NOBEL laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has charged Nigerians to kick against the move by the Senate to pass Hate Speech bill, saying it is to silence criticism.
This is even as he opined that President Muhammadu Buhari should have by now sacked Nigeria’s Defence Minister Alhaji Dan Ali over the incessant harassment of innocent citizens by military personnel for no just cause.
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In his keynote address at the maiden edition of the Ripples Nigeria Dialogue Thursday in Lagos, Soyinka condemned the minister for his comments on why communities blocked grazing routes, and expect herdsmen not to react.
He lamented that the excuse of some herdsmen for invading some communities in the south is that the Lake Chad has dried up?
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Soyinka noted that Nigeria is not the first country to experience natural disasters, and that this is not an excuse to take guns to destabilize other peace loving people in their communities.
He also said that the move by the Senate to pass the Hate Speech Bill is merely to silence criticism from Nigerians.
“Nigerians should not be afraid to kick against it, there is no way they will cut off any body’s head”