‘It’s against Nigeria’s democracy’ — law professor writes Biden, Trudeau over Chimamanda’s letter

Yemi Oke, a law professor, has faulted a letter written by
Chimamanda Adichie, a Nigerian novelist, over the conduct of the February 25
presidential election.

In a letter published last Thursday, Adichie said the
Nigerian election was “deliberately manipulated”.

The letter was addressed to US President Joe Biden.

The award-winning novelist added that the presidential
election was fraught with discrepancies, irregularities, and violence.

However, the letter has continued to generate reactions
since it was published.

In a counter-letter addressed to Biden and Justin Trudeau,
prime minister of Canada, Oke said Adichie’s correspondence was “against
Nigeria’s democracy”.

The law professor claimed that the letter contains
“seditious elements”, adding that it is a “case of extraterritorial
ethnocentric politicking of a non-resident Nigerian-American”.

Oke said Adichie’s claims and assertions about the
presidential election were “ludicrous, illogical, and depicts ignoble ranting
of an uninformed mind about legal and judicial processes or procedures”.

The academic said his counter-letter was not to “vilify,
ridicule or incite” against the celebrated writer.

“It is most bewildering that a privileged Nigerian-born
writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie born in Enugu, Nigeria in 1977 but now lives
in the United State of America, has decided to paint her country of origin
“black”. Sadly, Chimamandi’s letter is a reckless affront on our resolve not to
be part of the “brain-drain” syndrome against our dear country Nigeria like the
writer. Some of us are determined to be “brain-gain” to Nigeria,” the law
professor writes.

“It is in view of this that we felt taken aback that
Chimamanda went below expectations to pen down a seditious letter against the
Government and people of Nigeria.

 “Chimamandi’s letter
titled “Nigeria’s Hollow Democracy” was not about the election or person of the
President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu whose victory was freely and fairly unveiled
despite dis-oriented opposition politicking and those of their supporters in
Nigeria and their allies in the diaspora.

“Chimamandi’s letter was against entire “Nigeria’s
Democracy” that was fought and procured with patriotic bloods, labour, efforts,
lives and undeterred resolve of democrats, chief among them being Asiwaju Bola
Ahmed Tinubu, who, by divine arrangement, is now the President-elect of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Chimamanda’s claims and assertions on the recently
concluded presidential elections in Nigeria is not only ludicrous, it is also
illogical, baseless and depicts ignoble ranting of an uninformed mind about
legal and judicial processes or procedures,” the law professor wrote.

“It is unimaginable that someone who did not participate or
vote in an election would make categorical statements about an election she did
not witness.

 “What Chimamanda did
not tell her gullible readers is that her candidate won mostly in her/his
ethnic enclaves and that the president-elect Bola Tinubu, President Buhari,
notable Nigerian governors, senators, and others also lost in their
strongholds, which should ordinarily have been their locational advantage for
“manipulating” the outcome, as Chimamanda unconscionably and recklessly
alleged.

“The intention of this open letter is not to vilify,
ridicule or incite and set the law of sedition in motion against Chimamanda. It
is to right-size her over-bloated ego of perceived global self-esteem.

 “She needs to realise
that thousands, if not millions of Nigerians (including those of us who are now
back home in Nigeria — but still frequently travel to those sides — to be a
part of the solution and those still in the diaspora) have had similar and even
better opportunities in Canada, US, UK and other countries of the world without
deploying our privileged positions to undermine our country of origin,
Nigeria.”