Professor Wole Soyinka, a Nobel Laureate, has criticized the vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Datti Baba Ahmed, for making inciting comments about the Chief Justice of Nigeria swearing in the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Soyinka, in an interview with Channels TV, said that the words of Baba Ahmed were dangerous and that the Labour Party appeared to have a fascist tendency creeping into its ranks.
Soyinka noted that the Labour Party, as a third force, had lost its momentum after the election.
He alleged that the party wanted things to happen too quickly and neglected instructions given to them.
Soyinka identified the fascism of the followers as having crippled the effectiveness of the group, making them appear rigid to the public.
He argued that no democrat should speak in an inciting way in the pursuit of power.
According to Soyinka, the birth of the Labour Party did not happen overnight, and it was a build-up.
However, when the third force seemed to have reached a mass moment, fascism began to creep in, and people started seeing it as something that should be immediate.
The creeping fascism within the ranks of the new force was a concern for Soyinka.
Soyinka concluded by stating that he had listened to Baba Ahmed’s comments and was alarmed by the inciting nature of his words.
He warned that Nigeria was in trouble if a democrat aspiring to rule could speak in such a manner, and urged politicians to be mindful of their words and actions.
Hear him: “In the recent programme that I watched where this person speaking on air warned the CJN, I said I understand how this new force was beginning to lose momentum.
And this is because of it Fascism tendency among it followers. How can a democrat aspiring to rule speak like that in an inciting way? I listened to that man talking and I said Nigeria is in trouble.”