Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka has advised those asking why he has remained silent on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s scorecard to back off.
He said he would allow no one to stampede him into assessing the Tinubu administration simply because he had in 2023 said he would do so.
“People should stop trying to work on my timetable for me, I had not swallowed an alarm clock, I don’t see why I should put my alarm on and say — one year has passed, now, I must make an assessment,” the playwright said on a national television programme yesterday.
“This business of you have not come to do this, I do not understand it,” he added and reminded those calling on him to give his verdict that assessing any government was a collective responsibility.
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Soyinka said he usually gives a President one year to stabilise because they often took off from “lower than ground zero.”
He added: “The one year is up which means you have a right and I have a responsibility to respond when you call me on certain issues. But if you are saying that I would call a press conference and say — one year is up, let us now make an assessment.
“The only question I would ask you is — did I do that with Jonathan? Did I do that with Buhari? Did I do that with Obasanjo? Did I do that with anybody? So, why is it expected of me?
“All it means is that one year is up. If I am around, and you want to get hold of me, I would speak. That’s all that statement meant.
“Other people are doing the same (speaking); this is a collective effort. The Falanas and the Baiyewus speak consistently. The Sowores come out and try to lead demonstrations.”