Soyinka: With Boko Haram, Nigeria’s break-up ‘less likely’

Professor Wole Soyinka has allayed fears that acts of terrorism in the north are capable of disintegrating the country.

Describing Boko Haram’s atrocities as worse than those of the Nigerian Civil War of 1967 to 1970, he blamed successive administrations for not doing enough to prevent the situation from degenerating to the present level.

“When the spectre of Sharia first came up, for political reasons, this was allowed to hold, instead of the president defending the constitution,” he told Reuters.

“We have never been confronted with butchery on this scale, even during the civil war. There were atrocities (during Biafra), but we never had such a near-predictable level of carnage; and this is what is horrifying.

“The horrors inflicted by the militants have shown Nigerians across the north and south that sticking together might be the only way to avoid even greater sectarian slaughter. For the first time, a sense of belonging is predominating. This has ironically made the country’s breakup less likely now.”

Observing that the harsh economic situation of the country has helped the sect to gain followership, he urged the government to initiate policies that would reduce the attraction of Boko Haram to their potential followers.

“The leadership of Boko Haram needs to be decapitated completely,” he said. “Unfortunately, little has been done to present an alternative ideological vision to their deluded followers, driven largely by economic destitution and despair.”

Attacks by Boko Haram have almost become an everyday affair. On Monday alone, there were three bomb explosions — in Bauchi, Osun and Kaduna — and at least two (the first and the last) are beleived to have been orchestrated by the sect.

In the first attack alone, at least 17 people died while 61 were injured.