Wole Soyinka, the Nobel laureate, says the leadership of the
Labour Party (LP) knew that Peter Obi, the presidential candidate, lost the
February 25 election.
Soyinka accused the leadership of the opposition party of
trying to force “a lie” on Nigerians, especially youths, that Obi won the
election.
The Nobel laureate spoke at an event titled “The Lives of
Wole Soyinka — A Dialogue” organised by Africa
in the World.
The event took place on Wednesday in Stellenbosch, South
Africa.
While speaking at the event, Soyinka was asked to react to
his comment against Datti Baba-Ahmed, LP vice-presidential candidate, after the
general election.
Soyinka said the truth matters to him, noting that many
people always look for shortcuts.
The Nobel laureate said he was armed with facts when he
invaded a radio station in Ibadan in 1965.
He added that he was not relying on “third-hand information”
about the result of the 1965 regional election.
Soyinka accused the LP of taking over the organised labour
movement in the build-up to the 2023 election.
He noted that Obi achieved “something remarkable” by
breaking the monopoly of power established by the All Progressives Congress
(APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“This recent election – two things happened first of all.
One party took over the labour movement, which is not my favourite movement,
and then it became a regional party,” he said.
“Whereas it was a
marvellous breach into the established two camps. Peter Obi achieved something
remarkable there, that he broke that mould. However, he did not win the
election.
“I can say categorically that Peter Obi’s party came third
not even second and the leadership knew it but they want to do what we call in
Yoruba ‘gbajue’, that is force of lies.”
Soyinka also alleged that the LP leadership attempted to
mobilise young people to protest against the outcome of the election on the
“banner of lies and deceit”.
“They were going to send some of the hardliners, proud young
people into the street to demonstrate,” he said.
“I’m also ready to be
among such demonstrators but only on the banner of truth not on lies, and
deceit.
“This party wanted the same thing (referring to 2011
post-election violence) to happen on the basis of a lie and we find this
vice-presidential candidate on television boasting, insisting, threatening and
trying to intimidate both the judiciary and the rest.
“What kind of
government will result from that kind of conduct? In addition, they did not
know this but they were being used.
“Before the election, there were certain clandestine forces,
including some ex-generals, who were already calling for an interim government
before the elections began.
“Some of them were known figures, including a proprietor of
a university calling for an interim government before the election took place.”
In March, Soyinka and LP were at loggerheads over comments
made by Baba-Ahmed on the outcome of the presidential election.
On March 22, Baba-Ahmed, in an interview with Channels TV,
said the country has no president-elect despite the declaration of Bola Tinubu,
flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the
election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Baba-Ahmed said Tinubu should not be sworn in as president
because he “did not meet requirements of the law”.
Reacting to the comment, Soyinka said the LP
vice-presidential candidate’s words contained “fascistic language” and that has
“never heard anyone threaten the judiciary on television the way Datti did”.
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Soyinka, so you no longer know the roads to court? Stop all these nonsense you are saying. I used to think that you are knowledgeable enough to know what is really happening but i have come to realise that you are an apologist of the west. Each time i see people like you talk now, i wave it off with a finger because your brains are only meant to cause trouble and not to say things the way they are.
ReplyDeleteSee one of them above, only your opinion and that of your fellow tribesmen are correct. Sentimental and ethnic Attack dogs
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