Nobel laureate, Professor Wole
Soyinka has called for an organised resistance to attacks being perpetrated by
armed herdsmen across the country.
Professor Soyinka told
journalists in Lagos on Tuesday that the phenomenon of herdsmen and farmers
clashes is not new but an issue that has graduated to an alarming state in the
last eight years.
He described the armed herdsmen
as a new breed of Boko Haram and internal colonialists.
“The important thing is the
consciousness of a need for organised resistance against the incursion of cows.
“In Ogun State, we have formed a
sort of informal organisation called OSHA, Ogun State Hunters Association and
we intend to collaborate with similar movements, the police and the military,”
he said.
Commending state governments who
have set up organisations to protect their citizens from attacks by the armed
herdsmen, Soyinka said these organisations need to be taken seriously and well
equipped to successfully disarm the armed herdsmen and prevent recurrent
invasions.
“I wish to commend the governors
in the various organisation which are now beginning to understand that they
must start policing themselves.
“If we want to take the
phenomenon seriously, it will be to ensure that anytime they see an armed
herdsman, they report to the nearest police station. If by a certain time that
group of armed herdsmen are not disarmed, then this organisation will move and disarm
them.”
The Nobel laureate said further
that he is not happy with ‘the body language’ of the government in handling the
matter.
He also condemned the proposal
for the establishment of cattle colony, insisting that ranching is the
preferred option to resolve the crisis.
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