Ese's Abduction is a Wicked Criminal Act - Soyinka Blasts Islamic Scholar

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka

 

Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka has called the abduction of 14-year-old Ese Oruru purely criminal not religious. He said all those involved in the act must be prosecuted. He also blasted the Director, Muslim Rights Concern and Professor of Islamic Eschatology, Ishaq Akintola who claimed that Islam has no age barrier for marriage. Soyinka was speaking at a press conference in Lagos.

 

Soyinka said, “Culture is not static; it is dynamic and evolves. It is of humanity. There is no culture without human beings. If you say you are religious, there are others who could come to say they are holier than you are. We should take religion out of Ese’s abduction. We are talking about criminality. Nobody should say people are Islam-phobic.

 

"We are only against criminality. Who invokes religion in criminal matters? Who brings religion into issues of government and constitution? If you want to bring religion into a criminal matter, then let us talk about other things. When we are talking about crime, don’t diffuse it with religion.”

 

The acclaimed playwright further said that Akintola should desist from using literature to justify their claims, noting that the don likened the matter to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

 

“Did Shakespeare tell you that a court wants to grab Romeo and prosecute him? People bring their own intelligence into matters and think others are fools. Don’t quote Shakespeare when we are discussing criminality.

 

"The welfare of a child is more important than the money stolen. If you steal money, you commit crime against the society but when you force a child into marriage, you have ruined her for life. When criminality is in the public domain, it becomes everybody’s business, “Soyinka stated.

 

According to him, the society failed Ese and government must protect other underage female from child marriages like the one conducted with a teenager by a former governor now senator.

 

He attacked Senator Ahmed Yerima thus: “Until we make an example of people like Yerima (Senator Ahmed), there will be thousands of Yunusa.”

 

He further said the Emir of Kano did what was right when the case of Ese was initially brought to his (emir’s) attention, adding “The emir represents a modern traditional ruler who will help transform the primitive chiefs in power. If I am proved wrong, I will come back and apologise.”

 

It would be recalled that Ese Oruru was abducted from her home in Bayelsa to Kano by a certain Yunusa who forced her to convert to Islam before he married her.