Nobel laureate Prof Wole Soyinka has given those accusing him of parading fake academic credentials 30 days to submit all their evidence to the relevant agencies for investigation.
He noted that he would strip himself of any titles and honours he might have garnered in his career if found guilty.
He also said that failure by the accusers to provide evidence within the stipulated time would mean they lack honour and should, as a token of moral compensation, “undertake to jump off the bridge of the symbolic River Niger”.
One Joseph Dahip had, in a 1998 article, referenced a 1996 report in which a scholar, Prof James Gibbs, was quoted as unravelling some claims allegedly made by Soyinka.
The 1996 article partly read, “The claim by Professor Wole Soyinka that he obtained a first-class bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Leeds University has been challenged.
“Instead, what the Nobel laureate actually obtained from Leeds was a second-class degree. This startling revelation was made by Professor James Gibbs, who has closely monitored the activities of former Leeds students in English literature.”
Reacting to the report on Friday, Soyinka said: “I wish to state in advance that I voluntarily waive all protection under the statute of limitations and insist that the laws that govern fraudulent academic claims be invoked and applied to these allegations to the uttermost limit.
“I also declare, in advance, that if found culpable, I shall strip myself of any titles and honours I may have garnered in my entire career, from the most obscure to the most coveted.
“In return, I expect the purveyors of this sordid material to submit all evidence, however minuscule, to the nation’s investigative agencies – Directorates of Prosecutions, EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission), ICPC (Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission), plus affected institutions and others – within the next 30 days.
“Failing this elementary service in public interest within the stated time, and/or if such allegations are yet again proven baseless, thus indicating that their sponsors can boast of neither honours to their careers nor honour to their births and origins, then, as a token of moral recompense, they should undertake to jump off the bridge of the symbolic River Niger, provided with life jackets to ensure a life of remorse after this ritual purgation, but chained to one another in a commendable unity of purpose.”
