African Nobel Laureate and playwright, Processor Wole Soyinka, has denied urging Nigerians to vote for President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015. ayokinews.com reports
Soyinka made this known while speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday.
The Nobel Laureate was known to be a popular critic of the former President Goodluck Jonathan, in the run-up to the 2015 presidential election.
Despite his criticism, Soyinka claimed during the press conference that he never backed Buhari’s campaign in 2015.
“Jonathan had a chance to win that election and I told him this. He blew it. He really blew it on many levels,” he said.
“Before the election, I told him frankly. I told him why I was not going to vote for him or support him because he lost the confidence and trust of the people — a couple of actions and inactions, including his failure to tackle corruption. Despite that, it is false to say that I supported the election of Buhari.
Nigeria is in a mess, it’s disintegrating before our eyes – Prof Soyinka
“If I believed that is what I should do, I would not hesitate one moment to come out and say this is the candidate. I challenge anyone to say where did I say vote for Buhari — when, what occasion and in what language?
“What I said very distinctly is ‘do not vote for Jonathan’. I don’t regret that because the level of corruption at that stage was such at number one.
“It is a shame that one has to recall negativities. At no time did I ever say ‘vote for Buhari’. You can’t find it anywhere. I did not vote for Buhari. If you do not believe me, go and ask the security man in Abeokuta who used to accompany me if I left my house that day.”
Check Also: Wole Soyinka: Reinforcing the Role of African Intellectuals in Development
