[Published: Monday July 14 2014]
Desperate politicians behind Boko Haram, Soyinka
Lagos, 14 Jul - (ANA) - Nigeria's Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has said that politicians desperate for power are behind Islamist militants Boko Haram. In an interview with Al jazeera, Professor Soyinka said the politicians 'are intelligent enough or perceptive enough to recognise that the cocktail of politics and religious fundamentalism can only yield them dividends." They think they have nothing to lose, he said, adding that the foot soldiers had been indoctrinated for years, from childhood. The noble laureate also said that Islam is not in danger but that pervert followers were being used to proclaim fighting for Islam. " Boko Haram, if not contained and eradicated, will be found in the heart of Lagos before you know it," Professor Soyinka said. The Nigerian poet, playwright and activist is often called Nigeria's national conscience and Africa's most compelling literary force. He was the first black African to be honoured with the Nobel Prize for literature in 1986. Soyinka turns 80 this week and continues to express his views as one of the most controversial writers of his generation. Deeply committed to social justice and the arts, Soyinka has been a thorn in the side of many Nigerian dictators - his outspoken activism landing him in jail and eventually forcing him into exile. Many of Soyinka's writings have been concerned with the tensions between tradition and progress, his disillusionment with African authoritarian leadership and with Nigerian society as a whole.(ANA)
FA/ANA/14 July 2014------
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