Only Unity Can Stop Terrorism – Soyinka, Okonjo-Iweala

The Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka have said that only a united effort by Nigerians can stop terrorism.
They spoke at a National Rally Against Terror, organised by the Nigerians Unite Against Terror (NUAT), a group co-coordinated by Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, on Tuesday.
Okonjo-Iweala, who lamented the continued shedding of blood of innocent Nigerians, said of the terrorists: “they will not win. We will defeat them”.
She, however, commended the organisers of the rally, saying that such effort was what Nigeria needed.
“This is what we need for Nigeria. We are one Nigeria, we should not be bombing each other”, she said, while commending the Nigerian military for their sacrifice and pledged the Federal Government’s continued support for security operatives to conquer insurgency.
“When I went to Chibok, I saw the devastation wreaked on the parents from the loss of their children. The spirit of Chibok should be the spirit of Nigeria, for, although, the parents were in pain, they continued to go on. I am most touched that, in spite of the widows, orphans, internally displaced people, we are here together to say terrorism will never work”, she added.
She urged Nigerians to stand united and support their troops with one voice.
In a message read on his behalf by Okei-Odumakin, Prof. Wole Soyinka said that a people united could never be defeated.
“I regret my absence at the rally. However, I urge Nigerians to shun those things that tend to divide them. Despite recent successes by our Army, we must understand that the battle is yet to be over. Every citizen must be on the front burner, irrespective of religion, ethnicity or political leanings”, Soyinka said.