Soyinka to Buhari: You can’t honour Abiola and still admire his tormentor Abacha

Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has told President Muhammadu Buhari that he cannot honour MKO Abiola in one breath and admire his tormentor Sani Abacha in the same breath.

Soyinka, who was speaking in Abuja on Wednesday at the national honours investiture for heroes of democracy, said that although he understood Buhari’s official loyalty to Abacha, it shouldn’t take pre-eminence over the preservation of democracy

“Dear Mr. President, you cannot honour Abiola in one breath and admire his tormentor in the same breath,” he said.

Soyinka added that while the heroes of democracy were being recognized, the anti-democrats deserved some mention too.

“So, as we have the Hall of Heroes in one hand, we also have the Hall of Shame as a lesson to future generations,” he said.

In the latter category, he listed Abacha, whom he described as “one of the most brutal dictators — if not the most brutal, in fact the most brutal dictators — that this nation has ever known”.