Wole Soyinka, popular Nobel Laureate, has chided the Obidient Movement, supporters of the February 25 Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, over their role in the concluded polls.
The professor while speaking at the launch of his book, “The Putin Files: Excursions Around The Ideology Of Pain,” maintained that the Obidients were fascist and that those who were in support were only being manipulated.
Responding to why he called Obidients fascists, he used the 2020 EndSARS protest as an example of a struggle driven by pure truth.
According to him, EndSARS is one of the most successful movements in this country.
Soyinka noted that he supported the EndSARS protest and even addressed some protesters when leaving Lagos for Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Comparing the EndSARS protest with the Obidient Movement, Soyinka pointed out that what the Obidients were trying to do was “the mobilization of youth to defend an untruth.”
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The 88-year-old author further likened most actions of the Obidient Movement to former president Muhammadu Buhari, “pushing people to kill innocent serving members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) by claiming he was cheated out of an election.”
He furthered that long before the election; some people had schemed to tilt the country towards having an interim government.
“So some of those who thought they were being radical, they were being ‘mumu’ (foolish) and “playing the script of others,” Soyinka declared.
“They thought they were tough, bold and original.
“You just don’t say it’s who shouts the loudest. If you want to come out based on truth, then no problem. I’ll reverse, but you want to call out people based on the unprovable, even as some people will counter with their strict monologue. I will not stand by it or keep silent. Impossible. Especially as I am more knowledgeable about these things than many people, even though they don’t admit it,” the playwright added.
