₦airaland Forum

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on Saturday said henceforth, any state where the kidnapping of children takes place should shut down in protest against the act. Soyinka also advised that other neighbouring states, as a matter of solidarity, should join the affected states to shut down.

The playwright spoke shortly after an award lecture and public presentation of his new book, ‘Chronicles of the happiest people on Earth,’ in Abeokuta, Ogun State. The programme was organised by the Association of Nigerian Authors, Ogun State chapter, in collaboration with the Abeokuta Club.

More than 300 schoolgirls were kidnapped on Friday in Zamfara, the latest of such attacks, while 27 students were also abducted in Kangara, Niger State, but released after over a week later.

The octogenarian playwright, who lamented that the government and security agencies had failed Nigerians, said he didn’t know what else to recommend as panacea to the nation’s “abnormal times.” Soyinka added that such abductions were unacceptable and “drastic, meaningful measures” must be taken in unison.

He said, “I think we are reaching the point where, in any state, where any child is kidnapped, that state should shut down completely. And other states, in solidarity, should at least shut down some of their activities. It sounds extreme but, we don’t know what else one can propose at this particular time.Yes, life must go on but even those activities will generate and enhance our very existence.

“I think we have to take on a tonality of regrets, of the unacceptable, protestation and mobilisation on whatever level it is possible as a community of human beings. ‘We shouldn’t wait for an enemy, faceless, airborne, unpredictable enemy like COVID to make us shut down. In protest and as a statement of the unacceptable, we are shutting ourselves down until this situation is resolved.”
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He added, “The abduction of our children, when will it end, how will it end? I don’t think any of us can tell. But it is important that we continue to stress and to remind ourselves that, not only are these abnormal times, but it seems to be, to me anyway, times of the shirking of responsibility in very key areas. We cannot permit ourselves – we just cannot – continue in this fashion. Something drastic, meaningful has to take place, and it has to be collective.

“This is no longer the responsibility of those at the top who are supposed to be in charge of security, in charge of governance; they have clearly failed the populace. They’ve failed us. There is no point in trying to reason it out, to find excuses, to lay blame. The important thing is that we are very close to accepting a culture of the unacceptable.”

delpee:
Thanks for this. Very valuable information at this point in time.

Police operatives attached to Makinde Division, Lagos State have arrested one Sunday Amaefula of 8, Akpaku Lane, Mafoluku, Oshodi, Lagos State for stabbing one Chibuike Nwanne to death.

According to available information, Amaefula, 53, was arrested on February 22, 2021 at about 12:30am.
Investigation revealed that the deceased had an altercation with the suspect’s brother, one Ifaenyi Emmanuel, his neighbour, before the suspect stabbed the deceased to death with a bottle in their House. Nwanne, 43, who got married last year, is survived by his pregnant wife.

In addition, the Lagos State Police Command has arrested two suspected armed robbers on February 22, 2021 at about 5:30pm around Alakara area of Lagos State. The Divisional Police Officer of Alakara and his men on patrol intercepted two men on Okada. During a search, 2 brand new Beretta pistols with 3 magazines and 22 live ammunition were recovered from them.

The male suspects: Old Mojeed Satan, 28, and Kudaisi Ajetumobi, 26, could not give satisfactory explanation on their means of livelihood. The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Hakeem Odumosu, has ordered that the suspects and exhibits be transferred to State CID for proper investigation.

While assuring the good people of Lagos State of adequate security of lives and property, Odumosu reiterated the command’s zeal to go after the hoodlums and criminals who disturb the security system of the state.

grim33:
Some men just wanna see the world burn.

Klass99:
Oh yes, we do. I guess opposite poles attract. My own mother tried this with me too, if you see the mental walls and defences I put up to guard myself against it ehn?

In my mind I was like, there's nothing you will tell me about this man that will make me turn on him, because I grew up seeing him pay the bills, handle his responsibilities and do right by all of us, wetin you wan come tell me?

bukatyne:
I don't think understand the wife: Her husband wanted kids; she couldn't or wouldn't have kids....
*What was her game plan all through the marriage?
*Fake pregnancy and bury dolls?
*If she told she was pregnant and later did test to confirm she wasn't, why did she not tell him?
*Are they sure the woman is mentally ok?
*Child trafficking or buying a child would even make more sense.
*Or she processed that the father would be 'happier' their twins are dead than she wasn't pregnant (yet)?

