Soyinka blames terrorism on leadership incompetence

The Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, on Monday in Osogbo blamed the current security challenges facing the nation on the leadership incompetence.
Soyinka, who was a keynote speaker at a colloquium with the theme, “Fundamental Imperatives of Cohabitation, Faith and Secularism,” organized by Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding  (CBCIU) Osogbo, explained that the problem cannot be solved by prayers but by leadership competence.

He declared that he received with shock the news of Nyanya Motor Park bombing, calling for a frank talk among stakeholders in the affairs of the country to end the spate of bombings.
Referring to a report in a newspaper recently which credited him as saying that the nation’s security challenges can be resolved through prayers, Soyinka posited that Boko Haram insurgency should not be mistaken for a religious war, insisting that prayers alone cannot end the crisis.
He said: “I have never said prayer can help resolve the security challenges facing Nigeria. I believe the situation must be tackled without partisanship and all these uninformed comments cannot help the situation. We should wake up to the reality, Nigeria is in war and only competence can solve the problem, not prayers”.
Soyinka added that the country is in need of competent leaders with capacity to deal with the situation without partisanship and suggested that learning from historical past of nations that had faced similar situations can help Nigeria survive her present challenges.
He decried what he called “spiritual contempt” by both Christians and Muslims, whom he accused of hurling abuses at the adherents of traditional religion, also accusing them of exhibiting high degree of intolerance within themselves and to other religious beliefs.
While calling for the teaching of comparative religion studies at primary and secondary school levels, the chairman of Osogbo Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding, the convener of the colloquium, warned against etching on the minds of younger generations religious intolerance.
The reputed scholar contended that the almajiris, whom he called “foot soldiers” of the Book Haram had their minds poisoned at early stage, the seed sown long time ago, according to him was responsible for the crises ravaging the country presently.
In his remarks, Osun State governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, said the only way to respect God was by showing respect to human beings, emphasising the need for people to accommodate adherents of other religions.
He called for practice of faith in a manner that encourage peaceful coexistence of people, adding that his administration in its activities and conducts had maintained a balance among all religions without placing one over the other.

culled from dailyindependent

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