NOBEL laureate and Human Rights Crusader, Professor Wole Soyinka, yesterday condemned the First Lady, Turai Yar’Adua, pronouncing her guilty of spousal abuse, as he called on the Federal Government to immediately put her on trial for kidnapping and detaining President Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua.
Soyinka, who was addressing placard-bearing “Women Arise” group, said criminal proceedings should immediately be commenced against Turai for keeping the President away from the public, two weeks after his purported arrival from Saudi Arabia.
Inspired by the placards and banners emblazoned with words such as: “Turai Stop Defaming Womanhood; Stand Up for Women” among others, the professor said: “From the banners I see here, some of you have realised that there are spousal abuses. It is not one way, not just man to woman but woman to man. We have an example with the President of the nation being abused physically by a woman. He has been kidnapped by a woman under false imprisonment.”
According to Soyinka, in a civilised society, Turai would have been made to face the consequence of her actions.
He said: “This woman should be in court by now for kidnapping and false imprisonment. Far even worst than abusing her spouse, she is also abusing a nation, abusing and insulting the intelligence of a nation.”
Then he called on Turai: “Release this man so that he can speak to the nation about his condition. Release him, stop insulting and belittling his family.”
Soyinka added: “Even his mother was not allowed to see him. For me, this is sacrilege, acute sacrilege and I think we should begin criminal proceeding against Turai for kidnapping and false imprisonment of her husband.”
The literary lion addressed the women who were protesting inhumanity against women as part of efforts to mark the International Women’s Day in Lagos.
In the group were Professor Pat Utomi, Pastor Tunde Bakare and Dr. Joe Oke-Odumakin, among others.
Soyinka later presented a letter chronicling their struggle through Governor Babatunde Fashola to the Acting President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.
Ironically, the protesters were not courageous enough to include their prime demands on Turai when they arrived at the Government House, Alausa.
Speaking for the women, Utomi said that women all over the world struggle to assert their democratic rights. He noted that the struggle typifies mass unemployment, extra-judicial killings and children roaming the streets.
“Those who should lead us are playing games with the future of the women. So, they have come here to say that enough is enough,” he said insisting that the country must change.
Bakare said politics was too serious a business to be left to politicians alone. He noted that there is no gender to being poor, adding that insecurity, prostitution and many other things afflict everybody irrespective of sex.
He stressed that women are also entitled to the wealth of the nation, adding: “They all have a right to this nation. The majority that is wrong will become a minority. It is just a matter of time.”
Odumakin called for abolishment of all sorts of discrimination against women. She pointed out that women have been dismissed from their jobs for contracting the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and some while on maternity leave.
For a change, she demanded for payment of maternity allowance for all working mothers, better condition of service for working women and setting up of crèches in offices where women have been employed.
Fashola promised to deliver the letter to the Acting President as instructed and asserted that the protest is an exercise of freedom that could only be available in a democracy.
Fashola warned against doing anything that would jeopardise it. He added that his administration had been gender sensitive, putting a number of women on political appointment in addition to eight maternal and child care centres, which the state is putting up to provide about 800 bed spaces for women.