More knocks have continued to welcome President Jonathan’s recent assertion that the January 2012 fuel subsidy ‘war’ between the organized labour and the federal government was sponsored by some eminent Nigerians.
The president was on Wednesday quoted to have said that some people were actually behind the Occupy Nigeria protests across the country in January.
“Look at the demonstrations back home, look at these areas this demonstrations are coming from, you begin to ask, are these the ordinary citizens that are demonstrating? Or are people pushing them to demonstrate.” The president was quoted.
Registering his disappointment over Jonathan’s comment, Nobel Laureate and ace dramatist, Prof. Wole Soyinka affirmed that Jonathan is suffering from a bad conscience.
The literary doyen in a statement issued on Friday said it was an unpresidential pronouncement; saying that protesters had every freedom to express their fundamental human rights.
He said, “The most generous response that can be given to President Jonathan’s recent statement on the people’s fuel subsidy protest is that he is suffering from a bad conscience.
“The worst – which I fear is closer to the truth – is that he is lamentably alienated from the true pulse of the nation, thanks perhaps to the poor, eager-to-please quality of his analysts.
“Since I have had the opportunity to contest this perception of the protest with him directly, it is clear what kind of interpretative diet he prefers. The nation needs all the luck it can get.”
Soyinka noted further that, “This should be seen as a grave danger to democracy, and a warning. Both the participants and those who, like myself, were unavoidably absent, that lent both vocal and moral support to the demonstration, have been maligned and insulted by such reductionist reasoning.
“The culture of public protest appears to be an alien territory to Jonathan, which is somewhat surprising, considering the fact that he has not only lived in this nation as a citizen, but served in various political offices.
“He has lived through the terror reign of the late Gen. Sani Abacha, whose ruthless misuse of the military and the secret service did not prevent demonstrations against perceived injustice and truncation of people’s rights.
“Jonathan’s pronouncements truly boggle the mind. What is this obsession with bottled water, comedians and musical artists? Must demonstrators drink water from the gutter? Is protest no longer viable when sympathisers cater to their needs, supply decent water and food rations?
“And since when have entertainers been deemed a sign of unseriousness in a protest rally? Static or moving, demonstrators boost their morale in any way they can, including dancing and even mini-carnivals.” He added.
Source: DailyPost
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