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  • Expecting Nigeria to work without restructuring country is sign of madness – Soyinka

    Expecting Nigeria to work without restructuring country is sign of madness – Soyinka

    Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on Saturday, reinstated that restructuring the country whether in terms of dialogue, evolving the constitution among others is only way to better Nigeria.

    “For me, for instance, I emphasised decentralisation, reconfiguration…We all know what we have now is not working, it’s obvious and we can’t continue along the same line and say that it will work, it is sign of madness.

    Soyinka stated that there was a consensus among Nigerians that the country must be restructured urgently, saying anybody still asking what restructuring means despite the numerous explanations already provided should be ignored because such persons had chosen to be ignorant deliberately.

    The elder statesman spoke at the 2021 Obafemi Awolowo Lecture titled, ‘Whither Nigeria?’ organised by the Obafemi Awolowo Foundation.

    The event, which was held virtually, had in attendance dignitaries, including a former Secretary-General of Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku; the Emir of Sokoto, Saad Abubakar; Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi; former Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II; and former Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Obadiah Mailafia, among others.

    Awolowo, who died in 1987, would have been 112 years old on Saturday.

    Soyinka words, “There is a consensus that this country whether in terms of governance, economic relations, security, educational policy, cultural policy, etc, requires restructuring. Even the word ‘restructuring’ has been restructured in many directions, in cogent expression which will mean the same thing for everybody.

    “For me, for instance, I emphasised decentralisation, reconfiguration…We all know what we have now is not working, it’s obvious and we can’t continue along the same line and say that it will work, it is sign of madness.

    “I want to make a plea to all governors, stop being so timid. Push this federal envelope as far as it can go, even while we undertake the technical aspect of restructuring whether in terms of dialogue, evolving the constitution or whatever, something has to go on, after all, we’ve had so many of these confabs.

    “My plea is to governors to start with: You are charged with the immediate responsibility of the welfare of your own people in whatever term and if you study the constitution carefully, I have done this with lawyers, and it seems that a lot can be done at this moment.

    “You need a season of greater autonomy for your own states and that is what I mean by pushing the federal envelope as far as it can go even with this impossible document that we have to cease what power, what authority you can derive from the constitution.

    “Consult with your lawyers, I have consulted with mine and they also expressed the view that the governors are too timid, there is too much centralised mentality embedded in their minds and they are afraid to come out of their cocoons.

    “Please remember that your primary responsibility is not the centre but the people, the state. So, take in your hands any form of authority that you can even from this constitution as it stands while we are working on a more honest, a more people-oriented constitution.”

    Human lives cheap in Nigeria -Anyaoku

    Explaining how things have deteriorated in the country, Chief Anyaoku, who was the special guest at the lecture, with Professor Soyinka as chairman, lamented the precarious state of the nation which he said was unsustainable. He observed that not a day passed without reports of worsening security evident in violent criminal acts such as kidnapping and abduction of schoolboys and girls, stating that terrorists are current euphemistically described as bandits.

    According to him, human lives in the country have become so cheap now. He said that given his wealth of experience as the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, which comprised more than 50 countries, the types of problems confronting Nigeria could not be solved under the current system of government the country modelled after that of the United States of America.

    He suggested the India model of federalism as opposed to American system because of certain peculiarities. India, he said, is a country of diverse population, while Nigeria’s national attribute is much more common with that of the Asian country.

    To save the country from catastrophe, Anyaoku called on the Federal Government and the National Assembly to urgently organise an all-inclusive national dialogue where the participants would also use reports of past conferences to fashion a truly people’s constitution for the country.

    Advocating oneness of Nigeria, Anyaoku maintained that each of the constituent units was bound to gain because of the size and resources of the country.

    Part of his speech read: “I intend in what must be brief remarks by a special guest on the theme of the lecture to make four main points. My first point is that there is no section or ethnic group in Nigeria that does not stand to benefit from belonging to one country of the size and resources of present-day Nigeria. Therefore, it is, and should be in the common interest of all its ethnically and religiously diverse component parts to sustain, nourish and progress our one country.

