“The Council of Obas has decided that Governor Aiyedatiwa is our candidate,” Oba Adeleye stated, pledging their support for Aiyedatiwa’s election campaign.
Politics
Soyinka knocks Datti, ‘Obidients’, recalls advising Tinubu, Atiku not to contest
Soyinka knocks Datti, ‘Obidients’, recalls advising Tinubu, Atiku not to contest
The Nobel laureate Prof Wole Soyinka, said he warned the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, on the excesses of the his supporters, the ‘Obidients’, ahead of the election.
He condemned the recent utterance of the LP vice presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, as unguarded and an affront on the judiciary.
He also said he advised the presidential candidates of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Atiku Abubakar and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, respectively, to leave the stage for young brilliant people.
Soyinka stated this in a statement titled, “Media responsibility” on Tuesday.
The elder statesman said his recent interview with Channels Television was misrepresented, with his remarks rendered unrecognisable.
The TV station aired on Monday the one and a half-hour interview with Soyinka, which it conducted a week ago.
Soyinka said on three occasions, he was able to send a message to Obi that if he lost the election, it would be his followers who lost it for him.
He recalled advising both Tinubu and Atiku against contesting the presidential election on account old age.
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He said, “I told Atiku when he was contesting and came to see me in my Ikeja office few years ago; he came with Gbenga Daniel, my former governor (of Ogun State).
“I said to him, ‘Listen, it’s about time you people left the stage, why don’t you just go away. We need an infusion of fresh blood into the system’.
“But, for some people, maybe they read it as bloodletting. No I said infusion of fresh blood. I said so I can not support you. I think your generation should quit.
“But, he wasn’t the only one. I then sought out the current President-elect, Tinubu and I gave him exactly the same message.
“I said, ‘Whatever you people are planning, I’m convinced that we need the young generation, new thinking, new sensibilities, new energies’.
“So, why don’t you just leave the stage, let’s look for somebody, a really brilliant individual then use your entire influence to catapult that person to power, and this country will see a massive transformation.
“We spoke for about an hour and a half, and then Bola Tinubu said, ‘No’. He said there were still things he felt he could still contribute,” Soyinka said.
He stated, “What I have read – at least, thus far – this morning, extracted from a one-and-a-half long interview, conducted a week ago with Channels Television, brings once more to the fore, the critical responsibility of the media in transmitting the spoken, even recorded – word to the public.
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“This is especially crucial in a time of civic uncertainty. When remarks are taken out of context, spliced into a new one, provided a sensational headline, distortions become stamped on public receptivity, and the central intent of one’s remarks becomes completely unrecognisable.
“I denounced the menacing utterances of a vice-presidential aspirant as unbecoming. It was a gladiatorial challenge directed at the judiciary and, by implication, the rest of the democratic polity.
“But what on earth has happened to my even more urgent condemnation of the physical violence inflicted on those designated ‘strangers’ in Lagos in the lead up to, and during governorship elections? This prejudicial selectivity is a betrayal of trust, and I find it contemptuous of public deserving. My critique of incipient fascism in the movement remains grounded in indisputable evidence.”
Soyinka stated that throughout the interview, he continued to stress that the final word had yet to be pronounced on the elections – “that omission renders the full message tendentious!”
“My rejection of fascism is nothing new. It was depressing to watch his lieutenant, a crucially positioned voice of a movement that has ‘broken the mould’, threaten the totality of social existence.
“Whatever our ideological leaning, is Donald Trump the ideal template for a burgeoning democracy in the nation?”
He said he was concerned about the alleged complaint by him of people not following “instructions”.
“If words are garbled in recording, the speaker can be reached for clarification – else, simply leave out the unclear section completely to avoid misrepresentation.
“After all, piecemeal transmission is legitimate proceeding, as long as a part is not presented as the whole.
“I am not a member of the Labour Party, so how can giving ‘instructions’ become my role?
“Like a number of others, I have admittedly contributed to the making of this moment – going back several years – and it is painful to have the followers of such a movement send it slithering backwards and down the fascistic slope,” Soyinka said.
Soyinka knocks Datti, ‘Obidients’, recalls advising Tinubu, Atiku not to contest
Politics
Why I can’t form coalition with Peter Obi – Sowore
Why I can’t form coalition with Peter Obi – Sowore
Omoyele Sowore, the African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, recently shared his reasons for not forming a coalition with Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s candidate in the same election.
