Don’t emulate me, Soyinka tells youths

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has decribed himself as a man of many sides to different people.


He therefore urged the Nigerian youths not to emulate him but to be themselves in their aspirations in life.


The playwright spoke when Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, and 77 secondary school pupils drawn from the 36 states of the federation and three from abroad paid him a courtesy visit to mark his 77 birthday in Abeokuta on Thursday.


Soyinka said, “People have different perception of who is Prof Wole Soyinka; it will be wrong for the incoming youths to try to emulate me as Wole Soyinka is problematic.”


He commended the state government for organising the event, which he said, he had no foreknowledge.

“Everything was organised behind me. The topic, I had no idea. I became a visitor in my house,” Soyinka said.


In his remark, Amosun lauded the Professor of Literature for being a strong advocate of anti-corruption crusade in Nigeria and for being an ardent human rights activist.


He enjoined Nigerians to learn to celebrate their heroes while they are alive, stressing that Soyinka had contributed a great deal to the development of the country.


The governor and the pupils had, while on their way to Soyinka’s residence ran into some state workers, who were protesting the non-remittance of about N7.8bn deducted from their salaries to their Pension Fund Administrators.


His convoy, however, sped past with the workers shouting, “O n salo o, etete pe pada. Amosun n salo o, etete pe pada. ‘He’s fleeing, call him back. Amosun is fleeing, call him back.’


The workers led by the state Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Mr. Akeem Ambali, carried placards denouncing the state government and calling for the immediate stoppage of pension deductions from their salaries.


They lamented that the present administration had failed to dialogue or appeal to them over the non-remittance of pensions deducted during the administration of Otunba Gbenga Daniel.


The workers regretted that the Amosun administration chose to continue with the trend by also failing to remit the two months pension deducted from their salaries to the PFAs, contrary to provisions of the pension law.


Ambali, who spoke on behalf of the workers, alleged that Amosun had not shown commitment to paying the outstanding deductions, adding that workers would resist further injustice in the state.

Posted: at 15-07-2011 12:27 PM (13 years ago) | Gistmaniac

Lol. good advice. Everyone these days wanna copy what they see, instead of being themselves.

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Posted: at 15-07-2011 03:48 PM (13 years ago) | Gistmaniac