Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka expressed disappointment with President Bola Tinubu’s nationwide address, saying it failed to address the attacks on #EndBadGovernance protesters by security agencies.
In a statement on Sunday, Soyinka highlighted the concerning deterioration of the state’s management of protests and the resulting cycle of resentment and reprisals.
Soyinka emphasized the use of live bullets as a state response to civic protest, calling it a core issue.
He also questioned the use of tear gas in peaceful demonstrations and condemned the violent response to hunger marches, referring to them as a test of governance awareness and an indication of public desperation.
He compared the situation to pre-independence acts of disdain and drew parallels with the colonial era.
The Nobel laureate urged the nation’s security agencies to educate themselves on alternative models for managing protests, citing the example of the YELLOW VEST movement in France, where he observed that no guns were leveled at protesters during direct physical confrontations.
Soyinka advocated for the adoption of Hubert Ogunde’s BREAD AND BULLETS, a folk opera that symbolizes resistance against oppressive colonial forces. Stating, “The serving of bullets where bread is pleaded is ominous retrogression, and we know what that eventually proves – a prelude to far more desperate upheavals, not excluding revolutions.
