Nigeria’s government acting like children, says Nobel-winning author Wole Soyinka

The search for more than 200 girls in Nigeria is
now “beyond the capacity” of the government
and needs international support, Nigerian
author Wole Soyinka told CNN’s Christiane
Amanpour on Tuesday.
“This is a government which is not only in
denial mentally, but in denial about certain
obvious steps to take,” Soyinka, a Nobel laureate
who is often referred to as the conscience of his
nation, told Amanpour.
“It’s one of those rather child-like situations
that if you shut your eyes, if you don’t exhibit
the tactile evidence of the missing humanity
here, that somehow the problem will go away.”
It is not just “a Nigerian problem,” he said.
“I’m calling for the international community,
the United Nations – this is a problem. This is
a global problem. And a foothold is being very
deeply entrenched in West Africa.”

The search for the girls, who were kidnapped by
the Boko Haram terrorist group on April 14, has seen little progress.
The issue, Soyinka said, has been addressed
“very late and very cursorily.”
Amanpour had scheduled a live interview with
Nigerian Information Minister Labaran Maku on Tuesday; Maku failed to show up in time for the
interview. He later spoke with CNN’s Isha Sesay.
A man claiming to be Boko Haram leader
Abubakar Shekau said in a newly released video
“I abducted your girls. I will sell them in the
market, by Allah.”
Soyinka referred to Shekau’s video as a
“charade” and “gleeful obscenity.”
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The U.S. said on Tuesday that it had offered,
and President Goodluck Jonathan had accepted,
an offer to discuss American aid in finding the
girls.
“President Jonathan should have asked for it
from the very beginning,” Soyinka said. “I don’t
believe in false pride.”
Why, Amanpour asked, does Soyinka believe
Jonathan is in denial?
“It’s not only he. It’s the advisers around him.
It’s a certain section of the nation, some of
whom enjoy for various reasons a nation in a
state of chaos. They profit by it, and in fact
some of the, are guilty of provoking the
situation.”
“The person who has no excuse is the president
of the nation.”
The problem, he said, has been festering for
years.
“There have been numerous incidents like this,”
he told Amanpour; the 2011 Boko Haram
bombing of a United Nations compound in
Abuja and extremist unrest over a 2002 beauty
pageant being just two examples.
“The pinpricks you’ve seen all over the world
are consolidating into a situation of internal
war – insurrection by this group.”
One need only look at the history of Algeria or
the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan to understand
what is happening, he said.
“Let’s not beat around the bush. We’re dealing
with a monstrosity. We’re dealing with an
affliction the likes of which the nation has
never encountered.”
The response must be rapid, he said.
“Abduction, terrorism, suicide bombing – these
are very difficult situations to deal with. But
they are not unique.”
“Where it will end, I do not know. But one
thing is certain: The president and his
government cannot sleep easy after what has
happened to Nigeria.”