Yar'Adua's exit

"What passes for the Nigerian nation is nothing more than a tragic arena and Yar’Adua is only the latest tragic figure. The vampires, including those in his own family, turned him into a mere inert resource for their diabolical schemes. They have a reckoning with their conscience, assuming they know what the word means. One can only hope that, while mouthing sanctimonious platitudes such as “Power belongs to God”, they have now learnt that the politics of Do-or-Die cannot guarantee who does and who dies. They must stop playing God."

• Wole Soyinka on Yar'Adua's death