…says he did not vote for Buhari
AKINOLA JOSEPH
Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, has said that he didn’t tell Nigerians to support President Muhammadu Buhari during the 2015 general elections.
Soyinka stated this while speaking at a media briefing in Lagos on Thursday April 7.
The 87 year-old literary icon said he never supported the candidacy of Buhari in 2015 but only asked Nigerians not to vote for former President Goodluck Jonathan.
He said: “Jonathan had a chance to win that election and I told him this. He blew it. He really blew it on many levels.
“Before the election, I told him frankly. I told him why I was not going to vote for him or support him because he lost the confidence and trust of the people — a couple of actions and inactions, including his failure to tackle corruption. Despite that, it is false to say that I supported the election of Buhari.
“If I believed that is what I should do, I would not hesitate one moment to come out and say this is the candidate. I challenge anyone to say where did I say vote for Buhari — when, what occasion and in what language?
“What I said very distinctly is ‘do not vote for Jonathan’. I don’t regret that because the level of corruption at that stage was such at number one.
“It is a shame that one has to recall negativities. At no time did I ever say ‘vote for Buhari’. You can’t find it anywhere. I did not vote for Buhari. If you do not believe me, go and ask the security man in Abeokuta who used to accompany me if I left my house that day.”
