Obi’s Statesmanly Visit to Soyinka

Despite his losing the 2023 presidential election, the candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has continued to work towards resolving political conflicts like a statesman. His recent visit to Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, in Abeokuta, Ogun State was apparently aimed at de-escalating tensions between his supporters and the literary giant, Vanessa Obiora reports 

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, Mr. Peter Obi, will not stop wowing Nigerians with his exemplary political dexterity and humility. On Sunday, May 7, he visited Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, in his Abeokuta home where they exchanged ideas about the future of Nigeria.

 The visit was seen as an effort to de-escalate political tension even as the LP candidate continues with his legal action against the election results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“Today, I visited one of Nigeria’s most revered figures and an international literary icon, Prof Wole Soyinka,” said Obi, who took to his Twitter handle to announce the evening meeting.

Soyinka had shortly after the controversial declaration of the election results by INEC, described ‘OBIdients’ – a group of Obi’s supporters with a large national and international followership – as ‘fascists’, an appellation that put him on the fireline for weeks.

In an interview with a national television, Soyinka had told the presidential candidate of the party before the presidential election that if he lost the election, it would be his followers who lost it for him.

In their responses, Obidients disparaged the poet both on social media and on some mainstream media.

Responding to the disparaging comments about him, Soyinka had through a statement titled: ‘Fascism on course,’ released after the elections, stated that the “seeds of incipient fascism in the political arena have evidently matured.”

“It would appear that a record discharge of toxic sludge from our notorious smut factory is currently clogging the streets and sewers of the Republic of Liars. It goes to prove the point that provoked the avalanche exactly! A climate of fear is being generated.”

The poet also agreed with the afrobeat musician, Femi Kuti, who had expressed his dislike for the use of the word ‘Obidients’ to describe the followers of Obi.

In their angry reactions, many Nigerian youths accused the Nobel Laureate of unjustifiably supporting his own ‘kinsman’ and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, who was declared the winner by the Mahmood Yakubu-led INEC. Soyinka had also helped the APC in 2015 to diminish the political fortunes of the then President Goodluck Jonathan by speaking against the former president and his wife.

 Tinubu’s victory in the February 25, 2023 presidential election was challenged at the election tribunal by Obi and the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar.

It was widely alleged by the opposition parties that the presidential election lacked transparency, having been marred by violence, voter suppression and widespread irregularities.

But the APC and the Buhari’s government, however, countered this argument, insisting that the results of the election reflected the wishes of the people and asked losers to “go to court.”

 Soyinka’s reaction to Obi’s running mate, Yusuf Datti-Ahmed’s position that it would be unconstitutional for Tinubu to take the oath of office on May 29 when his election was still shrouded in controversy and litigation, had  prompted the ‘OBIdients’ to accuse the literary icon  of bias. They took to social media to castigate him for many weeks, accusing him of selling out on his lifelong conviction on justice, anti-corruption and good governance.

But in his response, Soyinka proposed a debate with Obi’s running mate, on live television, an offer readily accepted by OBIdients. Datti however, rejected Soyinka’s proposal on the grounds that he respects his old age.

He, however, challenged Soyinka to  convince his choice of  candidate whom he alleged had avoided public debates, to present himself for debate with him (Datti).

However, Obi, who has earned a reputation for de-escalating potential crises through his conciliatory moves, chose to pour cold water on the unhealthy development. “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,” he said in a comment on the elder statesman’s character and integrity.

 The LP presidential candidate further tweeted: “Prof Soyinka has been my father whom I hold in very 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 the civil war, fighting for the cause of the Igbos.

“I cherished this Sunday’s visit which was intended to erase the needless misconceptions about the relationship between the great icon and the OBIdient family.”

But in a statement a day after the visit, Soyinka said Obi’s visit to him was not a reconciliation meeting. He said there was no issue to reconcile between him, Obi and the LP.

The Nobel laureate described the word “reconciliation” as “most inappropriate and diversionary invocation.”

