Yemi Obafemi
Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has dismissed public expectations for him to assess President Bola Tinubu’s administration after its first year in office, stating that he does not operate on a fixed schedule for political commentary.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Monday, Soyinka emphasized that governance scrutiny is a collective effort and questioned why he was being singled out for an evaluation when he had not done so for past administrations.
On December 24, 2023, President Bola Tinubu hosted Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka at his Bourdillon residence in Ikoyi, Lagos. During the visit, Soyinka was asked to share his thoughts on Tinubu’s administration, which began on May 29, 2023. In response, he declined to offer an immediate assessment, stating that he would wait until the government had completed its first year in office in May 2024 before making any comments.
He said: “People should stop trying to work on my timetable for me,” 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.
“I had not swallowed an alarm clock,” Soyinka said on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief programme on Monday. “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.”
“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.”
