Re: Wole Soyinka and the Obidient movement.

The Nigerian culture is very big on what the young owe the elders, our responsibility of respect, care, preserving the norms and culture but it's very vague on the responsibilities of the elders to the young. It demands young people absolutely respect their elders, no questions asked, follow the ever changing rules and dictates but must not expect anything back, whatever it gets must be seen as a privilege, not a right. Our kind of conservative culture is very loose at the top. Whatever the old and the rich decide is right is what we must follow.

But, elders can be wrong. The men with grey hairs and rotten teeth aren't always right and they don't always vomit wisdom and virtue. Sometimes they're just scared of the unknown so they try to preserve an order that serve their narrow interests, ignoring the overall health and welfare of the general population.

Take the recent fued between Professor Wole Soyinka and the Obidient movement, for example. Soyinka went on a public rant against the most organized and most effective political movement we have seen in decades, in this country but for some reason, the young people whose only crime is being tired and fed up with the old guards have been forbidden from responding and when they try, they are met with crude vitriols but even Nobel laureates can be wrong! Just because someone is a genius in a field doesn't necessarily mean they're qualified to pose as an authority on all subjects. 

Professor Soyinka is a respected voice in the art and literature world, he deserve all the accolades in the world and has earned himself a name to be reckoned with but His not a master on all issues and he can be wrong and should be called out on his bias when necessary.

It is common knowledge Wole Soyinka only find His voice when the APC is challenged, He's become a political operative who's thrown out to do damage control when needed. He's no more than an unofficial party spokesperson at this point, cleverly wearing the cloak of elder statesman to sell his agenda. Soyinka didn't hold back when Goodluck Jonathan was president as is his right as a citizen but he's been usually quiet the last 7 plus years. A man who only find his voice when one party is in power cannot be taken seriously as a neutral player. The professor obviously has an agenda.

It's ok if Bola Ahmed Tinubu is your guy but the push to constantly demonise Peter Obi and his movement because of a subset of his followers sound like a desperate attempt to persuade your conscience you did the right thing, something you probably should consider telling your therapist not Arise News journalists

Professor Wole Soyinka is just another APC apologist and all his statements must be treated as such. He's no different from Lai Mohammed or Delẹ Alake, he's no different from Mc Oluomo, for that matter, his own weapon is just his oratory prowess.