In his appearance on the Honest Bunch podcast, Sowore asserted that, in his view, Obi is similar to other Nigerian politicians, describing him as “better at packaging.”
Sowore explained that his own journey in politics began long before Obi gained national recognition, emphasizing his dedication to advocating for systemic change in Nigeria.
During the podcast, co-hosted by Nedu, Husband Material, Deity Cole, and Ezinne, Sowore highlighted his belief in challenging the status quo, which he feels differs significantly from Obi’s approach.
Sowore said, “Before you discovered Peter Obi, I was already running for president. All these shouts about Peter Obi… He just knows how to package. Anyone can do it.
“If I form a coalition with Peter Obi, I will be going against what I have always stood for, which is that I will never support a Nigerian leader who has held any political office — whether at the federal, state, or local level — if I consider them non-performing.
“It’s the same reason I would never have joined hands with Atiku. And the Peter Obi you’re talking about was a vice-presidential candidate to Atiku when I was a presidential candidate in 2019.
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“So, what are we talking about? There is no lesser evil in my book. If you are evil, you are evil. If you are good, you are good. I have a general disdain for non-performance.”
He added that there is no such thing as “emotional attachment” in his dictionary.
“There was a friend of mine who kept saying, he doesn’t care if Peter Obi is Igbo, but that it is the turn of the Igbos. But it is beyond that; I have a natural disdain for poor performance,” he explained.
Sowore insisted that while many may not know it, he knew Obi before and during his time as governor, and he backed him.
“I had always known and supported him and stood against his removal when (Olusegun) Obasanjo wanted to use Andy Ubah to replace him—the twists and turns then.
“However, when Peter Obi finished his term in Anambra, the question I asked him was whether he could send his child to any university he had built in Anambra—he was mute and could not respond.
“I also asked him if he could enter any hospital he built in Anambra, which he governed for eight years, even if it was for the slightest headache—there was also no response.”
Sowore went on to challenge the four anchors or any other Nigerians, saying, “If they can pack their bags and head to Anambra for a vacation.”
PUNCH Online reports that President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress recorded 8,794,726 votes in the 2023 presidential election, followed by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party who secured 6,984,520 votes.
In third place, Labour Party’s Obi garnered 6,101,533 votes, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party secured 1,496,687 votes.
Why I can’t form coalition with Peter Obi – Sowore
Politics
Why we want Jonathan to contest 2027 presidency – Northern group
Why we want Jonathan to contest 2027 presidency – Northern group
The Arewa Consensus for Jonathan, a political group in the North, has urged former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to enter the 2027 presidential race.
Jonathan, who served as Nigeria’s president from 2010 to 2015, is widely regarded for his role in fostering democratic growth and his relatively peaceful exit from power after losing the 2015 election.
Despite his exit from politics, his name has remained a focal point in discussions about Nigeria’s future leadership.
The group’s leader, Munir Musa, who made the appeal during a press conference in Bauchi over the weekend, emphasised that Jonathan’s return to office was crucial to addressing Nigeria’s pressing economic and security challenges.
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He argued that Nigeria, grappling with severe economic downturns and rising security threats, needs a leader with Jonathan’s experience and competence to restore stability.
“The nation is at a crossroads, and we believe that Goodluck Jonathan is the right man to steer us out of the current malaise,” Musa told reporters.
He expressed confidence that Jonathan’s leadership could heal the country’s deepening wounds and usher in a new era of progress.
Why we want Jonathan to contest 2027 presidency – Northern group
Politics
Afenifere, Council of Obas back Aiyedatiwa for Ondo gov
Afenifere, Council of Obas back Aiyedatiwa for Ondo gov
Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-political and cultural organization, has endorsed Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the November 16 governorship election in Ondo State.
Sehinde Arogbofa, a prominent Afenifere leader, announced the support at the Olubaka of Oka land palace, Oba Yusuf Adebori Adeleye.
Arogbofa expressed confidence in Aiyedatiwa’s leadership and encouraged him to follow the values and legacy of Chief Adekunle Ajasin, Ondo State’s first governor. “Afenifere stands firmly behind your mandate… Strive to make Ondo State great again,” Arogbofa said.
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Oba Adeleye, speaking on behalf of traditional rulers in Akoko South West Local Government Area, also endorsed Aiyedatiwa, citing his masses-focused policies and the governor’s initiative to allocate five percent of local government funds to traditional institutions as a demonstration of his commitment to their welfare.
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