Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, has accused the leadership of the Labour Party (LP) of trying to force a lie on Nigerians, particularly the youth, even when the party knew its candidate, Peter Obi, lost the 2023 presidential poll.
He stated this in his address at an event titled “The Lives of Wole Soyinka — A Dialogue,” organised by Africa in the World, held in Stellenbosch, South Africa, on Wednesday.
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 and he pointed out that the truth matters to him, noting that many people always look for shortcuts.
The Nobel laureate recalled that he was armed with facts when he invaded a radio station in Ibadan in 1965, and 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, however, noted that Obi achieved “something remarkable” by breaking the monopoly of power established by the two major political parties, 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.
“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.”
The Nobel Laureate also accused the LP leadership of attempting 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.
“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,” he said.
