Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports
Prof. Wole Soyinka, a renowned writer and Nobel laureate, expressed displeasure yesterday over a viral video in which members of the Pyrates Confraternity could be seen chanting what appeared to be a song critical of Bola Tinubu.
The video depicted the group marching in formation, imitating the name Emilokan, which is commonly attributed to the former Lagos governor, and ridiculing the idea that someone with reportedly unsteady limbs would insist “it’s my turn.”
The All Progressives Congress (APC) will run Tinubu for president in the next 2023 general elections.
In his remarks, which he headlined “Interim Statement on a Dubious Political Outing,” the 80-year-old, who founded the group with a few buddies when he was a university student, called the occasion repugnant.
Soyinka stressed that the development was strange and that, while he couldn’t compel members to adopt certain political ideas, it was obviously inappropriate for the organisation to openly denigrate one of the candidates.
“A video clip of a group of people dancing and singing in red and white costumes, ostensibly Pyrates Confraternity members, has caught my eye online. In the anticipated 2023 presidential elections, a candidate is attacked invectively by the display.
“Since the entire world is aware of my affiliation with that fraternity, it is imperative that I make it very clear that I have nothing to do with either the public performance or the themes conveyed in the songs.
“The Pyrates Confraternity is entitled to its freedom of expression, whether it be individually or collectively, just like any other civic organisation. Wole Soyinka is also true to himself, according to the esteemed author.
Soyinka emphasized that he does not attempt to influence the political decisions made by the confraternity and that he does not interfere with their political decisions. However, he said he was unaware of any instances in which the association made a statement endorsing or denouncing a particular candidate.
He said that the situation was “obviously a novel and unusual development, loaded with unforeseeable implications.”
Soyinka asserted that after hearing the song’s lyrics, he came to the conclusion that they violated the culture, which is unmistakably against making fun of people with disabilities.
“Let me also make the following cultural statement. I carefully listened to the chant’s lyrics, and I’ll be honest: I’m horrified. It offends me, I think. I come from a society that does not make fun of physical ailments or impairments. extremely to the contrary
No matter the type of sorrow, the Yoruba faith designates a deity, Obatala, as the divine protector of the oppressed. We are born with this sensibility and carry it with us throughout our lives. It functions upon the tenet of mortal weakness, to which all people are nonetheless subject.
He recalled the state of the late Cyril James, a fellow novelist who had Parkinson’s disease yet was still mentally sharp years after being diagnosed.
“CLR James, author of The Black Jacobins, Beyond A Boundary, and other works, is one of my favorite authors and I recently got cause to write about him. He was my ideological uncle, I said. He had Parkinson’s disease, yet even after the commencement of the condition, he was still sharp, clear-headed, and aggressive.
“We engaged in political dialogue at the Dakar Festival of Negro Arts, the Tanzanian Pan-African Congress, and other other cultural and political gatherings. Despite his difficulty, we went out to eat frequently during his lifespan.
“To take part in any activity that made fun of his condition would be unimaginable and an insult of his memory. Once I have conducted additional research into this odd, unusual behavior by the association, I will issue another statement, he promised.
