The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the Feb 25 election, Peter Obi, on Sunday, paid a courtesy visit to Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka.
You’d recall that in recent times, Soyinka has called out Obi’s running mate, Yusuf Datti-Ahmed, over what he described as ‘fascist comments’ on a presidential election that the umpire called for Bola Tinubu of the governing APC.
Datti-Ahmed had pointedly said on national televison that inaugurating Tinubu as President on May 29, is going to end Nigeria’s democracy as we’ve come to know it.
Datti also doubled down on his remarks last week.
Soyinka had berated the Obi campaign and Datti-Ahmed for the remarks on AriseTV, saying there were unguarded, unbridled, reprehensible, fascist and capable of heating up the polity.
Soyinka was serially trolled and insulted online by supporters of Obi, otherwise called Obidients, afterwards.
Obi later disclosed on Politics Today, a popular programme on Channels Television, that he was sad about the exchange, while maintaining that he revers Soyinka as a father.
He also defended his Obidient movement when he reiterated that they were angry youths who had been deprived by a system that is meant to care for them.
In a post on his verified Twitter handle on Sunday, Obi said his visit to Soyinka was intended to erase the needless misconceptions about the relationship between the great icon and the OBIdient family.
The former Anambra governor, who described his visit to Soyinka as enriching, said Soyinka’s reputation as a fighter for justice and equity in society is legendary.
Obi said that he had a useful discussion with the nobel laureate, while dding that he reminded Soyinka of the huge price he paid just before the outbreak of the civil war, fighting for the cause of the Igbos.
The post reads in part; “Today I visited one of Nigeria’s most revered figures and an international literary icon Prof Wole Soyinka.
“Prof Soyinka has been my father whom I hold in very high esteem for what he has achieved and stands for in the struggle for a better Nigeria.
“His reputation as a fighter for justice and equity in our society has been legendary and we will NEVER ignore them.
“I had a very useful and enriching discussion about his aspirations for a better and greater Nigeria, and he shared a lot with me about his dream for a greater, and more inclusive Nigeria.
“I reminded the Nobel laureate of the huge price he paid just before the outbreak of civil war, fighting for the cause of the Igbos.
“I cherish this Sunday visit which was intended to erase the needless misconceptions about the relationship between the great icon and the Obidient family,” Obi added.
Today, I visited one of Nigeria’s most revered figures and an international literary icon, Prof Wole Soyinka. Prof Soyinka has been a father whom I hold in very high esteem for what he has achieved and stands for in the struggle for a better Nigeria. pic.twitter.com/pYYh2JIzDe
— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) May 7, 2023