By Milcah Tanimu
Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has alleged that the leadership of the Labour Party (LP) was aware that Peter Obi, the presidential candidate, had lost the February 25 election. Speaking at an event titled “The Lives of Wole Soyinka — A Dialogue” held in Stellenbosch, South Africa, Soyinka accused the LP of attempting to deceive Nigerians, especially the youth, into believing that Obi had won the election.
During the event, Soyinka responded to a question regarding his previous comments about Datti Baba-Ahmed, the LP vice-presidential candidate, after the general election. Soyinka emphasized the importance of truth and factual information, recalling a past incident in 1965 when he had invaded a radio station in Ibadan armed with verifiable facts.
Soyinka alleged that the LP had taken control of the organized labor movement in the run-up to the 2023 election. He acknowledged Peter Obi’s achievement in breaking the dominance of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but asserted that Obi’s party had come third in the election, not even second. He accused the LP leadership of attempting to propagate falsehoods.
Furthermore, Soyinka claimed that the LP leadership had sought to mobilize young people to protest against the election results based on false information. He expressed his willingness to join demonstrations but only if they were based on truth and not deceit.
Soyinka also criticized Datti Baba-Ahmed’s televised remarks, describing them as containing “fascistic language” and expressed concern over the threats made against the judiciary. He alleged that some clandestine forces, including ex-generals, had called for an interim government before the elections, adding a layer of complexity to the political landscape.
These revelations come after tensions between Soyinka and the LP escalated following comments made by Baba-Ahmed regarding the presidential election results in March.
