Tobias Sylvester
Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka has called on the federal government to proscribe Miyetti Allah as terrorist group the same it did to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Soyinka Ask FG To Proscribe Miyetti Allah
The literary icon made the submission during a chat with Channels Television in a pre-recorded program which airs every Monday.
Soyinka wondered why the government was yet to ban the cattle group who are known for threatening the lives of other Nigerians, while it had proscribed a group seeking the secession of the South-East from Nigeria.
He said the inciting statements made by some leaders of the Miyetti Allah group and the threat against other citizens of the country calls for the attention of the government.
He said, “The idea that you can unleash terror on me because you want my little patch of territory or you want my soul, that is you want to subjugate me, you want to turn me into a slave. Well, I would sort that out first.
“And then I’ll make up my mind whether I want to leave. So each outrage, unfortunately, has the opposite effect. Whether the outrage is taking place in Benue, in Kaduna, or is taking place in Owo. Or whether it is taking place right here on the (Ogun state) border – we’ve been subjected also to this lunacy, of the subjugation mentality which some minority people hold. And I find it very difficult to accept to be chased out of my own entitled portion of the earth.
“Many people just either do not know history or do not understand the purpose of history. And then there’s a different group also who are very selective about history; they know how to distort or misuse history.
“Take for instance when the incursion of the Fulani herdsmen began, and the Miyetti Allah. Their spokesman said, I think it was in Borno, we once ruled this place, and we can take back our land anytime we want. I remember that statement; I’ve never forgotten.
“In the midst of the trauma of these people, somebody comes gloating and then citing selective portions of history. I said this person should be arrested and locked up, who says he wants to repeat his history of conquest – he’s admitting either knowledge, before or after, or support, anyway. Isn’t there anything like hate speech anymore? Why are you proscribing IPOB without proscribing Miyetti Allah?”
KanyiDaily recalls that Miyetti Allah had recently vowed to avenge the death of every Fulani herdsmen killed in the South-East by the IPOB.
