Professor Wole Soyinka, a Nobel Laureate, has stated that he does not care if Nigeria’s next president, vice president, and Speaker of the House of Representatives are all from the same religion and village.
Soyinka also stated that the same faith ticket would not be a problem in a “normal society,” which Nigeria has yet to achieve.
The 88-year-old playwright appeared on Channels Television Newsnight in a pre-recorded interview that aired on Monday.
“I don’t give a damn if the president, the vice-President, the speaker, etc. all come from the same village, they have the same religion, they belong to the same tribe,” Soyinka said when asked about his thoughts on the controversy that has trailed the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He added, “If, however, it is transparently, absolutely, unarguable that is a kind of genius breed that has been donated to the nation and to the world, as long as the capability of the individuals who are into governance is proven, and it is quite clear that there is no alternative, that is my position.”
“Now, we are talking about a society which is normal, which institutions are normal…Is Nigeria normal?” he asked.
Soyinka’s comments came months after APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, had announced former governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima, as his running mate.
Tinubu and Shettima are Muslims, a development that has continued to attract criticisms from the Christian Association of Nigeria the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, among others.
