Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has stated that he will address President Bola Tinubu’s government when he deems it necessary, and has asked Nigerians not to impose a timetable on him for his comments.
“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.”
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On December 24, 2023, Wole Soyinka visited President Tinubu, and when asked to evaluate the administration, he stated he would reserve his comments until after one year, in May 2024.
President Tinubu’s administration has faced criticism for its handling of the economy, with rising inflation and cost of living.
With Tinubu’s second year in office approaching in May 2025, many expected Soyinka to fulfill his previously stated intention to assess the government.
However, Soyinka has now indicated that many “conscientious persons” are already speaking out, and that the assessment of any government is a collective responsibility.
He implied he will speak when he feels it necessary, and not on any set schedule.
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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