By Monsuru Olowoopejo
Nigeria’s presidency has taken a swipe at Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, reminding him that the rampaging coronavirus is a scientific matter, not fiction, the field where he had become renounced globally.
The reaction came barely two days after Soyinka condemned President Muhammadu Buhari’s action for locking down Lagos, Ogun and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, describing his strategy as one that was only appropriate during a wartime emergency.
Before this reaction, the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, had responded to his fellow Don, stressing that the action of the President was covered by the 1926 Quarantine Act, a colonial law in the country.
Apparently not satisfied with the reaction of Osinbajo, the Presidency, in a statement on Wednesday, signed by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, stated that coronavirus is a health issue and was at variance with Soyinka’s field of study.