BREAKING: Soyinka Finally Speaks on Promise to Assess Tinubu After One Year: “Stop Working on My Timetable”
Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has asked Nigerians not to work on his timetable for him.
Soyinka dismisses pressure to assess Tinubu’s FG
He noted that he will speak on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government when he has something to say.
The nonagenarian cautioned those asking him to fulfill his promise to assess Tinubu’s administration after one year in office which elapsed on May 29, 2024.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief programme on Monday, March 24, Soyinka said emphasised that he does not follow an “alarm clock” for political commentary and dismissed expectations that he would automatically make a statement after Tinubu’s one-year mark.
He said:
“People should stop trying to work on my timetable for me.
“I had not swallowed an alarm clock.”
“I don’t see why I should put my alarm on and say: ‘One year has passed, now, I must make an assessment’ if there is nothing I feel like talking about and if I am busy elsewhere.”
“I would speak,” Soyinka assures
Recall that on Sunday, December 24, 2023, Soyinka paid a visit to Tinubu in his Bourdillon residence in the highbrow Ikoyi area of Lagos.
Speaking with reporters after meeting with the Nigerian leader, Professor Soyinka, who described Tinubu as an old friend, said he would assess his administration after a year in office, in May 2024.
Critics have accused Tinubu, ex-Lagos governor, of mismanaging the economy, with all-time high inflation and unprecedented cost of living.
Interestingly, Bola Tinubu’s administration would be two years in office by May 29, 2025, and many had expected Soyinka to fulfill his promise.
However, the Nobel Laureate said many conscientious persons had been speaking and that assessing any government is a collective responsibility of like-minded persons.
Soyinka said:
“This business of ‘you haven’t come to do this’, I don’t understand it. Other people are doing the same; this is a collective effort. The Falanas speak consistently. The Baiyewus speak consistently. The Sowores come out and try to lead demonstrations. It’s a collective effort.
“The one year is up which means you have a right and I have a responsibility to respond when you call me on certain issues. But if you are saying that I would call a press conference and say: ‘One year is up, let us now make an assessment’.
“The only question I’d ask you is: ‘Did I do that with Jonathan?’ Did I do that with Buhari?’ ‘Did I do that with Obasanjo?’ ‘Did I do that with anybody? So, why is it expected of me?
“All it means is that one year is up. If I am around, and you want to get hold of me, I would speak. That’s all that statement meant.”
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