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Nobel Laureate and Emeritus of Professor of Dramatic Arts, Wole Soyinka has declared that serious famine awaits Nigeria and Nigerians if unjust killing of farmers by Fulani herdsmen does not stop, saying it is high time government face the ugly situation frontally.
The Emeritus Professor of Dramatic Arts who spoke figuratively, using object of war – swords and object of farming – ploughshears to describe unjust carnage going across the country at this trying time in our nation, added that the ugly situation shows irresponsiveness and irresponsibility of government, especially the Federal Government.
Speaking in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Osun state at the launch of 2018 OAU Ife Festival of Foods and Identity logo organised by OAU Institute of Cultural Studies, Soyinka said despite the harsh times, Nigerians must not allow destruction of the moment to overwhelm them, and the triumph of evil over good.
Soyinka said between the time of the launch of the logo and the period the festival would begin in July, the country must have seen the reversal of the evil and the triumph of good.
He said: “This is not the best of times for this nation. For us as a people, it is not the most cheerful of times, we have a responsibility to ourselves as living beings not to allow destruction to overtake or overwhelm our creativity.
“We shall beat swords into ploughshears, it means the instrument of cultivation, must overcome the instrument of destruction.
“Between the time of the launching of this logo and the action manifestation of the festival itself, we should have seen signs that the clash between swords and the plougshears is reversed. This would have given us total fulfillment as people with culture, peace and harmony.
“We cannot continue to see the seeming triumph of the guns over the ploughshears. We want to see this government’s reversal of the triumph of the swords over the ploughshears. If this has not taken place, it means we have no government.
“Between the annunciation of this festival and the manifestation of the festival itself we want to see from this government a reversal of a seeming triumph of the gun, if that has not taken place, let us not lie to ourselves, it means that we don’t have government.
“If those who had been displaced, the farmer that has been displaced in their hundreds from various parts of this nation especially in the north, if the farmers have not been taken back to thier productive environment, it means we have no government. Let us all join hands to beat the sword into ploughshares.”
Earlier, OAU vice chancellor, Eyitope Ogunbodede, said the importance of food to the healthy living could not be overemphasised as the Festival of Food and Identity is set to place emphasis and discourse of good culturally food that promotes African traditional identity.
He added that the institution would continue to promote ventures with capacity to project positively Yoruba culture, Nigerian culture and entirely, the African culture.
BOLADALE BAMIGBOLA, Osogbo.
