The Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has described Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka as a fighter who always stands for “justice and equity” in society.
Mr Obi, who spoke on Sunday during a visit to Mr Soyinka, saluted the literary icon for standing by and fighting for the cause of Igbos.
“His reputation as a fighter for justice and equity in our society has been legendary, and we will Never ignore them,” Mr Obi tweeted after the visit. “I cherished the Nobel laureate of the huge price he paid just before the outbreak of the civil war, fighting for the cause of Igbos.”
Mr Obi said his visit to Mr Soyinka was “intended to erase the needless misconceptions about the relationship between the great icon and the OBIdient family.”
The visit came barely a month after vociferous supporters of the Labour Party, otherwise known as ‘Obidients’, launched an online vitriol against Mr Soyinka.
Mr Soyinka had censured the Obidients in a statement titled ‘Fascism on Course’, noting that their “refusal to entertain corrective criticism, even differing perspectives of the same position has become a badge of honour and certificate of commitment.”
The literary icon slammed the Labour Party’s vice-presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, describing his remarks on national TV as unbecoming and containing “fascistic language.”
Mr Baba-Ahmed had asked President Muhammadu Buhari and the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola, not to swear in President-elect Bola Tinubu.
