Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, has revealed that he contemplated joining the presidential race following the June 12 pro-democracy struggle.
Soyinka stated that he dismissed the idea after 36 hours of serious contemplation, describing it as “crazy.”
He made the revelation on Saturday during an interaction with journalists at Freedom Park, Lagos, at an event themed “June 12: Romancing the Embers.”
Soyinka said he never saw himself as a politician and only briefly considered the option before backing out.
“I did not; I was not interested; I wanted to go back to my writing; I wanted to go back to where I belong; I am not a politician. I must confess, however, that for about 36 hours, I did decide that we have a responsibility and I nearly accepted the nomination to run for office of President. After 36 hours, I said, ‘Wole Soyinka, you dey craze.’ Then I said, let me go back to what I love doing,” he said.
He came down hard on individuals who, in his view, trivialise the significance of the June 12 struggle, describing them as the real enemies of democracy.
“There are still a lot of misconceptions about June 12, even among those who participated, which is normal. When you have a movement like June 12, people come with different motivations. Some joined just to settle scores; some joined because they felt belittled or dehumanised by the conduct of the military. Others joined because they are against any form of dictatorship,” he said.
He added, “Many negative things have been written. I want it understood that we had betrayals, lots of inconsistencies, and a lot of opportunistic membership. We had treachery that cost many lives and pauperised hundreds. We had retributive activities even continuing after the termination of that particular regime. People now assume different roles, pretending and using the transition period”.
