I don’t have an alarm clock, Soyinka defends delay in Tinubu assessment

Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka has rejected any attempt by Nigerians to dictate the timing of his assessment of President Tinubu’s government.

He asserted his independence, making it clear that he would not be bound by external schedules.

Soyinka emphasised that he would only offer his evaluation when he deems it necessary and when he has substantive observations to share, dismissing the notion that he should adhere to a pre-determined timeline, such as the one-year mark of Tinubu’s presidency.

Soyinka asked Nigerians not to work on his timetable for him, saying he would speak on Tinubu’s government when he had something to say.

“People should stop trying to work on my timetable for me,” the nonagenarian cautioned those asking him to fulfil his promise to assess Tinubu’s administration after one year in office which elapsed on May 29, 2024.

“I had not swallowed an alarm clock,” Soyinka said on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief programme on Monday.

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“I don’t see why I should put my alarm on and say: ‘One year has passed, now, I must make an assessment’ if there is nothing I feel like talking about and if I am busy elsewhere.”

On Sunday, December 24, 2023, Soyinka paid a visit to Tinubu in his Bourdillon residence in the highbrow Ikoyi area of Lagos. When asked to assess Tinubu’s administration which started on May 29, 2023, the Nobel laureate said he would reserve his comments about Tinubu’s government till after one year, in May 2024.

Critics have accused Tinubu, ex-Lagos governor, of mismanaging the economy, with all-time high inflation and unprecedented cost of living.

Tinubu’s administration would be two years in office by May 29, 2025, and many had expected Soyinka to fulfill his promise.

However, the academic said many conscientious persons had been speaking and that assessing any government is a collective responsibility of like-minded persons.

Soyinka said, “This business of ‘you haven’t come to do this’, I don’t understand it. Other people are doing the same; this is a collective effort. The Falanas speak consistently. The Baiyewus speak consistently. The Sowores come out and try to lead demonstrations. It’s a collective effort.

“The one year is up which means you have a right and I have a responsibility to respond when you call me on certain issues. But if you are saying that I would call a press conference and say: ‘One year is up, let us now make an assessment’.

“The only question I’d ask you is: ‘Did I do that with Jonathan?’ Did I do that with Buhari?’ ‘Did I do that with Obasanjo?’ ‘Did I do that with anybody? So, why is it expected of me?

“All it means is that one year is up. If I am around, and you want to get hold of me, I would speak. That’s all that statement meant.”