Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has berated the Federal Government for attacking former President Olusegun Obasanjo over his comments that Boko Haram insurgency and herdsmen crisis had become an agenda to ‘Fulanise’ West Africa and ‘Islamise’ Africa.
Igbere TV recalls that Obasanjo made the comment on Saturday in
Delta State while the Federal Government, in a statement by Minister of
Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Tuesday, lampooned
Obasanjo, saying he was seeking to divide Nigeria in his old age.
Reacting, however, Soyinka flayed the Federal Government for ignoring
the call for collaborative efforts to combat insecurity as suggested by
Obasanjo.
He spoke at the United Bank for Africa (UBA) symposium, tagged: “Africa’s history redefined: Our past, a path to the future.’’
Igbere TV reports that, Soyinka said, “with collaboration, unity is possible even in the plurality of our languages.”
“However, everybody knows that my relationship with Obasanjo is
not too cordial but at the same time, we should be very careful not to
be dismissive. If there is a substance, the language must be put aside
for a moment.
“I heard the Minister of Information, and I had the feeling that
they are leaving aside the substance and worrying too much about the
language. Obasanjo was calling for a meeting of stakeholders on a very
serious aspect of social menace this country is undergoing.
“This country is undergoing a horrendous descent into the abyss.
The perfect picture of Africa is what we must continue to uphold in view
as leaders have used the word ‘unity’ to destroy our people.
“The issue of Boko Haram is currently being discussed in the
House of parliament in England in relation to Africa’s well-being,” he
added.
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