TERRORISM: Nigeria Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka on Monday, questioned the Federal government for not banning the Fulani group Miyetti Allah. Soyinka who spoke on a Channels TV programme questioned the handling of the farmers-herders crisis that continues to claim lives. Soyinka also wondered why the same government that was quick to proscribe IPOB has failed to do same with Miyetti Allah.
BASIC FACTS
- Wole Soyinka who spoken on Channels TV Monday, wondered why the FG has not banned the Miyetti Allah.
- Wole Soyinka lampooned the federal government for the refusal to outlaw Miyetti, while going down very hard on the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
WHAT WE KNOW
Nigerian only Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, Monday questioned the Federal Government’s handling of the farmer-herder crisis in the country, which has been exacerbated since the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The vocal literary giant wondered why the government was yet to ban the Fulani group, Miyetti Allah while it had proscribed the Indigenous People of Biafra, a group seeking the secession of the South-East from Nigeria.
Soyinka said Nigeria must always put the country’s history in perspective in order to understand security challenges.
Prof. Wole Soyinka, recalled how the Fulani cattle group had boasted of it’s ability to conquer parts of the North East without the government been able to stop them.
NOTABLE QUOTES
In the broadcast programme, which was monitored by a Clariform reporter, Prof Wole Soyinka said:
“My temperament does not accept that anyone should chase me out of my God-given earth. So, it’s a temperamental thing as well,”
“The idea that you can unleash terror on me because you want my little patch of territory or you want my soul, that is you want to subjugate me, you want to turn me into a slave. Well, I would sort that out first.
“And then I’ll make up my mind whether I want to leave. So each outrage, unfortunately, has the opposite effect. Whether the outrage is taking place in Benue, in Kaduna, or is taking place in Owo. Or whether it is taking place right here on the (Ogun state) border – we’ve been subjected also to this lunacy, of the subjugation mentality which some minority people hold. And I find it very difficult to accept to be chased out of my own entitled portion of the earth.
“Many people just either do not know history or do not understand the purpose of history. And then there’s a different group also who are very selective about history; they know how to distort or misuse history.
“Take for instance when the incursion of the Fulani herdsmen began, and the Miyetti Allah. Their spokesman said, I think it was in Borno, we once ruled this place, and we can take back our land anytime we want. I remember that statement; I’ve never forgotten.
In the midst of the trauma of these people, somebody comes gloating and then citing selective portions of history. I said this person should be arrested and locked up, who says he wants to repeat his history of conquest – he’s admitting either knowledge, before or after, or support, anyway. Isn’t there anything like hate speech anymore? Why are you proscribing IPOB without proscribing Miyetti Allah?”
ANALYSIS
The question of security in Nigeria continues to threaten the unity of the country. Particularly worrisome is the way this government treats some known promoters of violence with kids glove.
The Miyetti Allah has on more occasion than one made provocative statements which the government ignored as at then, and have up till now continued to ignored.
However, the same government is quick to hound other groups, a situation that has led to a feeling of sacred cow and bias in the fight against insecurity.
TAKEAWAY
The question Prof. Wole Soyinka has raised here is a question of justice and equality. No society can make much progress if such issues are not addressed.
The government must not be seen to prefer any group above the other. The law should be objectively and impartially applied in all cases.
