Posted by From Ademola Adeyemo in Ibadan on
Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka said yesterday in Ibadan that his group has carried out investigation into the murder of the late Attorney General and Justice Minister, Chief Bola Ige, adding that he'll not rest until the true story of Ige's death is made known to the public.
Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka said yesterday in Ibadan that his group has carried out investigation into the murder of the late Attorney General and Justice Minister, Chief Bola Ige, adding that he'll not rest until the true story of Ige's death is made known to the public.
Ige was killed at his Bodija, Ibadan home on December 23, 2001 by yet to be identified assassins.
Addressing Ige's family, friends and associates who had gathered at the Premier Hotel, extolling the time and impact the late justice minister made in rebuilding a new Nigeria while marking his 75th posthumous birthday, Soyinka said it is not yet time to reveal the facts of Ige's death noting however that nobody is sleeping.
Although Soyinka was silent on the progress made so far in the private investigation on Ige's death the nobel laureate, however, said they will continue to clamour for justice on the matter.
"All I can say now is that we have carried out our investigation on the murder of Ige but we are not going to disclose the outcome. There are moments when it is useful to reveal something and there are other times when you keep what you have and you continue to build on it, but I can assure you that nobody is sleeping. We will not rest until the true story surrounding the murder of Ige are made known to the public," he said.
Soyinka while reflecting on the life and times of Ige asked rethorically, "What cause would Ige have stood for were he to be alive still'?
And to this he said, ''I know if Ige was alive today, his favourite cause would have been Pro-National Conference'' (PRONACO).
He disclosed that Ige was working on a kind of prototype for the possibility of a national conference before his death.
''Many of you do not know this but I witnessed it. He even asked me to prepare some kind of project, a working paper on this but I did not work on it,'' Soyinka said.
A book authored by the late minister's eldest daughter, Mrs. Funso Adegbola, entitled He Gave Me Wings, was presented at the ceremony attended by former governors Lam Adesina of Oyo and his Osun State counterpart, Chief Bisi Akande, Justice Kayode Eso, Prof. and Mrs. Muyiwa Awe, Prof. Sola Adeyeye, Chief Tayo Apata and Prof. Olu Akinkungbe among others.
In her address Mrs Adegbola said that the book which started off as a journal for her to unload her thoughts was meant to be presented to her father on his 75th birthday in appreciation for being a wonderful father.
''I wanted to give it to him personally but unfortunately, though today would have been his 75th birthday, he was assassinated in his bedroom on December 23, 2001''.
Adegbola who pointed out that the book was only a part of the special relationship with her father said plans are under way to write another book which will cover more painful aspect of her life after Ige's murder.
''I thank my Dad and Mum for being so exemplary that I am able to write a little about the extraordinary relationship we shared. I wrote this book to encourage all our children to be the best they can and also encourage parents, especially holders of public office that you can be the number one citizen and be a number one parent.This book covers only a part of that relationship..., but I promise to write a sequel to this which will cover the more painful aspects of my life post December 23,2001", she said.
The book was reviewed by Ms. Funke Aboyade.