Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has warned that the state of insecurity is killing Nigeria, hence the need for the Federal Government to take far reaching decision to stem the tide.
Soyinka spoke against the background of the incessant killings in the country, particularly, the one that left over 86 people dead in Plateau.
In a statement he issued, Soyinka said if the government felt incapable of solving the problem, it should seek help.
“It is a time of far-reaching, yet immediate decisions. The nation is dying. The time for false pride is over,” he said.
Soyinka said the government should go beyond merely condemning the spate of killings and embarking on condolence visits.
According to him, concrete measures should be taken to stop the state of insecurity.
This, he said could be through the relocation of security commands to vulnerable zones, deployment of special forces and attack helicopters.
His words: “If this nation lacks the necessary technical resources, then there remains only one blameless, overdue recourse: “Get Help, Mr. President!
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“Statements of outrage, humane sentiment, empathy, even visitations to afflicted areas are natural expectations from government, and perfectly in order. They are essential indications of concern and solidarity, even of admissions of lapses. They offer glimmerings of eventual measures of equity and restitution – of which we must never lose sight – else community sinks into despair, or enters the interminable spiral of reprisals.
“Visible pragmatic measures additionally assist in bolstering the optimism of victims, enable them to feel that they have not been abandoned. Such are the relocation of security commands to vulnerable zones, deployment of Special Forces and attack helicopters etc. etc. – yes – all these are mandatory measures, it is their absence that constitute unpardonable negligence.
“Long term propositions, such as establishment of ranches, restriction of cattle movements, cultivation of fast growth grasses and so on – they all indicate far-sighted planning. They deserve approbation, but they are not exclusively remedial.”
He said from all indications, Miyetti Allah had made it clear that “for every missing, maimed, even legally seized cow – perhaps for trespassing and damage – one human being shall die, and commensurate land shall be forfeited.”
