THE Presidency on Tuesday tackled literary giant Prof Wole Soyinka over his remarks on President Muhammadu Buhari’s lockdown order of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos and Ogun states.
It urged Nigerians to ignore the Nobel laureate on his attack on Presidential lockdown pronouncement.
On Tuesday, a day after Buhari gave the order, Prof Soyinka faulted the Federal Government’s approach to tackling the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
He specifically took on the President for locking down the two states and the FCT when Nigeria is not in a war situation.
The literary giant also urged governors of the affected states not to cede their constitutional powers to the President.
But in a reaction last night, the Presidency observed that though the renowned playwright had the right to his own opinion, his intervention was misplaced and misleading, noting that he had strayed away from his natural calling.
The Presidency said Soyinka dabbled into the scientific field “where his expertise is rather limited”.
The reaction was contained in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu.
According to the statement, the Presidency observed that the approach adopted by President Buhari remained the globally-prescribed means of fighting the malaise, pointing at the advice of some renowned authorities in the field of science.
It reads: “Yesterday, the esteemed Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka made comments on the legal status and description of 14-day lockdown announced by President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Prof Soyinka is not a medical professor. His qualifications are in English literature, and his prizes are for writing books and plays for theatres. He is of course entitled to his opinions – but that is exactly all they are: semantics, not science. They cannot – and should not – therefore be judged as professional expertise in this matter in any shape or form.
“Across the world – from parts of the United States and China, to countries including the United Kingdom and France, government – mandated lockdowns are in place to slow and defeat the spread of coronavirus. All have been declared, and all have been made necessary, based on medical and scientific evidence. The guidance of the Nigerian Government’s medical specialists is to advise the same.
“Prof Soyinka has also declared, doubtless based on his specialism as a playwright, that: ‘we are not in a war emergency’.
“Eminent scientists say otherwise: Dr. Richard Hatchett, Head of the International Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (and former Director of the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority) has said, ‘war is an appropriate analogy’.
“Prof Anthony Fauci, Director of the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force has said of the battle against the pandemic: ‘It’s almost like the fog of war’.
“As for the legality of the lock down, the government’s primary duty in law and action is the defence of the people of Nigeria. We face a global pandemic. Nigeria is now affected.
The scientific and medical guidance the world over is clear: the way to defeat the virus is to halt its spread through limitation of movement of people.
“Perhaps Wole Soyinka may write a play on the Coronavirus pandemic, after this emergency is over. In the meantime, we ask the people of Nigeria to trust the words of our doctors and scientists – and not fiction writers – at this time of national crisis,” Shehu said. (The Nation)
