Prof. Wole Soyinka, a Nobel laureate, granted people who accuse him of flaunting bogus academic qualifications 30 days to provide all of their evidence to the appropriate authorities for review. He said that if proven guilty, he would forfeit all titles and honours he may have received over his career.
Additionally, he stated that the accusers should “undertake to jump off the bridge of the symbolic River Niger” as atonement for their moral transgression if they fail to present evidence within the allotted time.
In a 1998 publication, one Joseph Dahip cited a 1996 study in which Prof. James Gibbs was described as debunking various statements attributed to Soyinka.
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“The claim by Professor Wole Soyinka that he obtained a first-class bachelor’s degree in English literature from Leeds University has been challenged,” the 1996 article said in part. The Nobel Prize winner actually graduated from Leeds with a second-class degree. Professor James Gibbs, who has closely observed the actions of former Leeds students in English literature, revealed this shocking information.
According to the study, Gibbs claimed that he consulted a number of sources, including current Leeds publications, archive information, Soyinka’s writings, and “interviews I had with him” in order to come to the conclusions he did regarding Soyinka’s academic achievements.
However, Soyinka stated in a statement on Friday under the headline “A moral call to amoral conscripts” that he was awaiting the conclusion of his attorneys over whether or not to bring a lawsuit.
“A document of unmatched scurrility, last seen during General Sani Abacha’s global campaign of calumny against opponents of his despotic, infernally venal, and homicidal reign, is back in circulation,” he said. Ironically, it is spreading its filth under the banner of a democratic political party that purports to be committed to an ethos of freedom of opinion and speech, but has been suitably tweaked to fit a debased internet culture. The script’s contents are once again credited to a Bristol schoolteacher’s academic endeavours.
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“I wish to state in advance that I voluntarily waive all protection under the statute of limitations and insist that the laws that govern fraudulent academic claims be invoked and applied to these allegations to the utmost extent while awaiting a decision from my lawyers regarding whether or not to dignify the current sponsors of this mouldy tract with legal action. I also promise to renounce all titles and distinctions I may have received throughout my career, from the least prestigious to the most sought, if I am proven guilty.
The nation’s investigative agencies, including the Directorates of Prosecutions, the EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission), the ICPC (Independent Corrupt Practises and other related offences Commission), as well as affected institutions and others, are expecting all evidence, no matter how small, from the purveyors of this vile material within the next 30 days. As a sign of moral retribution, they should agree to jump off the bridge of the symbolic River Niger while wearing life jackets to ensure a life of regret following this ritual purgation but chained to another person. If they fail this simple public service within the allotted time or if such allegations are once again proven to be unfounded, showing that their sponsors cannot boast of honours to their careers or honour to their births and origins,
Soyinka claimed that the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Pan-African Writers Association, Accra, Nigerian Association of Authors, Nobel Foundation, Stockholm, University of Leeds, the purported Bristol Primary Source and his school, as well as the media, had all received copies of the statement.
