By BASHIR ADEFAKA
It was a barrage of knocks and condemnations as some Nigerians mainly of South West and South East extractions reacted to attempt to use the presence of cows on the compound of Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, as yet another allegation of Fulani atrocities against and on the ‘soil’ of other tribes in the country.
One Koiki Media, apparently a Yoruba man-handled media platform, had Wednesday been exposed by first son of the poet, Dr. Olaokun Soyinka, as trending fake news about what happened on the compound of his father with regards to presence of cows and a herdsman herding them warning that the report be erased to the extent at which it has been spread.
In a chronicle of updates by The DEFENDER since the unfortunate report broke out and which ostensibly further charged the already charged situation in the country, Professor Soyinka’s son, corroborated by his father’s friend, Dr. Olu Agunloye, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) and Ogun State Police Command, proved not only that there was nothing like herdsmen attack on the person and Abeokuta home of the octogenarian but also that, even, the owner of the said cows found on his ‘bush house’ were owned not by Fulani but Yoruba man.
Olaokun Soyinka, who issued an earlier rebuttal, also said: “I have confirmed that while cows did stray onto his land yesterday, there has been no attack, no violence and no attempt to enter the house. Kindly debunk this information where you can. We do not need confusion added to the already tense situation in the country,” he said particularly unveiling the original vector of the story, Koiki Media, who reportedly took the videos.
He appealed to the platform to stop “spreading such disinformation”, as it is dangerous.
In a report titled, “Cows found on Wole Soyinka’s compound owned by Yoruba man, MURIC reveals, demands cattle owners be registered”, The DEFENDER had quoted the Islamic rights group to have said that “the incident has thrown up another dimension in the herdsmen saga. For instance, it has hitherto been assumed that all cattle are owned by Northerners and that all herdsmen are from the North. But the truth is beginning to surface. The owner of the cows that strayed into Professor Wole Soyinka’s compound happened to be a Southerner and a Yoruba. He was identified as Mr. Kazeem Sorinola, an indigene of Ijeun, Abeokuta. This is instructive.”
MURIC, however, condemned situation where cows are allowed to stray into somebody else’s compound although what happened at Kemta had no evidence of damage or ill-feeling.
“We strongly condemn the incident in which a cow strayed into Professor Wole Soyinka’s compound at Kemta Estate, Abeokuta, on Tuesday, 9th February, 2021. It is a desecration of a hallowed space. The respected professor needs peace to be able to contribute intellectually (as usual) to the Nigerian debate. Nigeria still needs his rich interventions,” it said in a statement by its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola and reiterate its stand by earlier suggested solutions and added another asking that owners of cows be registered for accountability purposes.
MURIC said: “The movement of cows on our roads as well as in our farms has constituted a serious security breach leading to tension across the country. In our search for solutions to the herdsmen imbroglio, MURIC has forwarded two main suggestions within the past two weeks. We muted the idea that the Federal Government (FG) should give herders bailout funds to enable them establish ranches. Secondly, we suggested that FG should also compensate farmers whose crops were damaged by cows which invaded their farms. We still stand by these suggestions.
“It has now become necessary to add another suggestion. All cow owners in the country should be registered. Let us know who we are dealing with. It is becoming glaring that most of the cows we see in the South are owned by Southerners. Many important dignitaries in the South own hundreds of cows but they remain silent even in the face of this controversy. It has been alleged that some of the cattle owners are retired army generals, leading politicians, traditional rulers, etc, all from the South West, South East and South South.”
In yet another report published in The DEFENDER and titled, “Police report confirms MURIC’s claim of Yoruba ownership of cows at Wole Soyinka’s compound”, the Ogun State Police Command expressed worry that some elements within the society would twist a common matter of stray cow to mean that herdsmen went to Professor Wole Soyinka with aim to attack and kill him.
In the police statement by its state Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, it was said that: “The command hereby wishes to warn the fake news peddler to desist from it as they may be made to feel the weight of the law. It is an offence for anybody to originate or help in circulating fake news, the command will therefore, henceforth be tracing and fishing out those deliberately dishing out fake information to members of the public especially the one that cause panic in the mind of innocent people.”
Reactions
In their reactions, some patriotic Nigerians expressed reliefs that the truth coming out quickly and adequately with indisputable details is further exposing people, whose penchant for raising alarms only when an issue appears to have been committed by people of other tribes or religion shamefully knows no bound.
In his own reaction, Idris Ahmad (Lagos) said: “Those who shouted blue murdered retraced their steps as soon as they realized the ownership of those cows. Suddenly, those cows no longer pose problem to Wole Soyinka. Even the Prof Wole Soyinka himself didn’t need PMB to speak on the incident again. God almighty keeps disgracing irredentists.”
Kunle Durodolu (Ibadan, Oyo State) said: “The noise on this matter will die not earlier than it started. Let them trace it to a Fulani man then all hell will be let loose. It is only our hypocrisy that will destroy us.”
