Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka says states should consider shutting down activities if another student abduction takes place.
Soyinka said this on Saturday during the launch of his latest novel “Chronicles of the Happiest People on Earth” in Abeokuta, while commenting on the recent spate of student abductions in the country.
Soyinka, reiterating his call for a change, said something drastic has to be happen soon and it has to be collective.
According to him, such abductions of students are unacceptable and “drastic, meaningful measures” must be taken together.
Soyinka said: “The abductions of our children, when will it end, how will it end? I do not think anyone of us can say.
“We can’t permit ourselves to 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, they have clearly failed. There is no point in trying to reason it out or find excuses, to lay blame.
“The important thing is that we are very close to accepting a culture of the unacceptable.”
According to him, Nigeria is getting to a state where if any child is kidnapped the state will shut down.
Soyinka urged Nigerians not to wait for another pandemic before they hit the streets to protest until a solution is attained.
“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.
“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,” he added.
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