Wole Soyinka slams Baba-Ahmed over threat to judiciary on swearing in Tinubu

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, said the comments of Labour Party vice-presidential candidate Datti Baba-Ahmed towards the judiciary were unacceptable.

Baba-Ahmed during an interview in March said the country has no president-elect despite the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announcing Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the election.

The LP vice-presidential candidate said Tinubu would be leading an unconstitutional government if sworn into office because the APC candidate “has not met requirements of the law”.

“Whoever swears in Mr Tinubu has ended Democracy in Nigeria. Mr President, do not hold that inauguration. CJN your lordship, do not partake in unconstitutionality,” Baba-Ahmed said in a Channels TV programme.

“I am taking this risks for the sake of my country. Yes, it is extreme and I am saying it. It was more extreme for Yakubu (INEC Chair) to issue that certificate (of return).

“It was reckless. He is putting all our lives in danger. All of us. I am telling you that on the 29th of May 2023, swear in Tinubu as this result is, you have ended democracy whoever you are.

“You cannot swear in people who have not met constitutional requirements. If you do that, you have done something unlawful, something unconstitutional.

“And I am repeating it, whoever does not meet the constitutional requirement must not, must never be sworn in. You said my name. If you like I can say it again. I am Datti Baba-Ahmed.”

The interview itself has drawn a high level of criticism from different groups and a N5 million fine on Channels TV by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).

Soyinka while speaking in a chat with Arise TV on Wednesday said Datti’s statement in its totality was unbecoming, unacceptable and dictating to the Supreme Court.

“I have never heard anyone threaten the judiciary on television the way Datti did. I heard the kind of menacing, blackmailing language that we were treated to by Datti. That kind of do-or-die attitude and provocation is not what I think we have all been struggling for,” Soyinka said.

“Nearly the totality of Datti’s comment in the interview was unbecoming. It was like trying to dictate to the supreme arbiter of the nation, and whatever you think of the supreme court, it is an institution we all refer to sooner or later.

“But Datti kept saying, in his wisdom, that the supreme court must agree with me. That is what is known as fascistic language and it is not acceptable.”