Soyinka wants Nigeria’s security issue tackled

Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka has advised the Federal Government to see the security vacuum in the north as an emergency national problem that must be confronted in practical ways.

Soyinka, who spoke at the 5th Bola Ahmed Tinubu Colloquium in Lagos on Thursday, expressed concern that the problem could destabilise the country if allowed to linger for too long.

He contended that the recent discovery of ammunition and explosives in Lagos showed that terrorism was becoming all-pervasive phenomenon, demanding radical, result-oriented measures to tackle.

“This nation is on the brink, this is not what we envisioned when we struggled for independence, fought dictatorship and installed the rights and dignity of human beings in the society,’’ he said.

He urged the president to intensify efforts in addressing the nation in great details on issues bothering on the nation’s security challenges.

According to him, certain things must be done to ensure that we pull back from the second round of what is moving toward a civil war

“The insecurity problem is not a northern affair because it is now happening everywhere.This consciousness should have been impacted on Nigerians so that we all understand that the problem is not a regional problem but a national one,’’ he said.

Soyinka, who bemoaned the present state of affairs, stressed the need for all hands to be on deck for to bring about a change. He commended the younger generation of Nigerians for taking steady steps to turn things around, saying that if sustained, the efforts could put the country on the path of greatness.

Other speakers were young professionals —members of the new generation. They includeManaging Director, Frontier Capital Limited, Femi Edun; Chief Executive Officer, Venia Consulting, Kolawole Oyeneyin; lawyer Myani Bukar; musician Olubankole Wellington (Banky W) and Special Adviser to Ogun State Governor on Millenium Development Goals Mrs. Hafsat Abiola-Costello.

Edun said there was the need for Nigeria to begin to take concrete steps to reposition the economy. Edun, who noted the growing poverty rate in the country, said it indicated that the economy was not growing at the micro level, and advocated concrete interventions to check the development.

Mrs Hafsat Abiola-Costello, the Special Adviser to Ogun Governor on MDGs, said the country was still far away from attaining the goals. Abiola-Costello, who attributed the development to poor planning among others, called for strengthening of the economy for the attainment of MDGs.

She said the task of nation building was the responsibility of everyone and urged citizens to be part of efforts at bringing about the change.

In Tinubu’s view, Nigeria is drfting apart because “we have leadership that is dividing us more and more every day”.
He called for value reorientation among the leadership and suggested a reversal to the old national anthem that de-emphasises differences.

“We must question ourselves in Nigeria. I disagree with my brother and friend Sanusi Lamido Sanusi who says youth may form their own party. Politics is not economic policy where you can change a bank note.

“If only to merge, some people are already forging names, and trying to prevent the creation of APC. You can imagine what you will go through.Come and join us. You see, with a wife like this (pointing to Oluremi standing behind him), is politics not sexy? Join us, it’s sexy here on our side.

“On your side, it is a challenge that you have to face. It’s not a question about age. We have seen example of age.

“The present President is a young man, but he has been appointing an 83-year-old man to be chairman, not just of board of trustees, but of Ports Authority where high decisions, articulated, modern, 21st century information technology are needed. How do you modernise? So, youth belong here.

“We can see the live tweets of this event. So, it’s not about age. There are a lot of educated relics. I have not seen anything higher than Ph.D in the academic curriculum of universities. So, we have a Ph.D man (holder) there now.

“What will do it for you is strong determination, perseverance, courage and boldness. If we fail to join the movement, we’ll fail to continue to interrogate our leaders, and fail to do what you did during the oil subsidy removal.”

Govs. Babatunde Fashola (Lagos), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Adams Oshiomohle (Edo), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), and Rauf Aregbesola, Osun attended the occasion.

Other eminent personalities were CBN governor ,Lamido Sanusi , Senator Sani Yerima, Chief Tom Ikimi and ACN Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande.