Nigerians Attack Abacha's Children For Insulting Wole Soyinka

Two children of the late maximum dictator, General Sani Abacha, on Wednesday singled out Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, for a venomous attack. While Gumsu, the late dictator’s daughters, took to her Twitter page to pass disparaging remarks on him, her brother Sadiq chose blogs and online forums to snarl abuses at the widely respected Professor.

Abacha's son said Soyinka is a “common writer” who has grown old and fast “losing his grasp of reality.”

But Nigerians have been responding to the spoilt brats adequately. Below are some reactions:

“When Abacha’s children begin to run commentary on Wole Soyinka, you wonder if they were too young to know their father. There is no need to remind the Abachas of the sorrow their father brought upon Nigeria.

“I blame President Jonathan for his short memory. Today it is Wole Soyinka, tomorrow it may be Gani Fawehinmi. The Abachas are enjoying the freedom of expression their father repressed.”

Those are the words of Babatunde Rosanwo.

Hours after Sadiq’s article was circulated online, Ayo Sogunro, who described himself as a young Nigerian who sees Soyinka as his “socio-political” father, took to his blog to defend the literary icon.

In his post, he said the Abacha reign “have been the worst years of my material life as a Nigerian citizen”, noting that the attacks on Soyinka amounted to a “misguided filial bravery.”

“You (Sadiq Abacha) can never eradicate the infamy of your father’s legacy by trying to point out the failings of another Nigerian. No length of finger pointing will wash away the odious feeling the name Abacha strikes up in the mind of the average Nigerian.

“Wole Soyinka did not antagonise your father just because he was a military man —Wole Soyinka was against your father’s inhumanity. Your father was intolerant of criticism beyond belief,” Sogunro stressed.

Lending a voice to the outrage, a public relations practitioner, Isioma Osaje, wrote on Twitter that no matter the amount of mudslinging from the late dictator’s family, they cannot distort history.

She said, “You (Sadiq and Gumsu) should know that it is unfortunate that he is your father. But Abacha was everything he is accused of and more. A thief is a thief, father or not. His sins are not your sins unless you were cohorts and while it is admirable that you defend your father, it does not change history.”

Also, Tobi Amoo, who claimed to have once attended the same school with Sadiq, cautioned the duo against further spewing rubbish in an attempt to get back at Soyinka.

“Sadiq Abacha was actually a year my senior in Maitama during his father’s terrible reign,” he said. “If my father were a thief and murderer, I’d keep quiet when people talked about it, not spew crap as if na only me sabi speak oyinbo. If your father is a thief and you speak to support him, you are a thief also. 

"It’s the same freedom that Wole Soyinka and others like the late Gani Fawehinmi fought for that allows these badly-brought up children to open their gob and spout rubbish.”

As the drama goes on, don't forget that we have a President who pardons thieves, he may soon do so again.