Soyinka visits Tinubu, reserves assessment of president till a year after

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Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, said he would reserve all his observations about President Bola Tinubu’s administration until one year into his tenure in May 2024.

Soyinka, who described this as his personal policy, explained that the one-year period would give the President enough time to “make up” for lost grounds.

The Nobel Laureate spoke on Sunday when he paid a courtesy visit to the President who on holiday in Lagos for the Yuletide festivities.

According to Soyinka, “Well, you know, something you may have noticed about me is that most heads of state, when they take office, I always leave them alone for about the first year…Because they need time.

“I know when they come in, they don’t start from ground zero. They often start even lower than ground zero and they have to make up.

“So, I’m adopting the same principle this time. When you see me next year, ask the same question again and listen to my answer.”

Soyinka described his Sunday’s appearance was an “embarrassing visit,” said he approached the President with a seven-point agenda which he declined to reveal.

“Actually, it’s an embarrassing visit because when I visited him the last time, it was to try and persuade him not to run for office. I told Atiku and himself to please leave the ground so young people could run. That’s the last time we met about five years ago.

“So I came to see how he was doing after ignoring my advice. I came to see how both he and his wife were weathering Nigeria, and to wish them a Happy Christmas,” he explained.