The presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi, visited Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, one month after the playwright clashed with the Obidients movement, a nickname adopted by Obi’s supporters.
Obi described his Sunday visit to Soyinka as enriching, adding that he had a useful discussion with him.
He disclosed this in a tweet posted via his Twitter handle on Sunday evening.
Recall that Soyinka, who faulted voter suppression witnessed in some polling units in Lagos and also accused Obidients of fascism who don’t ‘entertain corrective criticism’.
The wordsmith made the statement when he featured as a guest on Channels Television and later on Arise TV on April 8.
Today, I visited one of Nigeria’s most revered figures and an international literary icon, Prof Wole Soyinka. 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. pic.twitter.com/pYYh2JIzDe
— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) May 7, 2023
Hours after his scathing remark, Soyinka was serially trolled and abused online by angry Obi’s supporters.
NewsClick Nigeria reports that Obi while speaking on Channels Television programme, Politics Today, said he revered Soyinka as a father but also defended his Obidient movement.
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. -PO
— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) May 7, 2023
Obi reiterated that they were angry youths who had been deprived by a system that is meant to care for them.
On his Sunday visit to Soyinka, Obi tweeted, “Today I visited one of Nigeria’s most revered figures and an international literary icon Prof Wole Soyinka. 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 ar, fighting for the cause of the Igbo.
“I cherish this Sunday visit which was intended to erase the needless misconceptions about the relationship between the great icon and the Obidient family.”
