Wole Soyinka has strongly condemned the recent contentious statement made by the Labour Party's vice presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, claiming that President-elect Bola Tinubu's inauguration could spell the end of democracy in Nigeria.
Professor Wole Soyinka, a Nobel laureate, has spoken out against a statement made by Datti Baba-Ahmed, the Labour Party's vice presidential candidate.
Soyinka addressed the issue during an appearance on Arise TV on Wednesday, April 5, 2023, calling Baba-remarks Ahmed's deplorable and claiming that he had never heard such language used for blackmail.
He stated, “What I have read – at least, thus far – this morning, extracted from a one-and-a-half long interview, conducted a week ago with Channels Television, brings once more to the fore, the critical responsibility of the media in transmitting the spoken, even recorded word to the public.
“This is especially crucial in a time of civic uncertainty. When remarks are taken out of context, spliced into a new one, provided a sensational headline, distortions become stamped on public receptivity, and the central intent of one’s remarks becomes completely unrecognisable.
“I denounced the menacing utterances of a vice-presidential aspirant as unbecoming. It was a gladiatorial challenge directed at the judiciary and, by implication, the rest of the democratic polity.
“But what on earth has happened to my even more urgent condemnation of the physical violence inflicted on those designated “strangers†in Lagos in the lead up to, and during governorship elections?
“This prejudicial selectivity is a betrayal of trust, and I find it contemptuous of the public deserving. My critique of incipient fascism in the movement remains grounded in indisputable evidence.â€
He went on to say that such do-or-die provocation is not what Nigerians have been fighting for, and that it violates democratic principles.
"I have never heard the kind of blackmailing language that were used by Mr Datti.
“That kind of attitude, that kind of do-or-die provocation is not what I think we have been all struggling for.â€
Mr Datti Ahmed Comment
During an interview with Channels Television, Baba-Ahmed stated that the inauguration of President-elect Bola Tinubu on May 29th could spell the end of Nigerian democracy.
The statement has sparked outrage across the country, with some Tinubu supporters demanding Baba-arrest. Ahmed's
Soyinka's condemnation of Baba-statement Ahmed's adds to the ongoing debate over Bola Tinubu's inauguration as Nigeria's president-elect.