Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka has called for a fresh investigation into the unresolved murders, including those of slain Attorney-General & Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige and Dele Giwa, Mrs. Kudirat Abiola.
He lamented that the clues to the assassinations were polluted in the past, urging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reopen the files.
Giwa, a journalist, was killed after receiving a parcel bomb at his office in Ikeja in 1986.
Kudirat was killed at the Lagos/Ibadan toll gate on his way to the American Embassy in Lagos.
Ige was murdered in his bedroom in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, in 2001.
Soyinka, who spoke on ‘June 12: Romancing the embers,’ cautioned against trivialising the anniversary of the historic June 12, 1993 poll won by the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate, Chief Moshood Abiola.
He also warned against the trend of fake news about the June 12 struggle, saying they are misleading and confusing.
The Nobel Laureate, who spoke with reporters at the Freedom Park on Lagos Island, Lagos, rejected the former military President Ibrahim Babangida’s account on June 12, saying that he should be courageous to tell the truth in his future books.
He described June 12 as a multidimensional struggle involving the academia, unions, clergy, professionals, politicians, military and the civil society, stressing that those honoured by President Tinubu, including himself, were representative of the lot.
Alluding to the tension between power and freedom, he said the will of the people to achieve freedom would always wax stronger.
Soyinka, who said the President released a thematic list of honours, added that June 12 meant several things to several people.
The 91-year-old former university lecturer paid tribute to Abiola’s wife, Kudirat, who he said came out like the Aba women of those days to fight for justice and freedom.
He doubted if any healing process can erase the memory of the gruesome murders from the memory of their loved ones.
Soyinka decried the abolition of history in the curriculum by the military regime, noting that it has prevented the youth from knowing the antecedents of their country.
He recalled that former President Muhammadu Buhari once promised to unravel some unusual murders, lamenting that they were not eventually investigated.
Soyinka urged President Tinubu to pick up the files and commence fresh investigations into the murders of Giwa, Kudirat and Ige and bring their killers to justice.
Stressing that there are clues, he said if the murder of an Attorney-General had happened in the United States, the authorities would have left no stone unturned in apprehending the killers.
Soyinka recalled that the American Embassy had offered to assist in unravelling some of the murders, recalling that the Federal Government turned a deaf ear.
He said: “Let us enter it as a challenge for Tinubu. Let us investigate and call witnesses.”
Soyinka said there are some misconceptions about June 12 among the participants, adding that people came into the struggle with different motives.
He said many were brutally treated by the conduct of the military while many were involved in the agitations for gains.
Soyinka added: “Many negative things happened with the struggle, and there were a lot of mistakes and inconsistencies.
Noting that June 12 began before the poll day and subsequent struggles, he lamented that it is now being trivialized by false claims and for the advancement of political ambition.
However, he explained that the struggle affected the key actors differently, recalling that those who were big men in Nigeria had to endure discomfort in exile.
He hailed Chiefs Ralph Obiorah and Raloh Uwuche for refusing to listen to their people who discouraged them from fighting for justice, adding that they fought based on their convictions.
Soyinka also paid tribute to his cousin and compatriot, Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, a quiet and brave fighter who undertook a suicide action by procuring a device with the aim of physically confronting the maximum ruler, the late Gen. Sani Abacha.
He said: “I persuaded Beko to stay outside because I knew that the killers were after his head.”
Soyinka recalled that when Abacha accused him of training people to topple him, Radio Kudirat was used to counter the misinformation.
He said healing for many pro-democracy crusaders is difficult because of the prolonged trauma.
He dismissed Babangida’s account of the annulment, urging the former military President to give the correct account in another book.
Soyinka said:”I called Babangida and I told him that his account is deficient. His account should be read side by side with that of Prof. Omo Omoruyi.
“At a time, he became a General without an Army. Military people and civilians, monarchs visited him and said he should not de-annul June 12.
“I told him that he had not finished his memoir. He should try to write another book.”
Soyinka decried the demolition in Ilaje Bariga, saying that people should not be dehumanised in the quest for development.
He said development is possible without inflicting pains on the people.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
