Charles Oputa, the maverick entertainer better known as Charly Boy, has once again criticized Nobel Laureate Prof Wole Soyinka for being silent in the face of Nigerian hardship.
Charly Boy recalled in a video clip shared on his verified X Twitter handle how Soyinka organized a big protest against former President Goodluck Jonathan during his tenure.
He recalls Soyinka leading the protest when Jonathan canceled fuel subsidies “and petrol prices increased from N87 to N120.”
He questioned Soyinka’s decision to remain quiet in the face of Nigerians’ current difficulties, accusing the Nobel Laureate of being a “tribalistic bigot.”
He stated, “There was a time when Uncle Wole Soyinka cared deeply about Nigeria and Nigerians. He criticized leaders and personalities who seemed anti-Nigerian.
“As a social engineer myself, he was one of my heroes and I saw him as a mentor. But today, I look at him as a tribalistic bigot and I have lost all respect I once had for him.
“I remember back in the days, Uncle Wole paid the price for his radical activism, imprisonment and even exile at the hands of military dictators.
“Recently, I’m not sure where his loyalty lies because he has remained mute about this government.
“Uncle, was this recent renaming of the national theatre a reward for your muteness? I remember Wole led a protest when Jonathan removed the subsidy, and petrol prices increased from N87 to N120.
“He called President Jonathan a terrorist and his wife a ‘hippopotamus,’ saying that Jonathan almost damaged the economy beyond repair. That was when $1 was N190.
“Last December, Wole called Peter Obi unfit to lead this country and recently said that Obi must not run in 2027, a person who is not even in power.
“He maintained that he would not criticize Tinubu until a year after. It is now a year and a few months, but he remains mute.”
