A Third Republic Presidential
Adviser, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai and former governor of Kaduna State, Balarabe
Musa have fire back at Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka for describing the killings
in some parts of the country as ethnic cleansing.
The Nobel Laureate, who led a
delegation of Association of Nigerian Authors to a meeting with Governor,
Samuel Ortom, on Thursday at the Government House in Makurdi, called for a
quick military response over the ongoing killings in the country.
“We call for a quick military
response, backed by the international community which can effectively end the
herdsmen menace across the country,” he had said.
Responding to Soyinka’s claim
yesterday, Yakassai said: “People like Prof Wole Soyinka who is a Nobel
Laureate manipulate the English language.
“I can refer you to the
encyclopaedia to find out the meaning of ethnic, and you can now decide whether
what is happening in Benue is what Wole Soyinka called it.
“Indeed, I sympathise with the
situation in Benue, but I’m worried by the way the governor is taking it. Ortom
is not handling it well.
“The problem of herdsmen and
farmers is an age-long thing which started even before you were born. I can
tell you that it didn’t start from Benue. It started from Nasarawa before
getting to Benue, and even before Nasarawa, it started from Zamfara where a
whole community was set ablaze.
“But the Benue governor is taking
it personal as if the issue is between Fulani and Tiv which it is not. It’s a
pity that Ortom is taking it personal with Buhari as a Fulani man and not as
farmers/herdsmen clash.”
Also reacting, former governor of
Kaduna State, Alhaji Musa, described Soyinka’s remarks as apolitical.
Musa said: “He (Soyinka) is
wrong; two factors are responsible for the killings. It is a combination of
conspiracy from internal and external forces. So, what Wole Soyinka is saying
is apolitical.
“With his training and age, he ought to know
that tribal and religious dichotomy cannot create Boko Haram or herdsmen. Let
him see beyond this and see the real reason. It is not just tribalism.”
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