Wole Soyinka says he admired Rotimi Amaechi’s refusal to step down for Bola Tinubu during the APC presidential primary, calling it a bold democratic act.
Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has praised Rotimi Amaechi for refusing to step down for President Bola Tinubu during the 2022 APC presidential primary. Speaking on Saturday at Amaechi’s 60th birthday celebration in Abuja, Soyinka said he was impressed by the former Rivers governor’s boldness.
“I admire Rotimi Amaechi’s fighting spirit,” Soyinka said. “While everybody was falling over one another conceding, there was one individual who said no, I’m not conceding. And that man was Rotimi Amaechi.”
He said watching the event live from Abu Dhabi gave him “malicious pleasure” to see Tinubu “receive a dose of his own medicine.”
Soyinka drew a parallel with Tinubu’s past defiance during the Obasanjo era, saying, “He keeps denying it, but we know he fought a third-term bid. Well, Amaechi reminded him of that resistance.”
Tinubu won the APC primary with 1,271 votes. Amaechi came second with 316, ahead of then Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, who got 235 votes.