Gumsu, one of the daughters of the late maximum
ruler, Gen. Sani Abacha, has taken to Twitter to snarl abuse at Nobel Laureate,
Prof. Wole Soyinka.
She described the iconic writer as an “empty
professor”, accusing him of assuming the role of a critic in the Nigerian
polity because of financial gains.
Though the reason behind the Twitter rant could
not be ascertained as at the time of filing this report, her earlier message in
a tweet had stated, “Do the thing you fear the most. If there’s one thing that
will change your thoughts quicker than anything else, it’s facing your fears.”
However, no sooner had she posted the tweet
than a barrage of criticisms started trailing her comment. The first set of
criticisms came from some of her fans on the social network.
One Sal Adeleke, tweeting via @HAJMAJA, said,
“Look, if you bring in Soyinka, people might get offended and start insulting
your family. I wouldn’t like that to happen for a reason. Please, don’t get
involved in this game. It seems you have transformed to something else since
the release of Al-Mustapha. What’s going on?’’
But just as Adeleke predicted, a floodgate of
criticism was unleashed on Gumsu by many Nigerians who deemed her action as an
utter disrespect to the person and standing of Soyinka.
Many viewed the attack as a wild and extremely
rude show of disrespect while others described her effrontery as “shameless
boldness.’’ Some accused Gumsu of not having responsible adults in her family,
with many others urging her to return the money his father looted before coming
out to comment on national issues.
A Twitter user, Sam Adebayo, tweeting via
@olujiire, said, “Do you set yourself on memory lane to remember how your
father died? I bet you don’t have elders in your household.’’
Another user of the micro-blogging service,
Paul, explained that he is still at a loss as to how a daughter of a renowned
‘thief’ would describe Soyinka as an “empty professor.’’
He said, “Imagine , the daughter of a thief,
referring to a renowned Prof Wole Soyinka as a mad empty professor.I wonder!’’
Lending a voice to the
criticism, Nigeria’s online hacking group,
NaijaCyberHactivists, tweeting via @NaijaCyberHack, said, “It is
unfortunate that a family like yours (Gumsu) still comment on issues in this
country. A family that defines all what shame connotes.’’
A member of the popular online forum, nairaland.com, with the name,
Phull said, “What did your Father Abacha amount to in this life with all the
stolen billions and hundreds of murdered Nigerians? What have you as a person
achieved in your pathetic existence?
“Professor Wole Soyinka is one of the brightest
lights from Nigeria and Africa, on his own merit alone! This is a man who was
at one point or the other Professor at Harvard, Cornell, with Honorary
Doctorate degrees from Leeds, Harvard, and Princeton.
“In case you don’t know, these are not the
schools where ‘thieves’ are awarded phoney Honoris Causa. In fact, no one in
your generation would be considered worthy of admission even into any of these
universities for you are so dull, you have absolutely no brains that can be
educated!’’
Threading softly with Gumsu, one Thomas George
asked, “Gumsu, what has Prof Soyinka done to deserve this tongue lashing? He is
a Nigerian icon, in this time of very few of his type, you know.’’
One Shehu Muhammad-Bello said on Twitter that
Gumsu’s attack on Soyinka could be a desperate attempt by her to get favour and
attention from the wife of the President, Patience Jonathan, as the latter
recently took a swipe at the Nobel laureate.
Mohammed-Bello explained, “What’s her reason
for attacking the Prof as such? I mean he (Soyinka) may be wrong in many things
but not on Dame Patience. Unless if she has a reason for trying to please the
new first family for favours, if not, then why?’’
Summing up the barrage of criticisms, Grace
Ben-Kato wrote on Facebook, “I am not surprised. She is morally bankrupt; empty
and has nothing to offer. That is why she can open her dirty mouth to insult a
man who commands a lot of respect.’’
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