"The problems of this nation are beyond the solution that can be offered by this government" - Wole Soyinka

Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, has said that the challenges being faced by Nigeria cannot be handled by the present administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Soyinka while playing host to some students who paid him a visit on his 85th birthday, said Nigeria's problems are beyond President Buhari's administration. The literary icon said while state governments differ in success rates central government has failed.

The Cable reports that Soyinka also urged the federal government to shun partisanship politics and focus on delivering good governance to Nigerians. He said: "The problems of this nation are beyond the solution that can be offered by this government, that’s the first admission; they have to stop thinking in partisan government."

“There has always been a major problem with successive governments. It’s easier on the state level to say that a particular state is definitely doing better than another state. But the central government has failed, that’s my view in the main," Soyinka said.

He also said that there is a minimal level which any government which has been elected to power must achieve to be considered a true representative of the people. “Look at what’s happening today with the cattle all over the place, that’s a security issue which should never have reached this level. That singular act has resulted in hundreds of people being killed, farms were taken over; it has wiped away a lot of the positive achievements of the government."

“They need to confront this nation as a habitation of human beings where very serious issues like economy, security, health, even threats of secession come up every day and convoke at the same time, a national conference, what I call an Indaba across all section which we will all meet and debate everything, including the economy of this nation," he added.