Yungmil:
Can't we the nairalanders give fela the rock n roll hall of fame Award?
If all nairalanders go to the website and vote for fela he should win. This man has impacted a lot in Nigeria

Nairaland has crowd and we can make a lot of impact from this forum if we come 2geda.

prof2007:
You can cast your vote here (click on the "LOG IN TO SUBMIT" button):

https://vote.rockhall.com/

Fulani residents at Eggua in the Yewa-North Local Government Area of Ogun State have returned to their bases after a mob burnt houses and Kara market in the community. The mob last week took advantage of the visit of Sunday Igboho to the area over killings of farmers by Fulani herdsmen. The mob set ablaze houses belonging to the Eggua Seriki of Fulani and others, as well as the Kara market. One person reportedly lost his life after the violence.

But it was gathered on Monday that the fleeing Fulani herdsmen who are residents of the area were back to their bases. It was gathered the Fulani herdsmen went back to their houses and Kara market after they got assurance from the police in the state of protection of lives and property.

The state Police PRO, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, who spoke with our correspondent on phone said, “They didn’t run away, they only escaped.
After our meeting with them we have asked them to go and live their lives normally. They escaped from the mob, but, after security agencies have given them the assurance nothing will happen to them, they all agreed to go back. We are working hand-in-hand with the host community to fish out the criminals among them.”
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On how far police have gone in unravelling the killers of Dele Olowoniyi, the farmer in Imeko-Afon area of the state, the PPRO said the command had yet to make any arrest. Olowoniyi was found dead on Sunday in his farm. It was alleged that some Fulani herdsmen, who invaded the village, were responsible. But Oyeyemi said, “We are still investigating. By the time we have a breakthrough in our investigation, we will let the public know.”

The Leader of the Senate, Yahaya Abdullahi, has said that the red chamber will discuss the issue of Fulani herdsmen menace across the country on resumption on Tuesday.

Abdullahi, who spoke with journalists in his office, said his deputy who is representing Ondo North in the Senate, Prof. Ajayi Boroffice, will come up with a motion on the issue.

Abdullahi said the Federal Government has a role to play in resolving the crisis, stressing that local political leaders should be encouraged to find lasting solution to it.

The Presidency had opposed a recent directive by the Ondo State Government that Fulani herdsmen should vacate the Ondo forest reserves.

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), through his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, had wondered why Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, a legal luminary, could unilaterally issue the quit order without taking cognizance of the constitution that guarantees the rights of citizens to movement and to live in any part of the country.

But Abdullahi said rather than involving itself in the issue, the Presidency should encourage political and traditional rulers to play major roles in resolving it.

He said, “This is a kind of crisis that is tending towards governance trajectory where some political actors and ethnic entrepreneurs are coming into the process and spoiling the waters.

“These are existential issues that have set communities that have hitherto been living together peacefully, against each other, either for political advantage or political matters.

“These are issues that should be resolved at the local level either through dialogue or give and take.

“They are people that had lived together, they should come together and engage in a dialogue.

“The Federal Government is too distant to resolve every communal dispute everywhere. Inter-communal dispute should be resolved by the people in the area.

“They should be resolved by political leaders at the level of the National Assembly, at the level of the governors, local government councilors to sit down with their people so that a lot of these issues can be articulated and addressed by the local population.

“This is what the governors at their levels should do not to always run to the presidency, to solve one dispute here and there How many arms does the Federal Government have?

“This is a federation and we are all politically responsible leaders. At the various level where they are they should sit down and talk to one another on this disputes.

“I can assure you that in no distant time these inter-communal conflagrations would be resolved. I think the way it may be resolved is in the interest of this country’s unity and integrity.

“There would be hopefully tomorrow (Tuesday) or Wednesday a general motion will be sponsored by the Deputy Senate Leader Ajayi Boroffice; he will come with a motion on the issue on the floor of the Senate tomorrow.”

ProfessorBerlin:
Arewa in Yoruba language means beauty

pweetyabiola:
hi everyone please my brother is missing for the past two weeks. He left home around evening and hasnt returned. He lives in Ajah area. His name is Akindamola Akinpelu. please if you see him anywhere, kindlt notify me. God bless you