Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, on Friday disclosed that herdsmen have again invaded his home in Ogun State.
Addressing journalists at Freedom Park in Lagos, the 82-year-old said the invasions, which he described as life threatening, imply that “we are living in dangerous time.”
While noting that the attack was a deliberate act of provocation, he said he had reported the matter to the police in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Soyinka also said government’s nonchalant attitude to incessant attacks across the nation is sad. He described the herdsmen as conquerors who usually come to territories not as peaceful neighbours.
While calling on government to take drastic steps to nip the situation in the bud before it becomes totally uncontrollable, he noted that these sorts of invaders, especially at his home, could become potential suicide bombers.
“We need to wake up the leadership, let them know the seriousness of the issue on ground; these sorts of conquerors, these herdsmen are worse than Boko Haram,” the Nobel laureate said.
Soyinka also expressed displeasure at the plan by government to create a grazing corridor for herdsmen. He said “creating corridor for cattle grazing will compound the problem; I do not think that is the solution.”
He added that “they must be taught however that there is a culture of settlement, and learn to seek accommodation with settled hosts wherever encountered.
“The leadership of any society cannot stand idly and offer solutions that implicitly deem the massacres of innocent mere incidents on the way to that learning school. For every crime, there is a punishment, for every violation, there must be restitution. The nomads of the world cannot place themselves above the law of settled humanity.”
Herdsmen attacked Soyinka’s home last year while he was abroad. He had said then that he returned only to “find that my home ground had been invaded, and a brand-new “Appian way” sliced through my sanctuary. That ‘motorable’ path was made by the hoofed invaders. Both the improvised entry and exit are now blocked.”
