LP leadership knew Peter Obi lost 2023 polls-Soyinka

… But rather  than face the truth, the party  prefers to force lies on Nigerians

The leadership of the Labour Party (LP) knows that its presidential candidate in the  February 25 election, Peter Obi, did not win the election,according to a Nobel laureate , Prof Wole Soyinka.

Soyinka, who spoke on Wednesday in South Africa, at an event titled “The Lives of Wole Soyinka — A Dialogue” organised by Africa in the World, in the Cape Winelands city of Stellenbosch, accused the leadership of  LP  of trying to force “a lie” on Nigerians that Obi won the election.

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.

  “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,” he said ,adding the truth matters to him, noting that many people always look for shortcuts.

While admitting that Obi achieved “something remarkable” by breaking the monopoly of power established by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) the Nobel Laureate also accused LP of taking over the organised labour movement in the build-up to the 2023 election.

 Said he: “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.”

Soyinka also alleged   that the LP leadership attempted 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,” he said.

“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.”

Soyinka’s comments are bound to elicit another round of reactions from Obi’s vociferous supporters known as the ‘Obidients’.

 According to Arise News, in March, Soyinka and the LP (and the Obidients by extension) were at loggerheads over comments made by the party’s vice-presidential candidate at the election, Datti Baba-Ahmed, on the outcome of the presidential election.

 Baba-Ahmed had in  an  interview with Channels TV, said the country has no president-elect despite the declaration of Bola Tinubu, flagbearer of the APC, as the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Baba-Ahmed said Tinubu should not be sworn in as president because he “did not meet requirements of the law”.

Reacting to the comment, Soyinka said Datti’s words contained “fascistic language” and that he has “never heard anyone threaten the judiciary on television the way Datti did”.

Soyinka further described the Obidient movement as “fascist”.

 Apparently  referring to Obi’s supporters, he  said the “seeds of incipient fascism in the political arena have evidently matured.”

He described the refusal of the Obidients to entertain corrective criticism as their “badge of honour” and “certificate of commitment”.