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Soyinka: Peter Obi Unfit to Lead Nigeria

Written by Jerry Alomatu on May 24, 2024

News Views: 377

Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka has declared that Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, is unfit to lead Nigeria. Soyinka attributed this judgment to the behavior of Obi’s supporters, known as ‘Obidients’, during the election campaign.

Soyinka criticized Obi for failing to control his supporters who frequently attacked individuals with opposing views online. He suggested that this inability to manage his followers’ conduct indicates a lack of leadership qualities necessary for governing a diverse nation like Nigeria. Soyinka also accused Obi, the former governor of Anambra State, of encouraging these attacks.

In a recent interview with Noble Nigeria, Soyinka expressed his hope that Obi would not run in the 2027 presidential election. He stated, “I hope for the sake of the nation that he doesn’t express interest in the next election because, for me, his unfitness to lead was evident in the conduct he encouraged among his followers. His actions demonstrated his inability to lead a multi-ethnic, multi-religious society.”

Soyinka justified his claims by recounting a past meeting with Obi. According to Soyinka, during the meeting, Obi appeared conciliatory but later misrepresented their discussion. “When he first visited me, he seemed conciliatory. However, after the meeting, he issued a statement that misrepresented our conversation. This discrepancy made me question his honesty and leadership capabilities,” Soyinka explained.

Soyinka recounted that Obi reassured him about the behavior of his supporters during their meeting, yet later released a public statement contradicting their private discussion. “I saw him type a message on his phone during our meeting, which seemed to reassure me. However, his subsequent public statement did not reflect our actual conversation,” he said.

The Nobel laureate emphasized that this misrepresentation and Obi’s subsequent public statements reinforced his belief that Obi is unfit to lead Nigeria. “When someone cannot be completely honest in a reconciliatory meeting, I question their integrity. This experience led me to reiterate my stance that Peter did not win the election,” Soyinka concluded. He added that witnesses from both sides were present at the meeting to verify his account.