The Immediate past Governor
of Osun state Colonel Olagunsoye Oyinlola of has described the recent attack on him by
the Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, over the chairmanship of the Board of
Trustees of the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding,
Osogbo, was borne out of an alleged friction between him ( Soyinka) and former
President Olusegun Obasanjo.
There has been
heated argument as both Soyinka and Oyinlola have laid claim to the
chairmanship of separate boards for the UNESCO-approved centre.
While documents
of the agreement that established the centre make Oyinlola the permanent
chairman of the board, the Rauf Aregbesola administration had established
another board and chose Soyinka its chairman, upon succeeding Oyinlola.
But apart from
the fact that the matter has been a subject of litigation, Soyinka, last week,
accused Oyinlola of illegally carrying on as the board chairman.
At a press
conference held in Oyinlola’s home town, Okuku, the former governor said, “Why
all these attacks on my person? I have asked myself repeatedly. Could it be a
case of transferred aggression? If he has any problem with his brother, elder
statesman, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, why transferring the aggression to me? I have
never done anything in the past to warrant what I have been getting from
Soyinka.
“Does Soyinka
know that an elder in Yorubaland operates within certain ethical boundaries?
Does he know that elders must never be seen playing the hen otherwise foul
smell will be their companion?”
Oyinlola, who is
one of the political associates of the former President, said the CBCIU was a
joint property of the UNESCO, the Federal Government, Osun State and the late
Ullie Beier, whose works form the bulk of the items kept at the centre.
He presented the
documents and said they were available for Soyinka to view.
Oyinlola noted
that Aregbesola, who appointed Soyinka as the board chairman, had eventually
discovered the true status of the centre, and had even initiated a process to
reconcile him and Soyinka.
But he added that
the former governor said the Nobel laureate had rebuffed all efforts he made to
have a meeting with him.
He said, “Because
I believe, to the best of my knowledge, that there is no personal animosity
between me and Professor Soyinka, I have, in consultation with my governor,
Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, made some moves
to meet the
professor to give him the correct information on the centre for him to be
properly guided. All the moves have, sadly, been rebuffed.
“I paid a visit
to his house in Lagos on the advice of the governor. He was not at home and
never acknowledged the visit. I made several phone calls to him which were
never answered. I tried reaching him unsuccessfully through his daughter, Mrs.
Moremi Onijala. The last was an intervention organised between us by Aregbesola
for Senator Sola Adeyeye to broker peace.
“The senator met
with me and promised to meet Soyinka and get back to me. I was waiting for the
feedback when I read Soyinka, an elder statesman and a supposed culture icon
attacking me once again.”