Nobel
laureate Wole Soyinka has disavowed a role as a negotiator on behalf of the
Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), a militant group that has claimed responsibility
for numerous bombing attacks on oil installations in Nigeria’s oil-producing
delta.
In
a press statement he sent to SaharaReporters, Professor Soyinka declared that
he never agreed to play a role as a representative of the interests of the NDA
in any negotiations with the Federal Government led by President Muhammadu
Buhari.
A
week ago, the NDA had issued a statement warning the Buhari administration
against negotiating with any delegation from the Niger Delta led by a
traditional ruler, Alfred Diete Spiff, and other personalities from the
geopolitical zone.
The NDA declared Diete Spiff and the other would-be
negotiators as “vultures.” The militant group then asserted that they would
only recognize a negotiating team led by the Professor Soyinka and Anthony Ani.
However,
the Nobel laureate today denied that he ever agreed to play a role as a
negotiator. “I have just seen the release by the NDA that I shall be leading
NDA'S negotiating team,” he said, adding, “I wish to make it abundantly clear
that I have never at any time agreed to any such mission. My role in this
affair has been restricted to advising this movement on realistic approaches to
a rational resolution. I have no intention of extending that role.”
-Sahara Reporters
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