visited the United Nations – and called on
the Federal Government to fight Boko
Haram in Nigeria. “This is a violent organisation,” Soyinka told IPS. “What do you do with them? I am sorry, but you must fight them.” On September 21, the International Day of
Peace was celebrated with a debate about
how to build a global culture of tolerance. Invited to participate were such superstars
as actor Forest Whitaker, economist Jeffrey
Sachs and Soyinka, who was awarded the
Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986. After his speech, Soyinka spoke to IPS about the situation in Nigeria, where Boko Haram is responsible for thousands of deaths and the bombings of several churches in recent years. He said, “We have an organisation which closes down schools, shoots faculty teachers, knocks out children
and turns most of the north into an educational wasteland. How can we reach the children there? We must first
get rid of Boko Haram.” “We have a contradiction. How do we get rid of Boko Haram? Violence must become involved. That is a
dilemma.” Meanwhile, Minister of Interior, Mr. Abba Moro has described Sunday bombing of a Catholic Church in Bauchi
as “a cowardly, morally reprehensible and atrocious act”. Moro said the attack on defenseless Christian faithful during Sunday service was an act of savagery and a
major threat to peaceful co-existence of people of different religions. In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, George Udoh on Tuesday, the minister said the crime could
not have been perpetrated by a rational person. He said, “It is unthinkable that rational minds will just wake up with only one devilish thing in mind; to cause
sorrow to families, wreak deep psychological pain on the society all in the name of religion or marginalisation. “It is an act of savagery of the most unfathomable nature, to maim and kill worshipers on a day which is
globally recognized, as one in which neighbours should extend their hands of fellowship to believers and non-
believers in their faith; such an act is even unacceptable on any day anywhere in any civilised society the
world over.”
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