Soyinka breaks silence on abduction of school pupils by bandits; says leaders have failed
- Wole Soyinka has expressed sadness over the tragic trend of abduction in the north
- The literary icon submitted that "drastic and meaningful" action has to be taken to save Nigeria from the jawbone of jaguars
- Soyinka expressed hope that the 317 students abducted in Zamfara state will be safely returned home
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Wole Soyinka, a renowned author and social critic, said the government must take every necessary step to tackle the challenges of "abnormal times" which has given birth to the trend of abduction in the country.
Speaking on Saturday, February 27, in Ogun state at the award lecture and public presentation of his latest book, ‘Chronicles of the Happiest People on Earth’, the nobel laureate said the emergence of the culture of abduction portends a bad omen for the country.
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He said "something drastic, meaningful has to take place" which will be collectively done in order to save the future of the country.
Soyinka, who stated that there is a "shirking of responsibility in very key areas" maintained that those at the top are no longer in charge of the security of the country.
Source: UGC
Legit.ng had recalled that about 37 students and 10 teachers were kidnapped in the Kagara community of Niger state. In a similar turn, over 300 girls were abducted from their schools in Zamfara state by bandits.
Soyinka said Nigeria cannot afford to parade itself in a bad fashion, adding that government must stop finding excuses and blames, The Cable reports.
"We cannot permit ourselves — we just cannot — to continue in this fashion. Something drastic, meaningful has to take place, and it has to be collective.
“This is no longer the responsibility of those at the top (who are) supposed to be in charge of security, in charge of governance; they have clearly failed the populace. They’ve failed us. There is no point in trying to reason it out, to find excuses, to lay blame."
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Still on security, the Nigerian police have commenced a coordinated search and rescue operation for students of government girls secondary school, Jangebe, Zamfara state.
To ensure that the mission is successful, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP M.A Adamu ordered the immediate deployment of two (2) operational surveillance helicopters to the state.
The government said this in addition to the personnel of Operation Puff Adder II earlier deployed to the state.
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Rahaman Abiola is a result-oriented journalist and content writer with a firm grip of over 5-year corporate experience stranding diverse roles in digital & traditional media and social media communication.
A published literary writer, freelancer and public commentator, he has written over 100 essays covering diverse issues on economy, politics and current affairs, entertainment and leadership published in virtually all notable Nigerian national dailies and digital media in Nigeria.
He is a graduate of English Literature, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Follow him on Twitter via @ShugabanR.
Source: Legit.ng
