Calls for Soyinka, Falana to lead protests driven by ignorance – NHRC

By Lukman Olabiyi

Young people calling on Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka and prominent human rights activist Mr Femi Falana to lead mass protests against the situation in Nigeria are driven by a complete lack of any sense of history, the Nigerian Human Rights Community (NHRC) said at the weekend.

The group, a coalition of several civil society and community-based organisations across Nigeria, expressed concern about several mock video clips of some young people persistently accusing the two human rights activists of being silent in the face of the country’s downturn, adding that such critics are ignorant and motivated by a combination of ignorance, lack of education, and some flavour of ethnic bigotry.

“We wish to remind these people, mostly young people, that their actions constitute a setback to the rich heritage of democratic struggle that the two figures represent in the history of Nigeria.”

The group argued that the problem with most young people is either they don’t read, lack any sense of history, or are ridiculously lacking in knowledge, the NHRC said in a statement signed by its officials, Taiwo Adeleke and Digifa Werenipre.

The group stated that both Soyinka and Falana began to fight for justice through rallies, legal advocacy, and street protests since their early twenties, urging the young critics to emulate them by following the examples of sacrifices and personal suffering they have endured in the struggle to free Nigeria from the fetters of oppression.

The group added that it is untrue that Soyinka and Falana are quiet after President Tinubu emerged in 2023, stating that the critics are too blind to admit the positive roles being played by the two icons.

“Some of them believe the word activism makes sense only when speaking in support of the Obidients, indicating their narrow mindset about what it means to change a country for the better.”

“Soyinka began the struggle at 21, while Falana started even earlier. Both have put in between 45 to 65 years of their lives in the ceaseless and tireless struggle for a better Nigeria, at the risk of their lives. These young, ignorant, misguided critics, who spend most of their time in either parties, beer parlours, or on social media, should stop expecting a 90-year-old man to set the agenda for a generation of young people in their 20s, who have better equipment and advanced technology to fight for justice but have instead converted the medium to pouring venom on leaders who have made genuine sacrifices in the most difficult periods of Nigerian history.”

“Soyinka took part in street demonstrations even in his 90s. It is time for him to rest. Falana has continued to fight several battles for Nigerians of all ethnicities, fought for justice for armed and defenceless people alike. His son led the ENDSARS struggle while his father provided legal services for hundreds of detained ENDSARS protesters. Falana has several cases against the current Government of President Bola Tinubu, while he also took part in a series of protests up to 2024. It is naive and unjust, even to the point of irresponsibility, to seek to stretch the two men beyond their physical and moral limits,” the group said.

It argued that the same people who are timid and cowardly critics, never bold enough to march on the streets, are swift to condemn older people who have risked their lives countless times in the struggle for a greater country.