Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has said his appraisal of President Bola Tinubu would be after May 29, 2024, when the President would have spent one year in office.
The intellectual revealed this to journalists when he visited Mr Tinubu in Lagos on Sunday, adding that he used he occasion to present a seven-point agenda for moving Nigeria forward.
“I came here with a seven-point agenda and we had a very thorough discussion on those items,” he said.
Professor Soyinka also said he warned Mr Tinubu not to run for president, but joked that the former Lagos State governor stubbornly ignored his advice.
“My first visit was an embarrassing visit because it was to try and persuade him not to run for office, I think I had written about that. I told Atiku and himself to leave the ground for young people. That was the last time we met five years ago. I call him secretly olori kunkun which means the stubborn one. He ignored my advice completely.
“I came to see him to find out how he is doing after neglecting my advice. I wanted to see how he and his wife are faring. I also came to wish them a merry Christmas.
“You know we are old friends and it was as a friend that, I told him don’t run,” he said.
Speaking further, he said, “Something you may have noticed about me is that most heads of state when they come into office, I always leave them alone for about the first year. I know when they come in, they don’t start on ground zero, then often start even lower than that and they have to make up.
“So, I have this personal policy; whether it’s Obasanjo, Buhari, or Jonathan, you would notice that during the first year, I hardly say anything.
“I am adopting the same principle this year. At the end of one year, come and ask me the same question again,” Professor Soyinka said.
