The Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, yesterday, expressed concern over the level of corruption in the society, saying the cankerworm is deeply eating it from the top to the bottom.
Soyinka said that the drive to fight the deadly malaise formed one of the motives for establishing Pyrates Confraternity 62 years ago.
According to him, without attitudinal change and readiness of Nigerians to begin to do the right thing, winning the war against pervasive corruption in the country will remain an impossible task.
The world renowned scholar spoke at the 26th annual Wole Soyinka Lectures organised by National Association of Seadogs otherwise known as Pyrates Confraternity to mark the 90th birthday of Soyinka.
The lecture which was held at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta had as its theme “The Baby or the Bathwater: Navigating The Dark Tunnels of Systemic Corruption to Nationhood” with the former governor of Lagos State, Mr Babatunde Fashola as guest lecturer for the occasion.
The Nobel Laureate while commenting on the lecture noted that the challenge of corruption is such that runs from the top to the bottom in Nigeria and that only the decision of every citizen to change for good that can help halt its deadly march in the country
He said, “the particular aspect of this lecture that struck me is corruption. Corruption is not just when you change money, it is a cankerworm that eats deep into the fabric of the society from the top to the bottom and corrupts our very nature, our very existence.
“And one aspect of the lecture emphasised that the cure for corruption begins from the inside. Yes, we can talk about institution, government, we can talk about exercise of power unfairly, inordinately to the disadvantage of the rest of the community and all that as part of corruption but ultimately, the solution, short term, immediate and long term must begin from the inside and this is one of the motives for establishing Pyrates Confraternity 62 years ago.”
Soyinka cleared the misconceptions people have about Pyrates Confraternity, saying it is a registered association and not a blood-thirsty secret cult.
He explained it was founded to push for justice and advance the betterment of the country.
He lauded the members of the association for organising the event and urged them to continue to push for the ideal of social justice and good governance which is the core mandate of the association.
Soyinka alongside the former Secretary General of Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyawu later unveiled a book “Ship Ahoy” written to document 60 years history of the confraternity.
In his lecture earlier, Mr Babatunde Fashola described Soyinka as not only a gift to the country, the continent but also the entire civilisation.
Speaking on the theme of the lecture, the former two -term Minister of Works and Housing
said corruption in terms of pecuniary gains is no doubt reprehensible, but reckoned the displacement of African highly cherished moral values as the worst form of corruption.
The former governor said that for instance, the number of lives lost on Nigerians roads every month as a result of wrong attitude and values is far more than what is lost to the insecurity which everyone complains about in the country.
He said “when I was in office as a Minister, the Federal Road Safety Corps usually made copies of the monthly reports on road crashes available to me, the report is actually for the office of the Secretary General of the Federation, but I used to get a copy.
“In October 2022, a total of 1111 road crashes were reported across the country out of which 449 died representing 6% of 6458 people involved in the accident with 2780 injured. The analysis showed a 3% decrease when compared with the previous month but 10% increase when compared with the figure for October 2021.
“This goes to show that an average of 400 people are lost monthly to road crashes in the country but I doubt if the insecurity which is always an issue during campaigns is responsible for huge loss of lives like this every month in the country”.
He said, further analysis showed that speed violation accounted for 51.7% of the accident, fatigue is responsible for 15%, sign rules violation 5.8%, dangerous driving 5.4%, while route violation is responsible for 4.5% of the accident.
Fashola said that out of 1613 vehicles involved in the accident, cars constituted 469 representing 29.5% and that 66% of these cars were those being used for commercial purposes.
The former governor argued that the carnage has remained unabated on our roads not because of bad roads but because out of corruption of values people have neglected adhering to highway codes.
He said “many people don’t even know the highway codes, they don’t drive with certificated driver’s licence, many don’t even know that the road is a shared asset, many don’t give regard to the speed limit, these are all corruption that are making the slaughter to continue on our roads”.
Fashola said as a way out, “people must embrace attitudinal change, the people must embrace recertification of their driver’s licence and training, people must respect the traffic rules to stop this disturbing waste of life and properties”.
The former Minister also demanded that road safety should be introduced into the both primary and secondary school curriculum and even one of the subjects that must be passed by students seeking admission to inbuilt the culture of road safety into upcoming generations.
In his welcome address, the Chairman of National Association of Seadogs, Capn Abiola Owoaje lauded Prof Soyinka for his consistency and for being the voice of reason against all forms of injustice against humanity.
While wishing the Nobel Laureate more fruitful years, Owoaje said that the annual lecture has become a credible platform for advocates of sound leadership, good governance and social justice.
The programme also featured presentation of Wole Soyinka Leadership awards to the three deserving winners.
