Probe me, Soyinka dares EFCC
Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka
has dared anti-corruption agencies in the country to probe him over an
allegation by Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, that N82m was spent to
host him by former governor Rotimi Amaechi.
Soyinka’s reaction came on the heels of
an allegation by the Rivers State Government, which said on Wednesday
that it would demand a refund of an alleged N82m purportedly expended on
the 80th birthday dinner in honour of the Nobel Laureate by Amaechi.
The government, which spoke through the
Commissioner for Information, Austin Tam-George, said it would take time
for the legal process to be completed since “they were financial
crimes.”
In a statement titled, “Those who
flounder in the sewage of corruption,” the Nobel Laureate on Thursday
described the allegation as a distraction and a sign of insecurity on
the part of Wike.
Tam-George had said, “I will seek the
permission of the governor to formally write Professor Wole Soyinka, a
known supporter of Amaechi if he received part of the N82m spent on a
three-hour dinner hosted in his honour by the Amaechi administration.
“If he agrees that he received such
funds, then he will be compelled to refund same to the coffers of Rivers
State. Presently, we have presented these details to the police for
investigation and prosecution.”
But Soyinka said, “I have learnt of some
unsavory statements by the insecure incumbent of the Rivers State
government Lodge. These included a loose invitation to anti-crime
agencies to investigate the potential crime of being honoured through
any occasion.
“The descent to this present level of
abominable distractions makes one truly despair. It is one that even I
did not envisage when I warned – ‘Corruption strikes back!’ Whether it
brings honour or dishonour to the nation is another matter – I am
saddened, but indifferent. EFCC and company – over to you! You all know
where I live.
“The unprecedented call by this governor
is prescient of a warning I recounted in my recent pamphlet
publication, ‘The republic of liars’, and was taken from my address to
an anti-corruption global conference that took place in Tunisia two
years ago.
“Those words were, ‘Corruption strikes
back’. In this ongoing instance, that expression translates most vividly
as those who are neck deep in the sewage of corruption ensure that they
splatter sewage in all possible and improbable directions.”
Describing Wike as “Wikeleaks”, Soyinka,
who threw his weight behind the governor’s call for a probe into the
money for the dinner in his honour, however, added that he was sad about
the descent of the Rivers helmsman into an ‘abominable’ level of
distraction.
He said, “I do however fully support the
‘Wikeleaks’ call for multi-directional probes. I recommend further that
he involve the services of INTERPOL to guarantee its extension to all
international organisations and governments to whom I owe uncountable
events of recognition – including birthday luncheons, dinners, cultural
receptions and events of real, fictitious, or simply opportunistic
flavoring – to which I have submitted myself.”
Reacting, Amaechi dared Wike to go to court instead of peddling lies against him and Soyinka.
Amaechi, who is now the minister of transportation, spoke through his media office, on Wednesday.
He said it was unfortunate that Wike
could peddle lies against him and the Nobel Laureate in order
to “criminalise legitimate government transactions”.
The statement by Amaechi’s media office
said, “Since Wike is blind to his responsibilities as the Governor of
Rivers State and has insisted on attacking the person and clean
reputation of Amaechi as his one and only project, then let him go to
court to prove his allegations and stop the nefarious insinuations.”
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