Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has pooh-poohed the introduction of curfew by state governor as a solution to the ongoing spate of violence occasioned by the EndSARS protest across the country.
The protest embarked upon by youths is against police brutality.
Soyinka added that the invitation of soldiers into the picture was also faulty, saying it would rather escalate the tension.
In a statement issued on Wednesday from his Abeokuta, Ogun State residence, and made available to FrontPage, Soyinka said the way out was to convoke town hall meetings, withdraw the soldiers, and substitute community self-policing based on local councils, to curb hooligan infiltration and extortionist and destructive opportunism.
His words: “To the affected governors all over the nation, there is one immediate step to take: demand the withdrawal of those soldiers. Convoke Town Hall meetings as a matter of urgency. 24-hr Curfews are not the solution. Take over the security of your people with whatever resources you can rummage. Substitute community self-policing based on Local Councils, to curb hooligan infiltration and extortionist and destructive opportunism.”
While commiserating with the bereaved following the violence that has characterised the protest of late, Soyinka urged state governments to compensate material losses.
He added: “To commence any process of healing at all – dare one assume that this is the ultimate destination of desire? — the Army must apologize, not merely to the nation but to the global community – the facts are indisputable – you, the military, opened fire on unarmed civilians.
“There has to be structured restitution and assurance that such aberrations will not again be recorded.
“Then both governance and its security arms can commence a meaningful, lamentably overdue dialogue with society. Do not attempt to dictate – Dialogue!”
