Soyinka visits Tinubu 5 years after advising him to leave politics for young people

Nobel Prize winner, Professor Wole Soyinka paid a courtesy visit to President Bola Tinubu who is currently holidaying in Lagos on Sunday, December 24, 2023.

Soyinka, who described his visit as embarrassing said he once advised the President and Atiku Abubakar, the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 elections to leave the scene for young politicians.

Explaining the reason for his visit, the academic said he came to see the President to see how he was doing after ignoring the advice he offered him five years ago.

“Actually, it’s an embarrassing visit because when I visited him the last time, it was to try and persuade him not to run for office. I told Atiku and himself to please leave the ground so young people could run. That’s the last time we met about five years ago.

“So I came to see how he was doing after ignoring my advice. I came to see how both he and his wife were weathering Nigeria, and to wish them a Happy Christmas,” Soyinka said.

When asked to comment on the performance of President Tinubu’s government so far, Soyinka said he would reserve his observations about the President’s performance until after one year.

He explained that he usually gives Nigerian presidents one year before assessing their administrations.

“Well, you know, something you may have noticed about me is that most heads of state, when they take office, I always leave them alone for about the first year…because they need time.

“I know when they come in, they don’t start from ground zero. They often start even lower than ground zero and they have to make up.

“So, I’m adopting the same principle this time. When you see me next year, ask the same question again and listen to my answer,” he said.

Soyinka disclosed he visited the President with a seven-point agenda, adding that they had a thorough discussion on the items on the agenda.

Recall that during the build-up to the 2023 presidential election, Soyinka denied the claim that he had thrown his weight behind Tinubu.

The academic said the claim was false and made up by people with a fake news agenda.

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