Soyinka seeks visa ban for perpetrators of violence

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has called on the international community to deny perpetrators of violence in the country visa.

Speaking at ‘World Poetry Day with Wole Soyinka’ organised by Providus Bank in Lagos, yesterday, he said: “I am calling on our visitors and foreigners to take action against those, who commit violence to refuse them visas and put them on watch list. Tell them to stay in their homes. You must adopt policy to deny those, who perpetrate violence in the name of religion, visa. It dehumanises the rest of us.”

With the theme, ‘Restating Humanity with the Woman’, the literary icon added: “Start compiling names of those, who have perpetrated violence, especially against the youths. I teach in Abu Dhabi and whenever I get there, I tell them to do the same.”

In his remarks, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Providus Bank, Walter Akpani, said: “We are honoured to have female poets join us from Abu Dhabi, South Africa, Ghana, Canada and, of course, Nigeria.”