Prof Wale Soyinka
By Emmanuel Elijah, Makurdi
The Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom has showered encomium on Nobel laureate, Prof Wale Soyinka for always standing for peace and justice in Nigeria
Gov. Ortom made his position known on Monday, while receiving books donated by Prof Soyinka for the education of children in the Internally Displaced Persons Camps in Benue State.
According to him, “I want to appreciate sincerely, Prof Wale Soyinka for standing with the government and people of Benue State, by being outspoken against the destruction of lives and property by the armed Fulani herdsmen in the state,” he enthused.
While appreciating the donor for his generosity, Governor Ortom assured that the books would be used for the purpose for which they were meant so as to mitigate the educational challenges faced by the children in the IDPs camps.
Earlier in his speech, the Nobel laureate who was represented by the immediate past chairman of the Association of Nigerian Authors “ANA”, Dr Charles Iornumbe stated that when he came to Benue State and visited the IDPs camps, he was touched and saw the need for proper education of the children living in the camps and that the books will motivate them to study harder.
Prof Soyinka who described governor Ortom as a committed leader who is unrelenting in his efforts to achieving peace and justice for the development of Benue State and Nigeria, appealed to him to provide a piece of land for the ANA, to build a permanent site for their Secretariat in the state.
