Centenary: Outrage as Abacha’s children attack Soyinka

Two children of the late maximum ruler, General
Sani Abacha, on Wednesday singled out Nobel
laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, for what can be
described as a venomous attack.
While Gumsu, one of the late dictator’s daughters,
took to her Twitter page to pass disparaging
remarks on Soyinka, his brother Sadiq chose blogs
and online forums to snarl abuses at him.
According to them, their grouse against Soyinka
borders on a statement he made that he rejected
the centenary award by the Federal Government
because of the inclusion of their late father’s name
on the list of awardees.
Soyinka had said it was an insult for him to be listed
alongside Abacha for the award saying, “I reject my
share of this national insult. We are speaking of a
man who placed this nation under siege during an
unrelenting reign of terror that is barely different
from the current rampage of Boko Haram.
“It is this very psychopath that was recently
canonised by the government of Goodluck Jonathan
in commemoration of 100 years of Nigerian
trauma.”
But Gumsu, who threw the first salvo, said in her
own wisdom, Soyinka’s statement was “stupid,
foolish and insignificant.”
“Someone should tell Soyinka that I liked his books
when I was younger but that is where it ends.
Today, I reject his stupid, foolish and insignificant
statement. I am not perfect, nor was my late dad.
We are human beings. God’s creation! We are not
perfect just like our fingers aren’t equal. Take it or
leave it,” she tweeted.
In what appeared as a coordinated attack, Sadiq
took time to write a 1,762-word open letter in which
he cast aspersions on Soyinka.
While claiming to be “lecturing” Soyinka, Sadiq said
he believes that the professor’s “brilliance is not
perfection” adding that the Nobel Laureate should
desist from always “pouncing” on his late father.
While defending his dictator father, he described
Soyinka as a “common writer” who has grown old
and fast “losing his grasp of reality.”
“Here I find myself defending my father 15 years
after his death because some of you have no one
else to pounce on, or rather, you have chosen a
dead person to keep pouncing on over and over
again when you have more than an array of
contestants,” Sadiq added.
But no sooner had their bombshells surfaced online
than a barrage of criticisms began to trail their
actions.
Many were quick to remind the children of the
autocratic ruler that the freedom of expression they
were exercising online by attacking Soyinka was
actually repressed during their father’s dictatorial
rule.
A political blogger, Babatunde Rosanwo, said it was
appalling that Abacha’s children were running
commentaries on highly respected individuals in the
country.
He reminded the two siblings that their father
brought much “sorrow” to the nation while his reign
lasted.
“When Abacha’s children begin to run commentary
on Wole Soyinka, you wonder if they were too
young to know their father. There is no need to
remind the Abachas of the sorrow their father
brought upon Nigeria.
“I blame President Jonathan for his short memory.
Today it is Wole Soyinka, tomorrow it may be Gani
Fawehinmi. The Abachas are enjoying the freedom
of expression their father repressed,” Rosanwo
added.
A few hours after Sadiq’s article was circulated
online, a blogger, Ayo Sogunro, who described
himself as a young Nigerian who sees Soyinka as
his “socio-political” father, took to his blog to defend
the literary icon.
In his 1,454-word blog post on ayosogunro.com , he
said the Abacha reign “have been the worst years
of my material life as a Nigerian citizen”, noting that
the attacks on Soyinka amounted to a “misguided
filial bravery.”
“You (Sadiq Abacha) can never eradicate the
infamy of your father’s legacy by trying to point out
the failings of another Nigerian. No length of finger
pointing will wash away the odious feeling the name
Abacha strikes up in the mind of the average
Nigerian.
“Wole Soyinka did not antagonise your father just
because he was a military man—Wole Soyinka was
against your father’s inhumanity. Your father was
intolerant of criticism beyond belief,” Sogunro wrote
in his blog post.
Lending a voice to the outrage, a public relations
practitioner, Isioma Osaje, wrote on Twitter that no
matter the amount of mudslinging from the late
dictator’s family, they cannot distort history.
She said, “You (Sadiq and Gumsu) should know that
it is unfortunate that he is your father. But Abacha
was everything he is accused of and more. A thief
is a thief, father or not. His sins are not your sins
unless you were cohorts and while it is admirable
that you defend your father, it does not change
history.”
Also, one Tobi Amoo, who claimed to have once
attended the same school with Sadiq, cautioned the
duo against further spewing rubbish in an attempt to
get back at Soyinka.
“Sadiq Abacha was actually a year my senior in
Maitama during his father’s terrible reign,” he said.
“If my father were a thief and murderer, I’d keep
quiet when people talked about it, not spew crap as
if na only me sabi speak oyinbo .
“If your father is a thief and you speak to support
him, you are a thief also. It’s the same freedom that
Wole Soyinka and others like the late Gani
Fawehinmi fought for that allows these badly-
brought up children to open their gob and spout
rubbish.”