Reacting to the 14-day lockdown ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari just as President Akufo Addo has done here in Ghana, Professor Wole Soyinka reportedly said “that we are not in a war emergency”, and so a lockdown was unnecessary.
The famous author’s opinion didn’t go down well with the presidency of Nigeria, so in a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, in Abuja, the Presidency reminded the Nobel Laureate that his qualifications are in English literature, and his prizes are for writing books and plays for theatres, Gistreel.com reports.
While acknowledging the fact that the old and globally respected professor is a citizen and has the right to share his opinion on any national issue, Buhari’s government literally asked him to stay within his lane.
The statement reads: “Yesterday, the esteemed Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka made comments on the legal status and description of 14-day lockdown announced by President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Professor Soyinka is not a medical professor. His qualifications are in English literature, and his prizes are for writing books and plays for theatres.
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“He is of course entitled to his opinions – but that is exactly all they are: semantics, not science. They cannot – and should not – therefore be judged as professional expertise in this matter in any shape or form.
“Across the world – from parts of the United States and China to countries including the United Kingdom and France, government-mandated lockdowns are in place to slow and defeat the spread of coronavirus.
“All have been declared, and all have been made necessary, based on medical and scientific evidence. The guidance of the Nigerian Government’s medical specialists is to advise the same.
“Professor Soyinka has also declared, doubtless based on his specialism as a playwright, that: ‘We are not in a war emergency.’”