PROFESSOR WOLE SOYINKA: “My Generation Has Failed Nigerians”

Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has said that his generation of older Nigerians has failed the country. Soyinka said this when he appeared on Hard Talk, a BBC programme yesterday.

The professor said the dreams people of his generation had about the country had not materialised, largely due to greed and corruption on their part.

When he was asked by the anchor, Zeinab Badawi, “Has your generation of older Nigerians failed the people?”, the Nobel laureate replied

 “Yes, I believe so. I compare today with dreams and aspirations we had when we all rushed home after studies abroad. We considered ourselves the renaissance people that were going to lift the continent to world standards, competitors anywhere. It hasn’t happened.”

He went on to describe the 2019 general election as the most depressing election Nigeria has ever had.

“The 2019 election is one of the most depressing elections we’ve been through. Talking for myself, it wasn’t possible for me to make a choice for the simple reason that both candidates (President Muhammadu Buhari and Atiku Abubakar) had histories – one immediate, one past – which made one look for alternatives.” he said