Nigeria is Negotiable – Prof. Wole Soyinka

Nobel Laureate and eminent Nigerian, Professor Wole Soyinka spoke on the state of the nation recently: “We are mixing up the argument. When people say, especially former leaders and especially those who bear enormous responsibility for the question of breaking up or not breaking up, our roles in the first place, it always sounds hypocritical, dogmatic and dictatorial and that statement is that the unity of Nigeria is non-negotiable.”“Now, that for me is a falsity. Anything is negotiable. The right of people to determine their future is what is non-negotiable. Most nations came to be through negotiations”

“Sometimes when people say negotiate, what they really mean is restructure. Should Nigeria break up? And my answer to that is no, but please don’t tell me that Nigeria as it stands is not negotiable. For me, it is a fallacy. The nation has got to be negotiated. Negotiation includes ensuring that there is no marginalisation.”“Negotiation has to do with control of resources; negotiation has to do with structuring the nation in such a way that the components, constituents are not feeding an over-bloated centre to the detriment of their own development.”

“So, Nigeria is negotiable. What we should say is: what are you willing to sacrifice? What efforts are you willing to make to ensure that Nigeria remains intact? That is the citizen question.”