Critical Outtakes: Wole Soyinka

What was it that tipped you over the edge of resistance into a life of political activism? Was it the British meddling in the first "free" elections in Nigeria?

I think it was a consequence of accumulated slights. You watch many things. I am talking about direct brutality on people. I am talking about impoverishment, the targeting of people on the bread line. Then there is the passing of spurious laws or regulations. Let’s say you build a house, and then a law man comes around and says, you do not have a proper permit. Or he says, we are planning to build a road where your house now stands. We'll discuss compensation. But of course that day never comes along. The road is never built. And these things just bring you down to your knees. So that period leading up to my first arrest was filled with events like that.

Just one thing after another?

It had become regular. This had gone on from the rigging of the first election to the preparation for the next. So the closer the election came, the more ruthless they became. It was out in the open. Those in power actually used thugs to rape, as a form of humiliation, the wives of political opponents. So when the moment came, the power came up from the people. The people fought back. When the incumbent regime realized they would have to steal those elections, they went straight to the radio – and announced results plucked from thin air.

**