In an emotion laden voice, the Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, on Saturday lamented that the abducted Chibok schoolgirls were still in captivity.
Soyinka who wondered whether the abductors of the over 200 schoolgirls were from this planet, charged the Nigerian government not to permit the enemies of knowledge(education) to thrive.
He lamented the agony, humiliation and trauma of the abducted Chibok girls in the hands of their captors,saying that he was always sad whenever he relived the imagination of the experience the girls would be going through.
Delivering the third convocation lecture of the Kwara State University(KWASU), Malete, the scholar declared that ” enemies of knowledge should not be permitted to thrive”.
While stressing the urgent need to secure the release of the innocent girls, Soyinka quoted an inscription he saw at a point while entering Ilorin on Friday which says ” no woman, no nation”.
He urged the Nigerian government to do more to end pervasive insecurity in the country occasioned by Boko Haram sect, warning that temple of learning mighty soon be eroded.
He cautioned Nigerians against viewing the sufferings, brutality and terror and insurgency being witnessed by some states in the northern parts of the country as their problems alone.
He expressed the fear that looking at insurgency as problem of a section of the country could cause spread of the hazards.
He made an example of having an open university in some universities where there are less security problems, for displaced students in the troubled states of the country.
He also emphasised that the temple of learning must be protected irrespective of gender or religion.
Soyinka, in a lecture titled, Science and Imagination in Temple of Knowledge, asked rhetorically, ‘can science and religion co-exist?’, and described members of Boko Haram sect as enemies of sound knowledge.
He said members of Boko Haram are not actually without any knowledge, since they knew the science of making bomb and killing people, adding that they had failed to acquire knowledge on human co-existence.
He also decried agony, humiliation and trauma of the abducted Chibok girls in the hands of their captors, as they embarked on their secondary school qualifying examination, saying that he was always sad whenever he relived the imagination of experience the girls would be going through, described the situation as irony.
In his speech, the chancellor of KWASU, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, warned that education sector in the country was in dire straits, due to constraints of funds.
“Basic infrastructural, teaching and learning facilities are pathetically lacking in most areas of academic pursuits in our universities which has painfully led to the ‘half baked graduates’ syndrome”, he said.
He appealed to Nigerians, organisations staff, and stakeholders who are financially blessed to pick up the gauntlet and invest in university education, saying “we cannot afford to leave the funding of university education to governments alone because relying solely on subventions from the government alone will only exacerbate the already dismal state of the sector.
He urged the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to tackle the current socio-economic challenges “such as high poverty level, huge youth unemployment, persistent power blackout despite huge amounts of money invested, the challenge of insecurity, especially the scourge of Boko Haram and the perennial disconnect between the citizen and the government that has inevitably led to high levels of distrust of the leaders by the rest of the citizens.
“Indeed the broken ‘socio- contract between the rulers and the ruled must be fixed. The government should as a matter of priority open and strengthen communications between government and citizens. Trust building between the government and the citizens would make the people feel carried along in the business of governance”, he said.
On the 2015 elections, Gambari described the aftermath as rebirth of democracy in the country.
“Nigeria now has a new opportunity to deepen its democracy and deliver its dividends such as quality social services, including especially education and health, prosperity and security of life and property”, he said.
He also said that change slogan of President Buhari should not remain so, adding that government must prepare to deliver on campaign promises.
He thus solicited the support of Nigerians for the new administration, saying that it can only succeed with people’s support, adding that people must give that support while insisting on a permanent end to impunity and zero-tolerance for official corruption. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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True an intelligent talk. Trust me.
ReplyDeleteA man of the people.
Please go and open pool office okay , You are the one who was blamed GEJ last time ..now Buhari is in power let him stop boko haram without bring other countries to help him because he was the one who said nigeria can stop boko haram with out bring other countries .Stupid people let us see the change not for mouth.
ReplyDeletePlease go and open pool office okay , You are the one who was blamed GEJ last time ..now Buhari is in power let him stop boko haram without bring other countries to help him because he was the one who said nigeria can stop boko haram with out bring other countries .Stupid people let us see the change not for mouth.
ReplyDeletewhat sort of English language are you speaking.....Anonymous 9:38am
ReplyDelete