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On Saturday, July 13, Professor Wole Soyinka celebrated his 90th birthday. Surprisingly, Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, didn’t join other statesmen to publicly celebrate the literary icon.
His refusal to celebrate the Nobel laureate countered his assertion that the contribution of Soyinka whom he described as a father figure should never be ignored.
Although Obi believes Soyinka’s reputation as a fighter for justice should not be disrespected, he appears to have had enough of the playwright due to the political brickbats between his party, followers, and the Nobel laureate.
So, what went wrong?
The friction between the nonagenarian literati and the former governor of Anambra State, which started in May 2023, can be attributed to reactions to the outcome of the general elections.
Following the election, Obi’s running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, during an interview on Channels TV claimed Nigeria had no president-elect, despite the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announcing Bola Tinubu as the winner of the election.
Baba-Ahmed also said swearing in Tinubu could mean the end of democracy in Nigeria because according to him, the ex-governor of Lagos State did not meet constitutional requirements to lead the country.
Baba-Ahmed’s statement sparked controversy in the country and while some Tinubu supporters called for his arrest, his party supporters, politically dubbed ‘Obidients’, amplified the sentiment on social media.
Reacting to the controversial comment ahead of Tinubu’s inauguration, Soyinka, while speaking on Arise TV, condemned the Kaduna politician’s utterances on national TV.
He said the comment was against democratic values and that Nigerians do not need such a do-or-die provocation.
“I have never heard the kind of blackmailing language that were used by Mr Datti. That kind of attitude, that kind of do-or-die provocation is not what I think we have been all struggling for,” Soyinka said.
Expectedly, Soyinka’s reaction did not go down well with Obidients as the community largely peopled by young Nigerians descended on him, and verbally assaulted him with unprintable names.
Obi steps in but Soyinka doesn’t care about Obidients
To save Soyinka from his followers’ disparaging comments, Obi visited the literary icon at his Abeokuta residence.
During the visit, the LP chieftain expressed his admiration for Soyinka and acknowledged his sacrifices for justice and equity in Nigeria but the playwright was not cool with Obi’s reason for the visit.
According to Obi, the visit “was intended to erase the ‘needless misconceptions’ about the relationship between Soyinka and the Obidient family.”
But the renowned playwright took an exception to the Obi’s claim about reconciliation, saying he can’t "relate to something known as the Obidient."
In his reaction to the criticism directed at him by Obidents, Soyinka in a statement titled “Fascism On Course”, described Obi’s followers as the “seeds of incipient fascism.”
He said, “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.
“However, I do not know, and am unable to relate to something known as the “Obidient” or “Obidient Family.” Thus, albeit in a different vein, any notion of reconciliation, or even relations — positive, negative, or indifferent — with such a spectral emanation is simply grasping at empty air.”
Meanwhile, Obi and his party had gone to court with the claim that they won the 2023 presidential election.
Soyinka fires another salvo
Ahead of the Supreme Court judgement, the respected playwright while speaking at an event held in Stellenbosch, South Africa, confidently declared that Obi did not win the election.
Without mincing words, Soyinka accused the leadership of the Labour Party of deceiving Nigerians and ethnicising the party.
He also labelled the LP as a ‘gbajue’ party, a tag the supporters of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) enthusiastically adopted to deride Obi, his followers, and the LP.
Soyinka said, “This recent election — two things happened first of all. One party took over the labour movement, which is not my favourite movement, and then it became a regional party.
“I can say categorically that Peter Obi’s party came third, not even second, and the leadership knew it, but they want to do what we call in Yoruba ‘gbajue,’ that is the force of lies.”
While Obi ignored this, the Labour Party did not take it lightly as the party accused the literary giant of exhibiting dual character inspired by “Emilokan sentiment.”
More shots fired…
While Obi has been gearing up efforts to consolidate his 2023 political gains, Soyinka has directed more verbal shots that tend to undermine his political leadership.
In an interview with Noble Nigeria in May 2024, the playwright said he hoped Obi wouldn't contest the 2027 presidential election because he is “unfit to lead Nigeria.”
The nonagenarian said Obi’s failure to stop his followers from attacking people with opposing views indicated the flaw in his leadership skills.
“I hope for the sake of the nation that he doesn’t express interest in the next election because for me as a leader if there was any proof that he was unfit to lead that country, it’s in the conduct which he encouraged among his followers,” Soyinka said.
Obi might have had enough of Soyinka
Despite his “no comment” reaction to Soyinka’s remark, Obi managed to tell the Nobel laureate that he was disrespecting himself.
“I will not make any comment on that. Wole Soyinka is a father. I have a policy as a father: I don’t respond when my fathers talk. I leave it to them because when I become their age, I would want those other younger ones to respect me. Though I would try to put myself in a position where I will respect myself before that,” he said in June.
The former governor of Anambra State also denied inciting Obidients to attack people with opposing views.
The perceived belittling comments from Soyinka and the disparaging reactions from Obi’s supporters towards the literary giant have obviously damaged the relationship between the two leaders.
The political frictions suggested Obi might have had enough of Soyinka and that may be enough reason he refused to celebrate the literary icon on his 90th birthday.