Leading ethnic nationality groups in Nigeria have thrown their weight behind the Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, on his recent call on President Muhammadu Buhari, to act immediately concerning the activities of killer herdsmen in the country.
The groups are Afenifere, Arewa Consultative Forum, Middle Belt Forum and Pan-Niger Delta Forum.
Soyinka on BBC Pidgin Service on Saturday had called on President Buhari to act on the activities of the herdsmen in the country in order to avert a civil war.
”We may enter a phase of serious skirmishes which get more and more violent and may develop into civil war and a very untidy mercy one. That’s my biggest fear,” the nobel laureate warned the president.
Reacting to Soyinka’s comment, National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, said Buhari was maintaining ‘civil silence’ over the situation.
He said, “The Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, is (well-) known. You cannot say that he is beating the drum of war or he is an alarmist. People are painting the reality that is on the ground. If what is happening in the South-West today, let’s say some Yoruba boys had gone to do one per cent of that in the north, there would have been a war in this country by now.
“So, when Professor Wole Soyinka is warning President Buhari now that if you don’t speak up now, what is going on will lead to civil war, he is not just talking in vain.”
Odumakin added, “The world and the international community should be interested in Nigeria at this moment and get Nigeria out of this mess. “It is clear now that the possibility of internal solutions is getting limited, we don’t have an authority in leadership that can get us out of this mess. And the implication of a war in Nigeria for the rest of the world is very serious.
“Therefore, they should get on their feet now and begin to get interested in Nigeria to get us out of this mess that we are in.”
Arewa Consultative Forum said Soyinka had raised the alarm over the President’s silence over the activities of the killer herdsmen in the country.
ACF National Publicity Secretary, Emmanuel Yawe, said, “We made a similar call on January 23 this year on the President and the governors of the South West to act swiftly on this issue to avert a civil war. The call by Prof Soyinka is just a re-echo of what we did almost two weeks ago.”
Meanwhile, the National President of Middle Belt Forum, MBF, Dr. Bitrus Pogu said the unity of the country is at a big risk if no tangible action is taken to stop the herdsmen.
He said, “Prof. Soyinka’s call was timely and perfectly correct. These armed herders did the same thing unchallenged in the Middle Belt and nothing happened despite the accusations of collusion with the security forces.
“Now they have gone to a monolithic group, which is the South West, and in such a monolithic group, they are no match to the structures on ground. “If they continue the attacks the way they have been going about it in the Middle Belt and other parts of the country with impunity, certainly a civil war will erupt and it is going to be an unfortunate situation.
”So it is high time President Buhari woke up to address the issue unless he never cared in the first place. “But a President who cares, seeing the clear handwriting on the wall, coupled with the escalation we are witnessing on daily basis, as we move forward, will address the nation and do something very quickly.
“It is unfortunate but it is good that people like Prof. Wole Soyinka are speaking on the matter, at least the man might listen to the voice of reason, seek wise counsel and save the country from going down the drain.
“The warning is timely because a civil war in the country now would mean total balkanization of this country. May God help us.”