Soyinka gives Buhari pass mark in anti-graft war

Wole Soyinka, Nobel laureate, says the fight against corruption has taken a new turn under President Muhammadu Buhari.

Soyinka who spoke on Hard Talk, a BBC programme, said of Buhari’s top three campaign promises, the president performed best in the anti-graft war.

Commenting on security, the professor said while Buhari is making progress in curbing Boko Haram insurgency, the president failed to tackle the herders-farmers crisis.

He said Buhari has been slow in responding to the crisis, saying the president handled the situation like ex-President Goodluck Jonathan did the Boko Haram insurgency.

“But, it’s no longer business as usual in Nigeria because we have bankers who are on trial; we have legislators who are on trial and we have former governors who are on trial,” Soyinka said.

“The moment they stepped out of office, they were grabbed by the anti-corruption agencies. On corruption, as far as I’m concerned, he scored a pass.

“We have this issue of corruption, and I frankly despise those who try to trivialise it in Nigeria simply because they don’t like the face of the man who is behind it or he has failed in other certain aspects.

“The issue of Boko Haram, if action had been taken at the beginning, and we are not talking about the time of the reign of Jonathan. When the first governor decided to make his state a theocratic state, that was when action should have been taken.

“The President of that time compromised because he was ambitious and he needed the support of that governor. And when you start operating a theocracy, a movement will get up and say you are not holy enough and they begin by killing, first of all those who don’t believe in their faith and then turn on even he co-believers.

“Well, he (Buhari) certainly has made progress in that aspect but then, then, another menace (herders/farmers clash) came up and Buhari made the same mistake of slow response. Buhari has failed in that aspect. He behaved exactly like Jonathan. He was apathetic.”