“I am not a member of Labour Party” – Wole Soyinka

Nobel Laureate Professor Prof. Wole Soyinka has said he is concerned by the alleged complaint by him of people not following “instructions”.

In a statement on Wednesday, Soyinka said he was not a member of the Labour Party, hence couldn’t have given ‘instructions’ to ‘Obidients’. ‘Obidients’ is a sobriquet for supporters of Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election.

Soyinka counseled journalists that rather than publishing an unclear section of a person’s speech, the media practitioner should be reached for clarification, or leave that part out completely. Prof. Soyinka expressed his displeasure with the misinterpretation of his recent interview with Channels Television.

“I am not a member of the Labour Party, so how can giving ‘instructions’ become my role? Like a number of others, I have admittedly contributed to the making of this moment – going back several years – and it is painful to have the followers of such a movement, send it slithering backwards and down the fascistic slope,” Soyinka said.