    “My second point is that the current state of affairs in Nigeria is not sustainable if the country is to avoid becoming a failed and broken state. There are undeniable facts about the current situation in Nigeria. In addition to the country’s economic under-performance with its evident consequence of growing poverty among the population, there is worsening insecurity of life and property which is now spreading from the North to all parts of the country.

    “Not a single day passes without reports of many people having been killed and kidnapped, including many young students from their schools – the latest incidents include the kidnapping of 617 boys and girls from their schools in Kagara and Jangebe and in the last three days of 60 women and children in Zamfara.

    “There are also incessant reports of people being killed in their farms and their homes being destroyed by terrorists now euphemistically described as bandits, and reports of women and young girls being raped.

    “Indeed human life in Nigeria has become so cheap that the society is now being progressively inured to regarding loss of human life as being of little consequence.

  • Nigeria should shut down should another school abduction occur – Soyinka

    Nigeria should shut down should another school abduction occur – Soyinka

    Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on Saturday warned Nigerians against accepting kidnapping of school children in parts of the north as a way of life.

    Soyinka who lamented that the government and security agencies have failed Nigerians, said he did not know what else to recommend as panacea to the nation’s “abnormal times.”

    The octogenarian playwright spoke in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, at the ANA Ogun award lecture and public presentation of ‘Chronicles of the happiest people on earth,’ the latest book authored by him.

    The event was put together by the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Ogun State chapter in collaboration with Abeokuta Club.

    The 524 page book was launched by foremost indigenous entrepreneur and industrialist, Chief Olatunde Abudu, at the occasion which also witnessed the conferring “The Greatest Author Icon” award on Wole Soyinka by Ogun ANA.

    He noted that events such as public presentation of a book should propagate the positives in existence and prime people to come together as productive and determined human beings for the betterment of humanity.

    Soyinka said: “It is important that we remind ourselves and stress that these are abnormal times but it seems to me any way as times of shirking of responsibilities in key areas. We can not permit ourselves to accept the child hostage taking as a way of life, we just can not continue in this fashion, some thing drastic and meaningful has to take place and it has to be collective.

    “This is no longer the responsibility of those at the top, in charge of security, in charge of governance they have clearly failed the populace, they have failed us, there is no point trying to reason it up, trying to give an excuse, putting blame or whatever. The important thing is that we are very close to accepting a culture of the unacceptable.

    “A few years ago at FUNAAB I accepted an honorary doctorate, I did warn that I was tired of this awards, let me just put this way, awards becomes burdensome and I said at the time, this is the last doctorate i will be accepting from any institution and I am accepting this one only because it is our own award and I warned them that they should all bear me witness that anytime I would be declining another award I would tell them go and ask them in Abeokuta, I have already made a statement and i must keep to it otherwise I won’t be allowed to return to Abeokuta.

    “Events like this for me propagate the positive in existence, I think we are obliged some how to swallow our pride and come together as productive and determined human beings especially as a community.

    “Has it got to be COVID – 19 that we take stringent actions, is it going to be an abnormality like COVID – 19 that compels us to shut down if necessary and I mean shut down, I think we are reaching the point where in any State where any child is kidnapped that State should shut down completely and other states in sympathy, solidarity should shut down some of their activities, we should not wait for an enemy faceless, airbone unpredictable enemy like COVID – 19 to shut down, to make us shut down, to say in protest and as a statement of the unacceptable we are shutting ourselves down until this situation is resolved

    “I think we have reached the point where when our children are taking away from us we should as least for some time shut down, it sounds extreme but we don’t know what else one can propose at this particular time, yes life must go on but even those activities will generate and enhance our very existence. I think we have to take on a tonality of regrets, of the unacceptable, protestation and mobilisation on whatever level it is possible as a community of human beings.

    “It is not either a day of too much negativity but we are paying a price and consequence with permanence of those scars in our collective psyche that is what worries me.This movement towards accepting as a way of life the absence of the young generation compelled, enforced and forced absence of our own children.”

  • Nigeria police lied, cattle, herders invaded my home – Soyinka

    Nigeria police lied, cattle, herders invaded my home – Soyinka

    The Nigerian police lied when it said only one cow strayed into the compound of the Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, the professor has said.

