Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has responded to those asking him to assess President Bola Tinubu’s performance after one year in office, which elapsed on May 29, 2024.
Recall that on December 24, 2023, Soyinka visited Tinubu in his Bourdillon residence in the Ikoyi area of Lagos State.
When asked by journalists to assess Tinubu’s administration, which started on May 29, 2023, the Nobel laureate said he would reserve his comments about Tinubu’s government till after one year, in May 2024.
Critics and opposition parties have accused Tinubu of mismanaging the economy, with all-time high inflation and unprecedented cost of living.
Tinubu’s administration would be two years in office by May 29, 2025, and many Nigerians had expected Soyinka to fulfill his promise to assess the government.
However, while speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief programme on Monday, Soyinka urged Nigerians not to work on his timetable for him.
Soyinka questioned why people expect him to assess Tinubu when he did not do it for former presidents.
According to him, many conscientious persons have been speaking on Tinubu’s government, adding that assessing any government is a collective responsibility of like-minded persons.
He said, “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’ if there is nothing I feel like talking about and if I am busy elsewhere.
“This business of ‘you haven’t come to do this’, I don’t understand it. Other people are doing the same; this is a collective effort. The Falanas speak consistently. The Baiyewus speak consistently. The Sowores come out and try to lead demonstrations. It’s a collective effort.
“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’d 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.”
