Soyinka Criticises Buhari Over Proposed Ruga Settlements
Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka has criticised President Muhammadu Buhari’s handling of the herdsmen crisis and warned the Federal Government to exercise great caution over the proposed Ruga settlement initiative.
Soyinka said cattle rearing should never be allowed to take priority over human lives and argued that the country needed a more practical and humane approach to resolving clashes involving herders and farming communities.
He spoke in Lagos during the launch of Solution 17, an initiative focused on youth empowerment and sustainable development.
According to Soyinka, cattle rearing is neither unusual nor difficult to manage, noting that several countries had developed systems for livestock production without creating persistent conflict with local communities.
He argued that ranching remained one possible solution but said such facilities should be established only in areas environmentally suitable for livestock production and in ways that would not disrupt the lives and livelihoods of surrounding communities.
Soyinka also cited personal experiences involving cattle wandering into residential areas and damaging cultivated land.
He said such incidents highlighted the need for clearer rules and stronger enforcement to prevent livestock from destroying farms, trees and other property.
The playwright strongly criticised Buhari’s response to violence associated with some herders, arguing that the administration had been too slow to confront the problem.
He said the President’s handling of the crisis was serious enough, in his view, to have counted against him during the 2019 presidential election.
Soyinka alleged that prolonged failure to deal decisively with violent attacks had created a sense of impunity among some armed herders.
He also said farmers had suffered from attacks, displacement and destruction of crops, worsening tensions over land and food production.
Soyinka warned that introducing Ruga settlements without first addressing those grievances could deepen mistrust and provoke further resistance.
He maintained that any livestock policy must place human security, property rights and peaceful coexistence ahead of political considerations.
“There cannot be any kind of society where cattle take priority over human beings,” Soyinka said.
He therefore urged the Federal Government to adopt a more imaginative, transparent and humane approach to the herders’ crisis, warning that failure to do so could create further instability across the country.
