Noble laureate, Prof Wole
Soyinka, who condemned the recent murder of eight students of the Abdu Gusau
Polytechnic, Talata Mafara, in Zamfara State, noted that such leaders were
vicariously liable for the destruction caused by their followers.
Wole Soyinka, has warned
that religious violence would persist in the country, until the preachers of
religious intolerance were prosecuted and made to atone for their offences.
Soyinka, who said this on
Thursday, September 1, while delivering a lecture on “Culture at Risk” at the
University of Benin, Edo state, blamed the outbreak of violence and killings of
innocent persons by religious extremists on what he described as the “toxin”
injected into them by their spiritual leaders.
He said: “In my view, it is
that toxin injected into the social consciousness of the followers of that
religion, which has resulted in the murder of its citizens. Is there something
called vicarious guilt or not?
“Should we be surprised and
start shouting aloud and condemning some stupid young fellows who took the law
into their own hands and killed, burnt eight people alive, who were not even
part of the original scenario?
“I call them stupid and a
disgrace to their school, Abdu Gusau Polytechnic. I say they are stupid and a
disgrace to learning anywhere because even a child who leaves in a community
must understand that if you want to
create a serious fight between two people, just say that, ‘That individual whom
you are targeting has abused your mother.’ It is as elementary as that.”
Meanwhile, the Christian
Association of Nigeria (CAN) in 19 Northern states and Abuja, have condemned
the recent killings and religious radicalism at the Zamfara College of
Education by some students of the Islamic faith.
They, called on government
to ensure that Christian students at secondary and higher institutions in the
North were given full protection from any form of molestation
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