“There Are Names In This Country I’ll Never Mention Again” – Wole Soyinka

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, says there are some names of
prominent citizens in Nigeria that he will never mention again.

Soyinka stated this at the Freedom Park in Lagos during a pre-launch
event of his latest book, ‘Beyond Aesthetics’ and the launch of
‘Beautiful: The Exposition’, an art collection.

The rights activist and playwright is considered a nemesis of former
President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Both men had in the past engaged in scathing references to each other
in their books.

Concerning names mentioned in the yet-to-be-released book, “So, please
don’t come at me and say why don’t you leave this man alone? It’s
nothing to do with me.

“It’s just a reality and this is also an opportunity to explain to
people that there is nothing really personal about some of these
heavy-duty antagonists you see or read about.

“No, no, it is not.  It’s taking power on and power turns ugly which
is 99 percent of the time.

“There are names in this country I have promised myself I will never
mention again. So, I will not mention any names. But if you find any
such name here, please have patience.

“Don’t just say what on earth is he giving them? Believe me, it’s
unrelated. Aesthetics, allusion for beauty…”