Nobel Laureate says Nigerian military is planning interim government

Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka has said that the Nigerian military is planning to institute an interim government with the “veneer of civilian structure.”

Professor Soyinka also said that Nigeria is “aspiring very hard to become a failed state."

The renowned playwright made these statements during an interview with German platform, Deutshe Welle.

“Ex-military officers and security officers are trying to push aside the political contestants and use the unrest as an excuse to establish an interim government,” he said.

“The nature of the interim government wants to pretend it's not really a military intervention. A few political leaders, well-known civilians, want to give the veneer of civilian structure, but basically it’s a kind of political intervention,” Soyinka added.

The writer also spoke on Boko Haram and the abducted Chibok girls, who have been missing for almost a year, saying that there’s little hope that the children will be found.

“It will take a generation at least to exterminate this phenomenon altogether. The military would not have had to cope with Boko Haram on this level if the proper action had been taken at the right time. This is the biggest the problem I have with the Jonathan government,” Soyinka said.

He also spoke on the recent comments attributed to First Lady, Patience Jonathan saying:

"What she said was totally unacceptable. I no longer regard her as the First Lady of Nigeria.”

Mrs Jonathan has been severely criticized for urging her supporters to stone members of the opposition party, All Progressives Congress (APC).