President Jonathan Condoles With Soyinka Over Daughter's Death, SEE What He Said

Following the death of Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka's daughter, Iyetade, President Goodluck Jonathan has sent a message of condolence to the Professor and other members of the Soyinka family.

In a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, on Monday, Jonathan extended “sincere condolences to Prof. Wole Soyinka and family while praying to God to comfort Prof. Soyinka about the painful exit of the daughter.

He noted that Iyetade’s untimely death at such a young age must be quite painful for the Professor and his family.

The President urged them to take solace in the “belief that Iyetade has gone away from all earthly troubles to rest for eternity in God’s bosom.”

SEE What Wole Soyinka Has To Say About Nelson Mandela's Death

he death of former South African
President, Nelson Mandela, seems to have left Nobel Laureate, Wole
Soyinka, world acclaimed wordsmith,
short of words.
Photo He appears to be so shell-shocked and devastated.
In a rare and short tribute to former South African president and anti- apartheid hero, Nelson Mandela, Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka had this to say "

"The soul of Africa has departed, and there is nothing miraculous left in the world."

Mr. Mandela passed away Thursday night
at 95, throwing the entire world into unprecedented mourning.
Meanwhile, tributes have continued to pour following the death of the man who is credited for reconciling White and Black South African after the brutal apartheid era that saw the black majority suffering hideous human rights abuses under successive white minority regimes.

Mandela was born in 1918. He was
sentenced to life in imprisonment by the apartheid government for his armed struggle against a government infamous for killing unarmed protesters. He spent 27 years in prison before was released and elected first black South African president in 1993.

Wole Soyinka Warns About Perils Of Rivers Crisis

NOBEL LAUREATE, Professor Wole
Soyinka has warned of dire consequences for the country should the crisis in
Rivers State be allowed to degenerate beyond this.

Professor Soyinka, in a statement stated that “even after the Rivers crisis has been resolved, this notorious proceeding will not be permitted to fester unchallenged.”

Making reference to the election of
Nigerian Governors’ Forum, NGF
In Public Interest, in order to eliminate all further distraction and enable the nation to concentrate on issues that affect the democratic pursuit, it is necessary to make the following information available:

Before the press conference held by Femi Falana and myself – that is, even before the Rivers Assembly fracas - I had been canvassed by opposing sides of the face off, both via telephone and physically.

One such visit, perhaps the most
significant, was made by a Special Adviser in the presidency who outlined what can be regarded as the official rationale for the Governors’ Forum election debacle.

In the process of this exchange, he did make certain complaints against Governor Rotimi Amaechi, including charges of a conflict of interests over certain resources.

This was implied as the root of division between the Governors’ Forum and the Presidency.

I wrote down the details, informed the emissary that I would pass on these accusations to Governor Amaechi – which I did. That Amaechi hotly denied them and offered contradicting facts, which he urged me to verify, remained, and remains utterly irrelevant to the democratic core of the conflict – and this has been made clear to all interventionists: Keyed into this core are:

(i) the arithmetics of democracy involved in figures 16 and 19 at the time, and now, with increased confidence in impunity, the figures 27 and 5.

(ii) whether or not it is democratic , even cultured proceeding that a state governor is barred from public access anywhere within his own zone of constitutional authority, with the massive security apparatus of the centre, on behalf of an unelected individual.

Even after the Rivers crisis has been resolved, this notorious proceeding will not be permitted to fester unchallenged.

For the rest, since beneath the surface of most Nigerian conflicts will be found inordinate greed for public resources, it is perhaps pertinent to remind ourselves that Oil is not the only marvel to emerge from the Delta swamps. There are also exotic creatures – mermaids, manatees, even mammy watas and hippopotami.

However, unlike crude oil, which can be refined, you can extract a
hippopotamus from the swamps, but you cannot take the swamp out of the hippopotamus .