Soyinka descends on Obasanjo: Says his library project is full of lies

By Kunle Awosiyan - 13.03.2008

NOBEL Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has condemned Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s Presidential Library project, saying it was full of misconception and lies.

Soyinka said this at a news conference organised by the Institute of Cultural Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University, on the forthcoming Ife International Festival of the Arts with the theme, “Mask, Masquerades and Marionettes” in Lagos on Wednesday.

He alleged that former President Obasanjo and his ‘collaborators’ were going round the world, manoeuvering and manipulating their devious ways to try and lie to the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) about the library project.

According to him, the library had earlier been presented to UNESCO as a centre where African antiquities would be kept and exhibited.

Soyinka said that the presentation was a misconception, adding that the former president was not interested in culture and that it would be wrong to showcase his library as a centre to exhibit African artifacts.

“There is no room for it. It does not exist. The man who named that library has no interest in culture. He takes pride in being uncultured. There is nothing which links Olusegun Obasanjo with culture.

“What Obasanjo and his collaborators have been trying to do is to acquire this important collection of antiquities and put it in empty shelf and showcase it to the world as our cultural achievement. In other words, Obasanjo and his ‘collaborators’ want to reap where they did not sow. In fact, they have acted in a negative way.

There is no promotion of culture that I’m aware of on the part of this library,” he said.

Soyinka alleged that Obasanjo and his ‘collaborators’ had gone to the extent of lying to UNESCO that Osun State was in Abeokuta.

“This is an insult to UNESCO. To try and present this library to UNESCO as a cultural centre is a lie.

There is also the question of who brought the collections and who paid for them? Why are they trying to disgrace this nation like this with their blatant lies?”

He, however, said that he would not want to say much about the former president, adding, “I want OBJ to rest in peace. I’m not going to talk about Obasanjo today. I mean I want him to be left alone. This man has left the office as president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I will like him to enjoy his retirement as long as he does not interfere in my cultural life.”

On the use of indigenous languages in the Houses of Assembly across the country, Soyinka quickly threw his weight behind it, describing it as a good thing.

“We need a common language. I welcome the use of Yoruba and other languages in the proceedings of lawmaking. It is a very good thing that it is gradually spreading across the nation and hopefully all over the continent. We need this language simply because of our colonial history.

“At the very least in a place where laws are being made, people should be able to talk to one another in a language of that particular environment. It is one of the ways of bringing people back to their origin, back to culture and their own identity,” he said.