VIDEO: For Sanity, We Should Imagine That Buhari’s Govt Doesn’t Exist – Soyinka

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Renowned Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has said that for sake of sanity, one must imagine that the regime of General Muhammadu Buhari, does not exist.

He, however, described the new Lagos- Abeokuta-Ibadan standard gauge train, as long overdue.

Soyinka said this during a recent interview with Kaftan TV which was monitored by our correspondent.

Speaking onboard the new train, the Nobel Laureate said he would not like to talk about Buhari’s government because he imagined the regime doesn’t exist.

When asked whether the new train was a plus to Buhari’s regime, he said:-
“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.”

The playwright said for years Nigeria had seen the roads turn to a death trap while rail transport had been neglected.

He said on two occasions he had spent over six hours on the road from Lagos to Abeokuta.

Speaking highly of the new train, Soyinka said:-
“It is a 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 said the rail revival would not only change the people’s mentality but boost commerce.

He recalled how as a young boy he rode on trains but at some point, Nigeria abandoned rail transport.

“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,”

The playwright said the traffic congestion had deteriorated to the extent that women now give birth in traffic and even name their children after the cars in which they give birth.