Nigerian Prof Wole Soyinka, a winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, believes internet abuse is becoming a universal plague, and has called for collective, professional action to protect the integrity of the medium.
Soyinka said efforts should be made to save the internet from becoming “a mere vomitorium” for unprincipled individuals with an axe to grind.
“Such a trend is fraught with outright danger, and should not be underestimated,” Soyinka said.
“Let me take this opportunity to announce yet again that I do not tweet, blog or whatever goes on in this increasingly promiscuous medium. I do not run a Facebook, even though I am aware that one or two serious-minded individuals or groups have instituted some such forum on their own, for the purpose of disseminating factual information on my activities. I neither contribute to, nor comment on the contents of their calendar.”
Soyinka was responding to claims he referred to the First Lady of Nigeria as “an illiterate”.
“It commenced over a year ago, I seem to recollect, as a telephone text, tweet, or whatever it is called, died away after strong rebuttals, and is now being provided renewed life by some faceless cowards with their own private agenda,” he said.
“Let me state quite clearly that literacy is no indicator of intelligence, even though we all believe (I hope) in universal literacy. From childhood I have interacted with so-called “illiterate” men and women, sipped from their innate intelligence, and learnt much from them outside formal schooling.”