    Mr Soyinka, in a statement entitled ‘Mad Cows and even madder narratives’ sent to newsmen, narrated how the cattle invaded his home, how they were removed and how the police took time to arrive the scene after they were invited.

    I thoroughly resent the police version which suggests that the cows never invaded my home: home is not just a building; it includes its grounds.

    The police in Ogun had claimed in a statement Tuesday that only one cow stayed into Mr Soyinka’s compound.

    “The entire place was inspected by the DPO and it was established that it was just a case of stray cow as nothing was damaged or tampered with,” the police said.

    Mr Soyinka has now said that the narrative of the police is false.

    “I thoroughly resent the police version which suggests that the cows never invaded my home: home is not just a building; it includes its grounds. And it was not a stray cow, or two or three. It was a herd – we have photos, so why the lie? It is so unnecessary, unprofessional and suspiciously compromised,” Mr Soyinka wrote.

    Read Mr Soyinka’s full statement below.

    MAD COWS AND EVEN MADDER NARRATIVES

    The most distressful aspect of my recent interaction with cows and herders is that it has created a most unwanted distraction from the ongoing life and death Nigerian narrative. One has to take time off to deal with distortions and Fake versions, while students are being reportedly waylaid and killed and/or kidnapped in Ondo and farmers are being slaughtered in my own state. In short, the killings continue even as panels are being launched to enquire into immediate past human violations. For those who truly seek details of the Ijegba incident, I hereby affirm that I was never physically attacked, neither did I attack any cows. The cows and herders did however attack my property – and not for the first time.

    The police need to be very, very careful, learn to be straightforward with public information. Failure to adhere to that obvious, basic form of conduct means that the public will lose total confidence in security agencies and constantly bypass them in times of civic unrest, no matter how trivial or deadly. How on earth could the police claim that my property was not invaded by cattle? It was. My groundsmen knew the drill and commenced the process of expelling them. Fortunately, I was then driving out and was able to lend a hand by vehicle maneuvering. Both cattle and herdsmen were flushed out of my property.

    Once they were outside the gates, I came down from the vehicle and beckoned the herdsmen to come over. At first, they pretended not to understand, then, as I approached, fled into the bush. We thereupon “arrested” the cows, confining them to the roadside, while I sent my groundsman, Taiye, to the police to come and take over. Since they took rather long in responding, I summoned a replacement and proceeded to the police station. On the way, we met a detachment, turned round, and together we returned to the scene of crime. The police wanted to commence combing the bush for the fugitives but I stopped them – what was the point? Keep the cows, I advised, and the owner will show up. Of course, that owner eventually did.

    I thoroughly resent the police version which suggests that the cows never invaded my home: home is not just a building; it includes its grounds. And it was not a stray cow, or two or three. It was a herd – we have photos, so why the lie? It is so unnecessary, unprofessional and suspiciously compromised. The police suggest that I have nothing better to do than to go accosting cows on the public road – to what end? If the police demand proof, the next time such an invasion takes place, I warn that there will be no lack for cadaver affirmation and the police will be officially invited to join in the ensuing suya feast. So please, let us get serious!

    Getting serious means seeking with a sense of urgency, ways of terminating mayhem, impunity, and the homicidal culture being imposed on us through some near cultic business minority who just happen to trade in cattle. It means not giving up on peaceful solutions, but also being prepared for the worst. Those of my line of thought have been working on various ways of sensitizing the nation to the very real and imminent danger issuing from this cattle aberration. The menace, I repeat, challenges us as a cohesive entity and as communities of free individuals, committed to the dignity of existence. Cattle imperialism under any guise is an obscenity to humanity. So let me serve notice that we are about to commence a process of public sensitization; we hope even the police will join hands with the agenda as it progresses.

    A special practical plea: now that the railways are being resurrected, let us make cattle wagons a priority. I grew up with the regular sight of those practical conveyances. It is time to bring them back.

    Wole SOYINKA

    ARI.

    Kemta Housing Estate

  • Alleged invasion: Herdsmen didn’t attack Soyinka, they only violated his compound

    Alleged invasion: Herdsmen didn’t attack Soyinka, they only violated his compound

    Professor Wole Soyinka’s first son, Dr Olaokun Soyinka and Soyinka’s friend and protege, Dr Olu Agunloye have debunked the trending story that the Nobel Laureate was attacked by herdsmen in Abeokuta.

