…Calls for the disbandment of INEC
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka has been described as an enemy of Nigerian masses following his recent outburst in South Africa, where he said Peter Obi, Labour Party (LP) standard bearer in Nigeria’s last presidential election and the party leadership knew they lost the election but were using “force of lies.”
At an event titled “The Lives of Wole Soyinka — A Dialogue” organized by Africa in the World in Stellenbosch, South Africa, Soyinka said in an answer to a question: “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.”
Soyinka’s comment has elicited a lot of backlashes from Obi’s supporters around the world since it was made.
In his reaction to the the Nobel Laureate’s comments, a renowned human rights/pro-democracy activist, and Executive Director, Nigeria Good Governance Research Centre, Comrade Igbotako Nowinta, in a press statement in Benin City, Edo State at the weekend, 2023, expressed his displeasure.
Comrade Nowinta, who is also a conflict resolution expert, said Prof. Wole Soyinka has ‘abysmally fallen into the gutter of treachery, political barbarism and stark electoral malfeasance consciously dug by unrepentant political criminals in Nigeria.’
According to the full text of the press release:
“When Prof. Wole Soyinka came out in March, this year, to attack the Obidient movement cum Datti Baba Ahmed, the vice presidential candidate of Labour Party, during the February 25th, Presidential Election in Nigeria, many of us thought he guffed, but his recent outburst in South Africa, at an event titled “The Lives of Wole Soyinka — A Dialogue” organised by Africa in the World in Stellenbosch, where he said : “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.” shows clearly that the man is now an established enemy of the masses of Nigeria; a miserable turncoat.
“This is how Prof. Wole Soyinka has abysmally fallen into the gutter of treachery, political barbarism and stark electoral malfeasance consciously created by unrepentant demonic political criminals in Nigeria. In the deep pond of useful hypocrites, political usurpers have caught a big fish sadly in Wole Soyinka.
“One has expected this man to have spoken stridently against the terrible actions of Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC), because of his gross betrayal of the masses of Nigeria, given the way he shamelessly conducted the February 25th, 2023, Presidential Elections in Nigeria.
“One has expected this Nobel laureate to have raised his finger against the day light robbery which was presented to the masses of Nigeria by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Nigeria, on September 6th, 2023. Neither did he condemned the heart wrenching electoral violence unleashed by the foot soldiers of the ruling party during the said elections.
“But, what we see regrettably, unfortunately and nauseatingly is a pass mark delivered in far away South Africa for the enemies of Nigeria’s progress, by a man who has decided to eat in day light the criminal vomits of political rascals.
“How are the mighty fallen, why has this Prof. chosen this absolutely retrogressive path in his twilight years; what does he still want? But, we want to assure this man and his likes that we will not spare anything to take back our country; we will not relent until we get justice, even if it take us to stage a revolution against this most cruel status quo.
” It is a monumental tragedy coming from a man, who is no longer bothered that his fellow citizens are now buying a litre of fuel for N600 in a major oil producing nation; that the mass of Nigerian people are living under a dollar bill a day.
” For me the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should be disbanded immediately, because it has outlived its usefulness, and Nigerians should call for the creation of a new truly independent electoral umpire in Nigeria.
