Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has
reacted to the criticism that has trailed his
vow to destroy his United States residency
permit should Republican Party candidate,
Donald Trump emerge President.
The Nobel laureate described those taunting
him over his statement as “literalists” who
obsess over a time scheme of their own
assessment. He said while it is true that he
made the statement while addressing a group
of students at Oxford University and fielding
questions, he is not about to be stampeded
into doing what his critics want.
“Thus, failure to have torn my Green Card “the
moment” that I learnt that Mr. Donald Trump
had won the presidential elections of the USA.
It did not matter what I was doing at the time
– teaching, eating, swimming, praying, under
the shower or whatever. Or a family member
saying, “Wait for me!” – speculatively please,
no such disturbance ever took place. If it did
however, I am supposed to contact the
Nigerian media – to whom I have never
spoken, and who never contacted me – except
one – to beg permission to pursue a realistic
definition of “the moment”.
Media fascism is however a subject for
another day. For now, that moment having
passed, I must be culpable of breaking a
solemn promise. By the way, since we are on
the terrain of literalism, has anyone attempted
to “tear” or rip apart a Green Card? Even a
Credit Card? For the average hands, that
would take some doing! I have actually
considered garden shears for a dramatic
resolution, this being closer to my real
profession,” Soyinka said.
The literature icon said he has been asked
several times if he would still carry out his
promise to tear his card as he said. According
to Soyinka, his answer to this question
remains a categorical ‘Yes’.
“I have been asked several times –
interestingly only by the foreign media, with
the exception of THE INTERVIEW – whether
indeed I did make such a statement at any
time, and whether I still intended to carry it
out, and the answer remains a categorical
’Yes’.
Speaking further, Soyinka said, “nonetheless,
did I mean what I said – that is, ’exiting’ the
USA? Absolutely, and that is the very theme of
this address. It will not attempt to deal with
the notion of an exit time-table as conceived
by others, as if even the incumbent US
president and his replacement are not even
permitted over two months to pack their bags
and prepare to move in and out of the White
House, but must exchange positions the very
moment that a winner was proclaimed.
“Anyone would think that the Brexit Vote
made it imperative for the Brits to plunge into
the English Channel instantly, instead of
negotiating two years for an orderly
withdrawal. Plebeians like me of course need
far less time, nevertheless they do not uproot
overnight. Any other proposition speaks of a
permanent agenda, of frustration and hidden
histories – such as opportunities to
rehabilitate themselves in the public eye.
“There is also recession in the land, and I can
understand the psychology of impotence and
thus, transferred aggression. Let it be
understood – before I move even one word
further – that I interrupted my present
commitment in the United States solely for an
urgent meeting with the Ooni of Ife on an
ongoing project. I am obliged to return to the
US in a matter of two or three days to
complete my interrupted mission. Fortunately,
that mission is guaranteed to end long before
the United States becomes Trumpland Real
Estate.”
Soyinka, who wondered why his statement
generated such negative criticism, said he is
not disturbed by the development as,
according to him, his temperament requires a
certain minimum level of environmental health
to function properly.
Offering an insight into why he made the
statement that has seen him severely
criticised by social media commentators
across the globe.
He added, “I followed the fluctuating poll
statistics. I began to warn my colleagues,
friends, my family: listen, this thing is
happening right before our very eyes. This is
how it begins, how humanity ends up with
Cambodia, with Rwanda, with Da’esh. We are
watching a Hitlerite phenomenon. We are
witnessing history in reverse, unravelling
before a complacent world. I said to them, if
this man wins, I am relocating.
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