    Agunloye said: “The trending story that herdsmen went to attack Prof Wole Soyinka in his house in Abeokuta is not true. Herdsmen did not break into his house. There were no attacks and no attempts to attack the Nobel Laureate.

    “What happened was that herdsmen led their cattle to graze in Prof Soyinka’s unfenced compound again yesterday despite his strong warnings to the herdsmen.

    “Prof Soyinka has been living in the forest at the outskirt of Abeokuta in Area designated as GRA since late 1980s. However, in recent times cattle herders have desecrated the grounds of Professor Soyinka’s compound by flooding it with cows. The Professor summoned the herdsmen and sternly warned them to stop the ugly practice. He told them in very clear terms that it was unacceptable.

    “However, the herdsmen broke the rules yesterday thinking that Prof Soyinka was not home. When the Prof accosted them, they fled into the bush leaving their cows behind. Prof Soyinka reported the incident to the Police which later arrested the herdsmen and their cows.

    READ ALSO Presidency to Soyinka: Coronavirus science not fiction

    “We can say categorically that Prof Soyinka and his house were not physically attacked but his compound was violated by recalcitrant herdsmen who wanted to turn his compound to a grazing field. Prof Soyinka and his family remain okay in their Abeokuta home’.

    Olaokun Soyinka, who issued an earlier rebuttal also said:

    “I have confirmed that while cows did stray onto his land yesterday, there has been no attack, no violence and no attempt to enter the house.

    “Kindly debunk this information where you can.

    “We do not need confusion added to the already tense situation in the country”.

    Olaokun particularly unveiled the original vector of the story, Koiki Media who took the videos.

    READ ALSO Suspected herdsmen strike two dead in Edo

    He appealed to the platform to stop “spreading such disinformation”, as it is dangerous.

  • Governors, several others will be in prison if not for FG’s silence on corruption – Soyinka

    Governors, several others will be in prison if not for FG’s silence on corruption – Soyinka

    Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, on Wednesday, lambasted the Nigerian government for its inefficiency in the fight against corruption in the country, saying many persons ought to be in jail if the system worked.

    Soyinka noted that corruption cases involving some state governors over whom much evidence had already been gathered suddenly died down without any tangible reason.

    The playwright stated this on an African Independent Television’s programme, Kakaaki, adding that the system had been so corrupted that cases were stretched out into silence by all kinds of technicalities.

    He said, “There are so many people who should be in prison if this government had not run out of steam, and so the system is being manipulated.

    “There are cases where the prosecution had reached the level where evidence had been given on governors who had been stealing and depositing in bits and pieces so as not to flout a certain regulation.

    “I mean cases have been taken to that level and suddenly, silence.

    “The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which I backed solidly ever since the days of (Nuhu) Ribadu, in all kinds of ways; we no longer can distinguish from right and left.”

    Asked whether the National Assembly, dominated by the All Progressives Congress, was not putting enough pressure on President Muhammadu Buhari, he said NASS had a lot of work to do in its relationship with the President.

    However, Soyinka said the desire of some lawmakers for committee positions “where I think all the goodies are shared” has made them compromise.

    He added, “It is the responsibility of the constituency to remind them of these derelictions; these failures to come up to scratch as expected when they come round next for elections.”

  • Trump: I’m happy Americans corrected ‘unbelievable error’ of 2016 – Soyinka

    Trump: I’m happy Americans corrected ‘unbelievable error’ of 2016 – Soyinka

    Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka has said Americans are wise to have corrected the unbelievable error of electing Donald Trump as president in 2016 after despite his warnings.

    Describing the immediate past leader as a racist, monster and xenophobe, Soyinka said he feel honoured that America will be returning to normalcy again.

    Soyinka said this during an interview with Arise Television on Wednesday.

    The Nobel Laureate, who had in 2016 torn his American immigrant visa to shreds over Trump’s victory, said he would not be renewing the green card since he could visit the United States even without it.