“Before it gains traction and embarks on a life of its own, I wish to state clearly that the word ‘Reconciliation’, inserted into some reports of Peter Obi’s visit to me yesterday, Sunday, May 7, is a most inappropriate, and diversionary invocation. Let me clarify: I know the entity known as Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party. I can relate to him. I know and can relate to the Labour Party on whose platform he contested elections. There are simply no issues to reconcile between those two entities and myself,” Soyinka said among others.

This is not the first time Obi would be making such a smart move towards the perceved enemies of his supporters. In the build-up to the general election last year, the former Anambra State governor had visited the afrobeat musician, Kuti.

The musician had allegedly described Obi’s supporters as “zombies” after, saying his family would not support any of the top three presidential candidates: Tinubu, Atiku and Obi in the 2023 election.

 “How can you be OBIdient in this chaos? I am not OBIdient. Tell me, at 60, why am I OBIdient? You said I should be OBIdient, sit down, and be peaceful. Are you all okay in this country?” Kuti was quoted to have allegedly said during a performance at the Shrine.

However, the veteran musician later claimed that he was quoted out of context, saying that he never described the supporters as “zombies”.

 In a series of tweets, Kuti said, “You are such liars. What benefit is it to the people when you take my words out of context like this? I said I’m too angry at my age to be OBIdient, expressing I do not like the ‘term’. But if Peter Obi wins and actually changes the country, the better for all of us.

“How you all come up with fabricated lies beats me. But why all the lies? You heard me endorse him or ever anyone? Mr. Mc lie lie. Yes and where did I call the youths zombies? I am not BAT.”

But in his response, the Labour Party presidential candidate promised the afrobeat musician that his ‘OBIdient movement’ would base its campaign on issues rather than attacking personalities. He said that his campaign would be based on everyday issues affecting Nigerians and Nigeria, adding that the recent controversy was not what the movement and his ambition stand for.

“I saw what my own brother, Femi, tweeted and I said no! That is not what the future and the society we want to build is. We will lead a campaign based on issues that affect Nigerians and that is what I encourage everybody to do,” he said while addressing Femi in the video clip.

 Obi’s knack for empathising with the common man was also manifested after the presidential election when he visited Mrs. Jennifer Efidi, a woman who was attacked by political thugs while queuing to vote at her polling unit in Surulere, Lagos.

Efidi became a viral sensation during the presidential election after she defied all odds to cast her vote after being attacked by APC thugs. Despite what she suffered, she was said to have stayed behind at her polling unit to cast her vote.

She had said: “After sitting for some time, some boys appeared, and they looked scary. It was obvious they didn’t come to vote. They were not close to us at the time, but a bit away from where the queue was. The boys were discussing, and I could see that some people who knew them went to join them. Meanwhile, the voting process was still ongoing. After about 45 minutes, I felt a huge impact on my face and heard the sound of a gunshot.

“To be sincere, I thought I had been shot. I thought the impact I felt on my face was from a bullet. People started running, and so I stood up, placed my hand on my face, and felt blood. I started screaming for help. People who saw me calling for help fled in the opposite direction. I later ran into the building where voting was taking place. Someone later came to help me by using a handkerchief to apply pressure to my face in an attempt to stop the bleeding. We remained inside the building until the boys left. I was later able to receive first aid treatment from a nearby nurse. In the video that went viral, you will see her giving me an injection to stop the bleeding. I was then taken to a nearby hospital, where the cuts on my face were stitched. I suffered deep cuts.”

After his visit, Obi, who shared pictures of him alongside Efidi in a post on his official Twitter handle, described her as “one of the great icons of Nigeria’s democracy.”

“Today, I visited Mrs. Jennifer Efidi. She was attacked on February 25 in an attempt to stop her from voting. She stood her ground, Jennifer is one of the great icons of Nigeria’s democracy. She is my point of contact with every Nigerian who suffered a similar fate in their bid to exercise their voting rights and contribute to a new Nigeria. Like many Nigerians, I acknowledge her bravery and resoluteness. Jennifer is a true manifestation of Profile in Courage for a new Nigeria,” he said.

Indeed, Obi has distinguished himself from the other presidential candidates and endeared himself to the Nigerian youths with his statesmanly approach towards his opponents and his knack for empathising with the people and resolving conflicts between his supporters and those perceived to be opposed to his ambition.