Datti Baba-Ahmed, the vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, has strongly criticized Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka for his recent remarks about Peter Obi, the LP’s presidential candidate.
In an interview with Noble Eyisi, Soyinka had labeled Obi as “unfit” to lead Nigeria and suggested he should not contest the presidency in 2027. Soyinka accused Obi of fostering the negative online behavior exhibited by his supporters, known as ‘Obidients’.
Baba-Ahmed, speaking on Arise Television, rebuffed Soyinka’s comments, arguing that they should be seen as a distraction.
He emphasized that Obi and his team would not engage in a back-and-forth with the Nobel laureate, asserting that Soyinka’s intellectual status does not entitle him to insult others.
“The learned elder statesman is scared in advance about what good Peter Obi would bring to Nigeria. He’s scared that the end is looking very likely for his principal, for bad governance,” Baba-Ahmed remarked. “What Soyinka is doing now is an attempted distraction.”
Baba-Ahmed further highlighted that Nobel laureates are generally revered both nationally and internationally, and expressed dismay at the disrespect directed towards Soyinka.
He underscored the impossibility of Obi controlling every action of his supporters, likening it to entering a canoe without a life jacket and paying for it.
“Peter Obi entered a canoe without a life jacket and he paid for it. It is not the work of Peter Obi to control the Obidients, it is the responsibility of Wole Soyinka to maintain his respect and dignity,” he stated.
Baba-Ahmed also called for decency in political discourse, urging Nigerians to respect each other despite political differences. He reiterated that Obi and he have chosen to refrain from reacting to Soyinka’s comments.
“In the presence of all these politics, decent Nigerians should continue to offer respect to others. All he is trying to do is an attempted distraction which Peter Obi and I have excused ourselves from. We will not react to that Nobel laureate.”
Concluding his remarks, Baba-Ahmed questioned the relevance of Soyinka’s comments in light of the serious issues facing Nigeria, including accidental killings by the armed forces and the plummeting value of the currency.
“What is Wole Soyinka at a time when the Nigerian armed forces are killing Nigerians by mistake? At a time when our currency is hopelessly depreciating and so many other issues,” he queried.
