At PUNCH’s 50th anniversary lecture, Soyinka echoes call for decentralisation

Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, has lent his voice to the call for decentralisation of the running of the country, saying that it remained the only path for Nigeria to true nationhood.

Delivering a public lecture, titled, ‘Recovering the Narrative,’ to mark PUNCH newspaper’s 50th anniversary on Thursday in Lagos, Mr Soyinka said decentralisation was key for the country to be self-sufficient in food production.

Against the backdrop of the hardship, food insecurity inflation, and pervasive hunger being experienced in the country, he maintained that decentralisation would be essential to addressing hunger and lack of productivity among the citizenry.

“We speak about food hunger because it is real. But palliatives are temporary stop-gap policies. They do not reach the heart of the problem. This is why we need to decentralise development as massively as possible.

“To anticipate accustomed banal responses, let me state quite clearly that no one has ever claimed that decentralisation – a precise word I personally prefer – will end hunger in the land or terminate religious conflicts and other forms of national malaise, no. We simply insist that this is central to the incomplete mission of – nation-being. It is essential to activities of basic existence such as food production, and access to such products,” he said.

As a veteran of food security, working conferences from Uganda to India, from Paris to Sochi, the Nobel laureate insisted that, for a nation to be food self-sufficient, and sustainably, decentralisation is the key, not collectivisation.

He also stressed that administering palliatives, which is fast becoming the norm in the country in response to the growing hardship, is a crude, short-term, stop-gap measure.

Leaders must stop taking the nation for a ride

Disturbed by the state of the nation, Mr Soyinka stressed that the time had come for decentralisation, saying, “It’s about time leaders stopped taking this nation for a ride.”

“You know we must decentralise. Security has become a bugbear; from all corners of the nation, that has been the cry. Decentralise simply so that the government can come closer to the people and productivity can really be manifested as a product of citizens, not as manna from heaven. That is the attitude obtained at the moment,” he added.

He bemoaned the fact that most leaders who come into power have indulged in pretend exercises, engaging the populace in totally phoney exercises, just to “pacify the natives.”

He noted that the time had come for the demand for decentralisation to be taken seriously and addressed head-on, while decrying past decentralisation conferences that proved to be mere distractions, especially by those who had a different agenda in mind, such as the third term agenda.

“There is no shortage of reasoned and implementable propositions in past conference papers, including even sham, money-guzzling initiatives, summoned to distract attention from conspiracies for self-perpetuation in power. It is high time we stopped the cyclic distraction of re-inventing the wheel. The spokes are in place, and the rims are intact. Only the will, not the wheel, is missing in action.”

The Nobel laureate noted that the word ‘restructuring’ has refused to disappear, despite evasion by one elected leader after another, even as it meant different things for different people.

However, he said some politicians were afraid of restructuring as they interpreted it to mean the dissolution of the country.

As a result, Mr Soyinka said he preferred to use expressions like reconfiguration and decentralisation instead of restructuring.

“When the word restructuring is booted around, we often have the challenge, what do you mean by restructuring? Well, I don’t even like the word restructuring, I prefer expressions like reconfiguration and decentralisation. And those who lead us, they recognise the necessity of it, they recognise the importance and almost the inevitability of decentralisation until they get in power.

“Reconstruction, reconfiguration, decentralisation, all this is necessary to maximise development,” he said.

In her address, the chairperson, PUNCH Nigeria Limited, Angela Emuwa, noted that the title of Mr Soyinka’s lecture, ‘Recovering the Narrative’, was not just a theme but a call to action.

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She added that it was a rallying cry for the media and responsible actors to reclaim their rightful place as the guardians of facts, truth and justice, and the voice of the people.

“This is so because, in a world inundated with information, the power to shape narratives is a formidable responsibility and one that should not be taken lightly,” she said.

Mrs Emuwa noted that over the years, PUNCH has not only been a witness to history but a key player in shaping narratives.

“Our 50-year resilience is a testament to the power of the press in influencing positive change, upholding the values of democracy, and championing the cause of the people.

“We hope that the impact of our 50-year journey will serve as a source of inspiration to all. We have weathered storms, stood against oppression, championed the cause of justice, and yet we remain unbowed and unbroken,” she said.

In attendance at the lecture, held at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, were dignitaries from all walks of life such as government officials, media executives, captains of industry, the top echelon of the military and members of the civil society, among others.