    The playwright, who displayed pieces of his torn green card, stated that America had redeemed itself with the removal of Trump

    Soyinka said, “I feel honoured to be associated with the democratic forces of the United States for correcting the unbelievable error that they committed four years ago.”

    On the green card issue, he said, “I consider myself back in that community from which I dissociated myself four years ago and I am very glad to be back but I am not renewing my green card, it is not necessary. I go in and out as a visiting alien and that is good enough for me.”

    The Nobel Laureate said he was very much concerned with the US elections in 2016 because the country has a huge Nigerian population, adding that America’s history would not be complete without blacks.

    He said he tried to warn them about the impending danger of a Trump Presidency but his advice was ignored hence his decision to tear his green cars to shreds.

    Soyinka added, “The complacency was very painful and I said if you people are so careless as to let this racist, this monster, this xenophobic aberrant, this disrespect of the female gender, this serial bankrupt, this man who called your own society a shithole country, if you are so careless as to let him become the next President, I am moving out.”

    He said in a way he was happy about the attack on the Capitol building by pro-Trump rioters.

    The playwright said he wanted Americans to understand how fragile democracy is.

    “So, you can imagine what I have felt over the last few weeks, the siege on the Capitol. In a way it was rather heart-warming for the Americans themselves to feel that what they have been fighting for over a year is not really a given in their society and they had to confront it in a brutal unbelievable way and they came out of it in flying colours.

    “It is not over not by any means, I don’t say that for a single moment but it has been a lesson for us in this continent and we should be grateful that it did happen. I am sorry of course about the loss of life, I regret the disruption of normal life but now we are placed on the same playing level, that we are all fighting for the same virtue in human conduct, the same system we all believe in that you cannot take it for granted, not anymore and for us here in Nigeria, it has been, I hope, it was been a heart-warming occasion.”

  • Amotekun must not become another SARS in Nigeria- Soyinka

    Amotekun must not become another SARS in Nigeria- Soyinka

    Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has said the South-West Security Network Agency code named Amotekun, must not become the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force.

    The Nobel Laureate emphasised the importance of ethical training so that the defunct notorious police unit does not resurfaced in Amotekun.

    Recall that Ondo and Oyo States have launched the security outfit endorsed by the governments of the six South-West states last year.

    However, of late, there have been allegations of recklessness and extrajudicial killings against the security outfit, especially in Oyo State.

    Speaking on Saturday, Soyinka said the minds of the Amotekun operatives must be trained to understand the essence of their job.

    The Nobel Laureate spoke while featuring on a monitored Arise TV programme on Saturday.

    He said, “I have told them anytime you want us to come and assist, we will come even if it is just on the ethical session so that as you are training them to defend us, we are also training their minds so that Amotekun does not become another SARS, very important. We must do everything together.”

    Soyinka, who said some South-West states were tardy in inaugurating their Amotekun Corps, urged other states yet to launch their security outfits to do so quickly as the challenge of insecurity has reached a “stage of desperation”.

  • [TRENDING VIDEO] Soyinka: For one’s sanity, forget existence of Buhari’s regime

    [TRENDING VIDEO] Soyinka: For one’s sanity, forget existence of Buhari’s regime

    Literary icon Prof. Wole Soyinka on Monday explained why he may no longer want to comment on the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    He told an on-line TV in a chat that went viral yesterday that “for the sake of sanity, one must imagine that the regime of the President Muhammadu Buhari does not exist”.

    The Nobel laureate, who was seen being interviewed onboard a train, described the new Lagos-Abeokuta-Ibadan standard gauge train, as marvellous and long overdue.

    He told the Kaftan TV reporter that he would not like to talk about the Buhari administration 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.

  • Insecurity: Overhaul Nigeria’s structural existence now, Soyinka tells Buhari

    Insecurity: Overhaul Nigeria’s structural existence now, Soyinka tells Buhari

    Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka on Monday called on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently put machinery in motion to overhaul the nation’s structural existence over rising insecurity in the country.

    Soyinka was reacting to rising insecurity in the country, especially gunmen’s abduction of students in Katsina State.

    According to Soyinka, “What is tragically demonstrated daily in all departments of citizen survival is the need to overhaul the nation’s structural existence – beginning, obviously, with the imperative of guaranteeing that very existence.”

