June 12 Honours: “See Those of Us Who Were Honoured As Mere Representatives of Struggle” – Soyinka
Professor Wule Soyinka has joined voices expressing solidarity with Nigerians who felt overlooked by the most recent National Honours awards. Acknowledging that any single list will inevitably omit worthy contributors across the nation’s many professions—from the military and clergy to academia, market traders, and factory workers—Soyinka described the honourees as “mere representatives of a past movement.”
He urged all citizens to see in those honoured a symbol of the broader struggle for democracy initiated on June 12, 1993, and invited reflection on Nigeria’s progress since then. Soyinka noted that, while every state now operates under democratic rule, questions remain about freedom of speech and the recent pattern of arrests. He challenged Nigerians to ask whether the country has truly deepened its democracy over the past three decades.
Reflecting on the region’s political culture, Soyinka pondered why military regimes sometimes win popular acclaim. He suggested that some segments of society may possess a “slave gene,” willingly accepting authoritarian governance—even cheering coups in West Africa—before returning to military headquarters for solutions during times of political unrest.
Through his remarks, Professor Soyinka called on Nigerians both to honour the legacy of June 12 heroes and to remain vigilant in demanding inclusion, accountability, and genuine democratic advancement.
