The vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has said that he would not take up the challenge of an open debate with Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, who criticized him for declaring that swearing in President-elect, Asiwaju Tinubu, would be the end of democracy in Nigeria among other things.
Baba-Ahmed asserted that his refusal to take up the challenge was not as a result of cowardice, but for cultural and political reasons.
He said it was unfortunate that Soyinka who should ordinarily and rightfully be honoured as the conscience of the nation, Prof. Soyinka was “criminalising dissent and in fact weighing in on the side of fraud and injustice!”
The vice presidential candidate spoke on the challenge in a statement issued on Saturday by the head of his media office, Diran Onifade.
The statement reads in part: “Like many Nigerians we are bewildered by the late hour intervention of our respected Nobel laureate Prof Wole Soyinka in issues around the flawed 2023 elections. Where was he all this while?
“One of those who should ordinarily and rightfully be honoured as the conscience of the nation, Prof. Soyinka is now criminalising dissent and in fact weighing in on the side of fraud and injustice!
“We state therefore that the vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Dr. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed cannot take up Prof. Soyinka’s offer of a public debate, not out of cowardice, but for cultural and political reasons.
“Culturally it’s just not decent, their age and accomplishment gaps taken into account, for Datti to sit opposite the 88 year-old global icon and point out his folly to his face, even if the old man called for it.
“And politically there is no basis for such a challenge in that Prof. is not on any of the opposite ballots.
“If however he can use his influence to drag his preferred candidates, who resisted debates throughout the campaign, to the studio this second, Datti says he is more than willing to take them on.”
