Renowned Nigerian writer, Wole Soyinka, has stated that the insecurity situation in Nigeria should not be seen as a war between Christians and Muslims.
Recall that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, had asked the US Department of Defence to prepare for “possible action” in Nigeria while warning the Nigerian government to act swiftly to end the “killing of Christians” in the country.
However, speaking during an interview with Democracy Now, Soyinka said Trump’s statements risk deepening religious hostilities in the country.
“We must separate Nigeria’s long-standing internal problems from President Trump’s recent response,” he said.
The Christian–Islam, or Islam-versus-the-rest kind of dichotomy has existed for decades. It became truly horrendous when politics got mixed up with religious differences.”
Soyinka said political leaders had exploited religion for power and failed to hold extremists accountable, which allowed impunity to thrive.
He recalled the brutal lynching of a student accused of blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad, noting that her killers went unpunished despite being caught on video bragging about the act.
“When perpetrators of such horrors go free, it strengthens the perception that a brutal war is going on between Christians and Muslims.
“In truth, we are dealing with extremists, political Islamists, known sometimes as ISWAP or Boko Haram, not with Muslims as a people,” Soyinka said.
Soyinka noted that his US visa was revoked due to his criticism of the Trump administration.
“I have a feeling that I haven’t been flattering Donald Trump, and I see no reason to do that,” he said.
The Nobel laureate said Trump should feel “flattered” that he once compared him to Idi Amin, the former Ugandan head of state.
“Trump has said he likes war, I’m quoting him. Idi Amin was a man of war and brutality.
“Idi Amin even called himself the last king of Scotland. He claimed he was going to liberate Scotland from the British,” Soyinka said.
