Declare Herdsmen As Terrorists Now, Soyinka Tells FG
Professor Wole Soyinka on Thursday urged the Federal Government to declare herdsmen responsible for attacks in states across the country as terrorists.
The Nobel Laureate stated this in Lagos at the Ripples Nigeria Dialogue; an annual forum designed to broaden the conversation on the troubled Nigerian project.
According to him, it is high time the Federal Government warned against the carnage and utter destruction they inflict on the communities largely in Benue state.
The literary icon expressed the need for Nigerians to wake up and stand against capital punishment being suggested in the proposed Hate Speech Bill, saying it was not proper for him to condemn the hate speech bill as he had received several hate speeches and disparaging languages by Nigerians when he said he was not going to be in a community ruled by Donald Trump.
He said, “I received hate speeches and languages when I said I was not going to be part of the United States Community. I was cursed and received hate speeches and now you want me to condemn the hate speech. I don’t want anybody to be hanged but I want them to be shamed. That is why I said I just want us to look in the mirror. I just want people to stop hate speeches.
“Life has become so trite, so cheap, that a group of supposedly rational, intelligent people in this world, especially a world that is trying to get rid of its degrading punishment called capital punishment and they come and decree hanging, No, they’re not going to hang anybody.
“They just want an instrument to silence people. It is ironic of course that I should call Nigerians to resist this law.”
Soyinka added that, “poor and insensitive” language and commentary of the Minister of Defense, Mansur Ali, on the killings of harmless villagers by the marauding Fulani herdsmen.
“What did you expect them to do after their grazing routes had been blocked?” he quoted the minister as saying at that time.
“This is addressing people whose livelihoods and lives have been taken by the herdsmen. Of massacre and of those whose farmlands and properties have been destroyed by the herdsmen from Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba and Plateau states. Land grabbers are trying to take over people’s land that does not belong to them. Farmers are complaining daily of cattle’s overtaking their lands.”
According to him, President Muhammadu Buhari ought to have by now sacked the defence minister for his inglorious comments, adding that the excuse of some herdsmen for invading some communities in the south was that the Lake Chad had dried up.
He explained that the nation was not the first country to experience natural disasters, and that this was not an excuse to take guns to destabilize other peace loving people in their communities.
On a panel to discuss some of the issues raised by Soyinka were former Governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi; human rights activist, Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi and Dr. Reuben Abati.
