On the situation in the Niger Delta where there are ongoing clashes between the Nigerian army, local armed groups and the communities over the exploitation and management of oil resources:
The longer this problem persists the tougher the resolution will be. In other words, I am talking about now, now — immediately. [There should be a] resumption of dialogue and the implementation of agreements made between the federal government of Nigeria and the recognised and legitimate leadership of the oil-producing regions — organisations such as MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta).
The government should very seriously look at the recommendations made by the Nobel Laureate Commission (see box) which went there and spoke to the ordinary people and the leaders of the militants, both men and women. It was astonished at how organised and absolutely resolved they are …
These are people who feel that decades of marginalisation, of contempt, of the appropriation of their resources with nothing in return but degraded environments, a polluted atmosphere, toxic waste — should come to an end. These are people who are saying “Our forebears tried this route and it did not work” and this is the language they will understand.
My view is that it is about time the government realises it is dealing with a totally new generation of objectionists to the status quo. The formula for resolution is not wanting. The recommendations were signed by about 65 Nobel laureates, including people of peace such as the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu, so it’s not just a bunch of eggheads, supposedly people detached from reality. The federal government would be very irresponsible if it failed to use this opportunity to resume contact and meaningful dialogue with the Delta region.
On democracy in Nigeria:
I don’t know if we have made any gains along the lines of democracy. [After military rule] we had two rigged elections, an individual imposing on a nation, who even attempted to stay beyond what the Constitution allowed — at great expense to the nation. We have what we call rule by godfatherism, almost like the rotten boroughs in British history — anybody could pocket a borough. That’s what is happening in Nigeria. Is this what democracy is all about? I don’t know about any gains.
On the Zimbabwe situation:
I make no bones about it, Mugabe is a let-down within the democratic imperative. He has become power-intoxicated, he is a liberation fighter whom we all admired and we held up as a model. He has let us down. He is obsessed with power, intolerant and despotic. I consider him [to be] no better than Idi Amin, except that he is constrained from going the whole hog. The conduct of Mugabe is a betrayal of what we have fought for on the African continent. The business of playing the race card when there is internal opposition and internal demand for change, the cruelty involved, the annihilation and the bulldozing of all those centres of opposition … How is it different from what apartheid South Africa used to do? So I am sorry that Mugabe is earning the contempt of former admirers. And that, for me, is very sad.
Wole Soyinka was the guest of honour at the launch of Between Faith and History by Ivor Agyeman-Duah, a biography of John Kufour, the President of Ghana
What the Niger Delta region needs
The Nobel Laureate Commission recommended last month that:
- oil companies in the region publish audits of revenues ; and
- a fund be established that would go directly to local community organisations involved in health, education, microcredit and infrastructure development.
It said oil companies should:
clean up oil spills;
compensate communities devastated by environmental degradation; and
train and hire residents from the Delta region