Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has asked the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, to be more proactive in dealing with the problems of the Niger Delta region.
Professor Soyinka, at a press conference in Lagos believes that the government is not doing enough in handling “the tension in the Niger Delta region”.
The Nobel laureate said he was asking the Federal Government, like other key players in Nigeria and the region, to change its government’s style and move swiftly to deal with the issues of the Niger Delta.
He is advocating a more proactive intervention by the President and his government to douse the tension.
His remarks comes at a period militancy resurgence in the Niger Delta region, with the militants resorting to bombing oil installations.
Their activities have reduced Nigeria’s oil output by 700,000 barrels per day to 1.56 million bpd.
It is a huge loss of revenue, amounting to billions of Dollars, for the nation that relies solely on crude oil sales.
The major militant group in the region that calls itself the Niger Delta Avengers last week said it has agreed a ceasefire and that it is open for negotiation with the government.
On the Education Sector, Professor Soyinka condemned the removal of History as a subject in the nation’s school curriculum saying, the decision is responsible for what he calls, the low quality of the nation’s learning.
He also condemned the activities of the Boko Haram terrorists in the northeast of Nigeria.
Professor Soyinka said Boko Haram insurgency was a result of religious lunacy and believed aggression should be met with reasonable force.
He also believes the activities of insurgents are sub-human and must be treated as one.
The Nobel laureate told reporters terrorists have no business taking innocent lives and that he stands to request that such barbaric people must be wiped out.
Professor Soyinka, who was at the Presidential Villa few days ago, further told reporters that he was there to discuss issues about his interactions in the House of Commons with the President.
After that meeting with the President, he promised reporters that he would hold a press conference and speak on national issues.
