Nigeria\u2019s sovereignty is not negotiable, you or Obasanjo or Gowon or you military people, the world will start talking to insurgents.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cYou are already negotiating Nigerian sovereignty; so, let\u2019s move away from the rhetoric and get practical. So, it (the discussion) was along those lines that we had our conversation.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- www.deltanewsroom.com --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-2163942495525027\" data-ad-slot=\"1411897411\" data-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/p>\n<div>\u201cNot only on the Niger Delta issue, also talked about Chibok girls, on corruption, \u00a0on a number of other peripheral issues\u2026 I had an interesting respondent to, shall we say, a number of issues. Naturally, the discussion was cordial, frank and I think, positive discussion that we had.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cThat I didn\u2019t want to talk to the press before was for the fact that I called (for) that meeting for a different purpose. When I invite people, the press for a briefing, I tell them what I want to talk about. They cannot dictate to me what I want to talk about and when I want to talk about some issues.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>On his impression of Buhari up close, Soyinka described the president as one with a good sense of humour, despite being described as taciturn.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cThey say he has a taciturn\u2026 but he must have a taciturn sense of humor which expresses itself in non-taciturn ways, let me tell you that.<\/div>\n<div id=\"yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1474805529279_72994\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1474805529279_72995\">\u201cHe has a sense of humour. It was not a dry meeting.\u201d<\/div>\n<div id=\"yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1474805529279_72996\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1474805529279_72997\">\n<div id=\"yiv5961809599yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1474814438624_21372\" dir=\"ltr\">Earlier,\u00a0on June 29, on a visit to corporate headquarters of Punch Nigeria Limited, Soyinka supported Nigeria\u2019s restructuring when he said \u00a0sovereignty of the nation is negotiable.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\u201cI am on the side of those who say we must do everything to avoid disintegration. That language I understand. I don\u2019t understand (ex-President Olusegun) Obasanjo\u2019s language. I don\u2019t understand (President Muhammadu) Buhari\u2019s language and all their predecessors, saying the sovereignty of this nation is non-negotiable. It\u2019s bloody well negotiable and we had better negotiate it.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"yiv5961809599yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1474814438624_21373\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cWe better negotiate it, not even at meetings, not at conferences, but everyday in our conduct towards one another.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"yiv5961809599yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1474814438624_21373\" dir=\"ltr\">A fortnight after, on July 9, Prof. David Tam-West dismissed Soyinka\u2019s statement<span id=\"yiv5961809599yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1474814438624_23530\">\u00a0and insisted that the sovereignty of Nigeria was\u00a0non-negotiable. Source: SUN<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/wole_soyinka.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-9692\" src=\"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/wole_soyinka-300x193.jpg\" alt=\"wole_soyinka\" width=\"300\" height=\"193\" srcset=\"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/wole_soyinka-300x193.jpg 300w, http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/wole_soyinka.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Alayo-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-9619\" src=\"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Alayo-2-300x250.jpg\" alt=\"Alayo 2\" width=\"300\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Alayo-2-300x250.jpg 300w, http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Alayo-2.jpg 559w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><code><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- www.deltanewsroom.com --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-2163942495525027\" data-ad-slot=\"1411897411\" data-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/code><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alternativeadvert.com\/show.php?z=30&amp;pl=10781&amp;ad_type=59&amp;rl=180\" width=\"300\" height=\"250\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka has opened up on his discussion with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Thursday, August 11, 2016. Soyinka\u2019s meeting with the president on that day was\u00a0scheduled as private and took place in the Buhari\u2019s office. He arrived at the villa\u00a0and went straight in for the meeting with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":9692,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[34,197,1462,290],"class_list":["post-11622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","tag-boko-haram","tag-mohammadu-buhari","tag-niger-delta-avengers","tag-prof-wole-soyinka"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/wole_soyinka.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4oswh-31s","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11622"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11622\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11624,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11622\/revisions\/11624"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}