Wole Soyinka under fire over comment on Peter Obi

The Labour Party has expressed its disapproval of Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka’s recent comments regarding the party’s presidential candidate in the last election, Peter Obi.

Soyinka, in a recent interview, questioned Peter Obi’s assertion that he had won the February 25 election, stating that Obi’s party had come third, not second, and accused them of attempting to deceive the public with falsehoods.

In response, the Labour Party issued a statement through its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, criticizing Soyinka for allegedly turning a blind eye to certain truths.

The party questioned Soyinka’s silence when there were threats made to Lagos residents to leave the state before the election. The statement read in part, “The Labour Party took note of the statement that emanated from the Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, whom, as an institution, we have the utmost respect for… However, we beg to disagree with his prognosis and personal opinion on the performance of our party during the 2023 general elections.”

The statement reads partly, “The Labour Party took note of the statement that emanated from the Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, whom, as an institution, we have the utmost respect for. He is a Nigerian whose accomplishments in the literary world are without doubt intimidating.

“However, we beg to disagree with his prognosis and personal opinion on the performance of our party during the 2023 general elections. The facts are before the courts and out of respect for our judiciary, we will reserve our comments until the Supreme Court makes a final pronouncement.

“We understand that the literary giant is human and thus susceptible to emotions and probably said what he said based on information made available to him by those who share the ‘Emilokan sentiment’.

“In Yoruba, ‘Gbajue’ refers to fraudulent activities like age, name or certificate forgery, 419 or narcotics trafficking, all of which are issues in the 2023 elections but not on the Labour Party’s part.

“‘Gbajue’ in Yoruba also literally means ‘slap him/her in the face.’ Have all Nigerians not been slapped sufficiently in the face? Thanks to this man of letters for bringing this out albeit, advertently. It’s rather interesting that the erudite Prof.