“Nigeria is raising illiterates” – Prof.Wole Soyinka
The Nigerian Nobel prize winner and poet, Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka has raised alarm that Nigeria is currently building generation of illiterates, who are always quick to react to issues they know nothing about on the Internet .
Wole Soynika who described the new generation as “generation of Internet trolls” said that whenever discussions on Education are raised, some of the texts he receive from the youths baffle him.
He said this while addressing some youths at the launch of InnoCreative Youth Hub2030 and project logo organised by Creative Youth Community Development Initiative held at the Civic Centre, Lagos.
They are waiting for Wole Soyinka to lead a march to Aso Rock. It is about time to get off your feet and stop writing rubbish on the internet about things you do not understand. I do not know how to describe the new generation beyond a generation of internet trolls.
Nigerian youths are full of spunk outside, but when they are inside Nigeria, they are full of gas. We are building a generation of illiterates. They are the first to comment on the internet on issues they are ignorant about. When you talk about education, I get texts from the new generation and can’t believe these texts are from the youth.
When I decided to build my house in the forest, I bought a second-hand diesel generator and asked someone to dig a borehole. I wanted to be self-sufficient. What I want to pass on to you is that I thought of the possibility of being self-reliant. This entails that I can come to cooperatives with others and demand things from the government by any means necessary, Soyinka said.
Tony Patrick Cole shares his experience while on board a plane with Professor Wole Soyinka
