•Soyinka, Agunloye and Olukoyede
Literally fuming on Monday, Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka demanded the detention of everyone directly or indirectly indicted in the alleged scam involving the Mambilla power project.
He was speaking to the arrest and detention of a former Minister of Power and Steel, Olu Agunloye by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over his alleged involvement in the long-running Mambilla saga, reports Nigerian Tribune.
The literary icon was particularly riled by a statement he credited to the chairman of the Commission, Mr. Ola Olukoyede that only President Bola Tinubu could order the release of Agunloye.
Querying the decision of the anti-graft agency to declare Agunloye wanted when the former minister had been visible in public, Soyinka said, “Olu Agunloye has pursued his movements openly to the extent of being present and photographed at my sister’s funeral on December 8. He did not appear in disguise, did not sneak in and out.
“He functioned as any normal human being at an event at which the Press was present. Less than thirty-six hours later, he was declared WANTED: If that was an EFCC joke, it was in extremely bad taste, obviously designed for Social Media sensationalism, not for any serious crime-solving commitment.
“Nonetheless, Agunloye, as a dutiful citizen, issued a statement on his visibility and ready compliance. He promised to show up at the EFCC offices in Abuja the following day. He appeared, and was promptly arrested and detained.
“The information I have been able to obtain during the past two days of my return to the country is that the Head of the EFCC declared that he would release him only on the instructions of the president of the nation.
“True or false? I am not in the game of “He said, I said”. What matters is the murky exercise of power. I have had cause to intervene before this, all the way from (Kayode) Are, through (Nuhu) Ribadu and (Ibrahim) Magu, that lasted until he stopped taking my calls.
“The present however transcends all other interventions, as it involves certain issues of national interest, in tandem with the evident issues of fundamental citizen rights”.
While he is reportedly for the unmasking of the culprits in the alleged Mambilla scam, Soyinka says he is for a Her said “put succinctly, ” wish to claim that finally, after so many years of frustration, the nation is being offered an opportunity to put the Mambilla Project to rest, be it through terminal abandonment or resuscitation. In addition, we stand a chance to finally solve a nation’s high-profile murder case, this being none other than that of Bola Ige, also prior minister of Power under President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“Let this be understood. The murder of Bola Ige, plus a monumental act of sabotage that took place under Ige’s watch, involving the loss of some engineers, was linked to massive corruption that underlayed the Mambilla collapse.
“It is time to end the deception, the cynical cover-ups, the blame passing, the diversionary utterances, and the now open admission of corporate corruption with high reaches of power.
“We are calling for a non-partisan Commission that will sit in public, take evidence, ask questions, and cross-examine witnesses over even one year if necessary. After all, this massive failure, has gone on for nearly two decades. We can spare one more year, surely to lay bare the ugly face of Truth, then let the public do what it will with the revelations.
“The cycle of self-deception has gone on far enough. Let the two legislative chambers take the bull by the horns to end the charade, cut our losses, and move on.
“In the meantime, the EFCC should release all its prisoners or, in the alternative, equally arrest and detain all those involved in this mammoth scam that has deprived the ‘Giant of Africa’ the basic survival facility for a twenty-first-century society.”