    Soyinka, in a statement, titled: “INFRADIG – A Presidential Comeuppance,” lamented that the word, Infradig, has constituted Buhari’s response to the National Assembly’s invitation to drop in for a chat.

    “He did not consider it infradig at the beginning.. He responded to the polite invitation to rub minds urgently over a people’s security anxieties as one who still struggled to preserve the tattered remains of his ‘Born-Again’ democratic camouflage.

    “However, his reversal of consent raised yet again the frightening situation report I have fervently posed: Buhari is not in charge. Whoever is, that segment of the cabalistic control obviously cornered him on the way to the lawmakers’ chambers and urged : Don’t! Their invitation is infradig! He succumbed,” he said.

    According to Soyinka, “Beneath the dignity of a Commander-in-Chief! Well. The opportunistic homicidal respondents – Bandits/Boko Haram or whoever – thereupon picked up the gauntlet and provided a response in their own language: abduction once again of the nation’s children. They handed him a slap across the face, on his home terrain, taunting: See if that is more suited to your dignity.”

    He said if only this latest outrage were a personal contest of slights between insurgency and power – alas, its resonance is felt far beyond!

    “It is merely the latest in the serial stinging slaps across the face of the nation, and it draws blood from every sensing citizen. Over five years since Chibok, we have yet to anticipate, and to guard against a repeat. We continue to hand over innocent wards cheaply, en masse, to the agents of darkness and despair. A government refuses to accept that, as indicated several times over, the nation is at war. At war within itself, and that it requires drastic measures, away from spasmodic responses after the dread deed, if there is any will left over to salvage what is left of nationhood.

    “The appropriate expression here is “thinking outside the box”. When others do, they deserve better than to be rewarded with banalities such as: The government will not be stampeded. The presidency will not be blackmailed. Stop politicizing the issue. The president is committed to preserving the integrity of the nation. We will not be bullied into abandoning our commitment to national unity The sovereignty of the nation is non-negotiable….and so on and on, ad nauseam.

    “Has anyone been detected marching to a contrary tune? Sure, we are assailed with such minority rhetoric from time to time but, is “unity”what is profoundly at stake? Does such predictable rhetoric remotely touch upon the existential anxiety of millions of humanity? Or are we confronted, at its most primary level,with a growing question of the ability of the nation to even feed herself?

    “When defenceless farmers are set upon – what does it matter if it is fifty or a hundred? – are butchered in one fell swoop, harvesting their crop, does the sheer suggestion that they met their deaths because they did not seek military cover not speak to the parlous state of a nation, and her need to urgently “think outside the box”?

    “The rest is waffle. Vaseline massage on malignant tumour. Naional Infradig! Again, the Nation laments – and waits,” he added.

    Wole SOYINKA

  • Year 2020: Nobody in charge in Nigeria – Wole Soyinka

    Year 2020: Nobody in charge in Nigeria – Wole Soyinka

    Nobel Laurette, Prof. Wole Soyinka has said Nigeria witnessed one its trying moments this year (2020) and it appears nobody was in charge throughout the trying times.

    He added that Nigerian situation was worse as a result of the imperial nature of its leadership at the socio-political and religious levels.

    Soyinka, a professor of Literature spoke at the Booksellers, venue of the presentation of his new book, ‘Chronicles of the happiest people on earth,’ a book with over 500 pages which took him about 40years to write.

    Soyinka said, “With the turbulence that characterises year 2020, and as activities wind down, the mood has been repugnant and very negative. I don’t want to sound pessimistic but this is one of the most pessimistic years I have known in this nation and it wasn’t just because of COVID-19, no. Natural disasters had happened elsewhere but how have you managed to take such in their strides?

    “Was calamity as a result of human negligence or as a result of malignant activities when people find themselves under the control of other beings which I am afraid what most Nigerians find themselves in, it is like you don’t know from where the blow would descend. That is not the way a nation should be and that is not the way the citizens should exist.

    “Situation has reached a point where you are not very sure of where you are going and where you will end it. As I had said before, you don’t believe, in many instances, that anybody is in charge. That, really, it is a parlous condition for any nation. So, I am afraid it has not been a very good year for me generally.”