Nigeria heading for civil war – Soyinka

LONDON (AFP) -  Nobel laureate Prof Wole Soyinka warned on Tuesday that his country was heading towards a civil war, blaming political leaders who spread religious intolerance.

Asked whether he agreed with President Goodluck Jonathan that the current unrest was worse than the 1960s civil war, he told the BBC World Service: “It’s not an unrealistic comparison — it’s certainly based on many similarities.



Prof Wole Soyinka

“We see the nation heading towards a civil war.”
Soyinka was also asked whether the unrest threatened the state of Nigeria itself, and replied: “It is going that way. We no longer can pretend it’s not.
“When you’ve got a situation where a bunch of people can go into a place of worship and open fire through the windows, you’ve reached a certain dismal watershed in the life of that nation.”
Soyinka said the issues raised by Islamist group Boko Haram, which was blamed for violence targeting Christians in the north of Nigeria and has sparked fears of a wider religious conflict, had been brewing for some time.
“There are people in power in certain parts of the country, leaders, who quite genuinely and authoritatively hate and cannot tolerate any religion outside their own,” he said.
“When you combine that with the ambitions of a number of people who believe they are divinely endowed to rule the country and who… believe that their religion is above whatever else binds the entire nation together, and somehow the power appears to slip from their hands, then they resort to the most extreme measures.
“Youths who have been indoctrinated right from infancy can be used, and who have been used, again and again to create mayhem in the country.”
He added: “Those who have created this faceless army have lost control.”
Soyinka, a dramatist and essayist, became Africa’s first Nobel laureate in literature when he won the prize in 1986.

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Oil prices rally as traders monitor situation in Nigeria

LONDON (AFP) – World oil prices rose on Tuesday, in line with gains across global stock markets as buoyant US consumer data and simmering tensions in crude producers Iran and Nigeria provided support, analysts said.
New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in February, rallied $1.38 cents to $102.69 a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for February gained 82 cents to $113.27 in early afternoon trade.
European equities rose strongly on Tuesday as Chinese data and upbeat US figures and company results overshadowed fears over the stubborn eurozone debt crisis, dealers said.
Investor sentiment was boosted as slowing Chinese exports sparked fresh speculation over more monetary easing from Beijing.
“Following the better-than-expected economic data from the United States and the recent rebound in the global equity markets, we expect crude oil prices to continue their upside momentum,” said Sucden analyst Myrto Sokou.
“In the meantime, the Chinese import/export figures failed to meet analysts’ expectations and raised some concerns about a slowdown in Chinese oil demand.
“However, the sharp decline in imports should afford Beijing greater room in monetary policy manoeuvring.”
China’s trade surplus shrank in 2011 as import and export growth slowed sharply, official data showed on Tuesday, after domestic tightening measures and global economic turmoil hit consumption.
Elsewhere, US data on Monday showed a 9.9 percent jump in consumer credit in November, the biggest increase since 2001.
Credit card spending was up 8.5 percent, while non-revolving loans, including university and automobile loans, jumped 107 percent.
“US consumer economic data saw its biggest jump in a decade, signalling increased confidence in its economic recovery,” said Nick Trevethan, senior commodities strategist at ANZ Research.
The data added to the growing sense that a recovery in the world’s biggest economy and oil consumer is showing signs of strength, coming days after a fall in the unemployment rate and a bigger-than-expected rise in job creation.
Adding to the upward pressure on oil was lingering concern about Iran’s nuclear programme, Trevethan told AFP.
The UN atomic agency Monday revealed that Tehran had started to enrich uranium in a mountain bunker, further stoking suspicions that it wants to build nuclear weapons.
Iran — the world’s fourth-largest oil producer — has threatened to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz if the West goes ahead with plans to ban imports of its oil as part of sanctions to stop its nuclear programme.
“Iran’s external relations can affect oil markets through more than just the blockage of trade,” Barclays Capital said in a commentary.
“In our view, the situation is now severe enough to run the danger of creating a clash almost accidentally.”
Meanwhile, traders were also monitoring the situation in Nigeria, where the end of fuel subsidies has sparked widespread protests, analysts said, although officials say oil output in the country had so far been unaffected.
Nigeria pumps around 2.4 million barrels a day and is Africa’s top producer.

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