Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has told President Muhammadu Buhari, not to brush aside, the four-page letter addressed to him on Monday by ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Soyinka, in a message sent to our correspondent in response to an inquiry, said the Federal government could not brush aside, voices as ideologically separated as Obasanjo and former Civilian Governor of Kaduna State, Balarabe Musa.
Soyinka said: “Read the OBJ statement. (It) should be obvious to the government by now that the nation is not sleeping easy. When voices as ideologically separated as Obasanjo and Balarabe Musa harp on the same theme, the government should understand that this is no time to play deaf.”
Recall that former President Obasanjo had in the letter which centred largely on the state of insecurity in the country, said as a result of the herders-farmers clashes, very onerous cloud is gathering.
The former president added that as a result of the prevailing situation, rain of destruction, violence, disaster, and disunity can only be the outcome.
Obasanjo also submitted that the nation was on the precipice and dangerously reaching a tipping point where it might no longer be possible to hold danger at bay.
Soyinka further told the government that those who have been out, speaking against the current state of affairs in the country, including Obasanjo, could not all be mere idle alarmists.
While noting that the country was hurting, Soyinka also said things had never been this bad in the country.
Soyinka added: “We cannot all be mere idle alarmists, and all at the same time. The nation is hurting. It’s hurting like none of us can recall in our lifetime. It’s a time for unprecedented approaches. The call for a national Confab is not new; it is, however, taking on an accelerated urgency that no one should ignore.”