Politics

Stop shedding unjust tears, tackle insecurity, Soyinka tells Buhari

Published

6 years ago

March 15, 2018

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Renowned playwright and Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka has tackled President Muhammadu Buhari over his “inability to get justice” for victims of clashes between farmers and herdsmen and Boko Haram insurgents.

Delivering the keynote paper at a dialogue organised by Ripples Centre for Data and Investigative Journalism in Lagos on Thursday, Soyinka said what we need now is justice and not sympathy.

He said rather than visiting the affected areas, Buhari should speak to people’s security needs, and bring perpetrators to book.

“I get impatient when I hear things like Buhari has failed to go and sympathise with the people of Benue, with the people of Nassarawa, with the people of Dapchi or wherever,” he said.

“Who needs sympathy? Is it sympathy that will reorder their broken lives? Is sympathy the issue? We are speaking here of one commodity that is fundamentally human deserving, justice.

“There should an internal measure to avoid repeat. We are speaking here of a president that will respond with massive action and not showing up at the arena of human desecration to shed any unjust tears, but give orders that the bloodthirsty terrorists are brought to book.”

Soyinka said failure on the part of government has been the reason the country is yet to get over the security challenges.

In the past weeks, Buhari has visited Yobe, Benue and Plateau states.