Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has said the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is non-existent despite acknowledging the strides made by the Federal Government in infrastructural development across the country, particularly in rail transportation.
Speaking in an interview, Soyinka, who recently drew public attention after he was filmed the new Lagos-Abeokuta-Ibadan standard gauge train, said he does not speak about the Buhari administration for the sake of his sanity.
While applauding the train network and describing it as overdue, the professor of literature, however, insisted that he can only enjoy bit and pieces of what the government provides Nigerians but stated that balance must be weighed when looking at the overall performance of the current administration.
“I don’t want to talk about Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. I think it is best for my sanity just to avoid that overall question. I can take bits and pieces of Nigeria’s present predicament but I think for one’s sense of balance, one must forget the existence of the Buhari administration,” Soyinka told Kaftan TV.
“It is a work in progress but it is a very impressive work in progress considering the difficulty of really executing anything in this country… I think we are looking at a virtual transport revolution which is long overdue.”
The Nobel Laureate narrated the ordeals he faced while plying the Lagos-Abeokuta Road on two occasions, saying the traffic congestion has deteriorated due to the state of the road.
He lamented that the traffic gridlock has become so bad to the extent that women now give birth in traffic and even name their children after the cars in which they give birth.
Recalling how as a young boy he rode on trains, the playwright said the rail revival would not only change the people’s mentality but boost commerce.
Soyinka said: “I have spent, on the road between Lagos and Abeokuta six hours. A few weeks ago at the launching of my novel in Abeokuta, I left Lagos…. The journey took about seven hours.
“I had an engagement in Lagos which I nearly postponed because of the road but for some time I have been saying wait a minute, this thing (train) is supposed to be running and I checked the timetables and I said if I catch the train in Abeokuta I would be in Lagos in an hour and a half, I would be picked up, run around quickly, do my business and here I am.
“I left Abeokuta this morning, I am going back to Abeokuta to eat my Ilafun (yam/cassava flour) and I am going to sleep in my bed this evening. It is marvellous. That is what one has been doing in Europe. Why has it taken so long for that to happen here? It is sad but at the same time, let’s be glad it is happening.”
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