Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy, has once again criticized Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka for his silence amidst the severe hardship affecting Nigerians. In a video clip posted on his verified X microblogging handle, Charly Boy reminisced about how Soyinka led a mass protest against former president Goodluck Jonathan during his tenure.
He recalled that Soyinka spearheaded the protest when Jonathan removed fuel subsidies, leading to an increase in petrol prices from N87 to N120.
Charly Boy questioned why Soyinka has chosen to remain silent amidst the current challenges facing Nigerians, accusing the Nobel Laureate of being a “tribalistic bigot.”
“There was a time when Uncle Wole Soyinka cared deeply about Nigeria and Nigerians. He criticized leaders and personalities who seemed anti-Nigerian,” Charly Boy said. “As a social engineer myself, he was one of my heroes and I saw him as a mentor. But today, I look at him as a tribalistic bigot and I have lost all respect I once had for him.”
Reflecting on Soyinka’s past activism, he added, “I remember back in the days, Uncle Wole paid the price for his radical activism, imprisonment, and even exile at the hands of military dictators. Recently, I’m not sure where his loyalty lies because he has remained mute about this government.”
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Charly Boy speculated whether Soyinka’s silence was linked to the recent renaming of the national theatre, questioning, “Uncle, was this recent renaming of the national theatre a reward for your muteness? I remember Wole led a protest when Jonathan removed the subsidy, and petrol prices increased from N87 to N120. He called President Jonathan a terrorist and his wife a ‘hippopotamus,’ saying that Jonathan almost damaged the economy beyond repair. That was when $1 was N190.”
Charly Boy further criticized Soyinka’s recent comments, saying, “Last December, Wole called Peter Obi unfit to lead this country and recently said that Obi must not run in 2027, a person who is not even in power. He maintained that he would not criticize Tinubu until a year after. It is now a year and a few months, but he remains mute.”
