‘I Had Not Swallowed an Alarm Clock’ – Soyinka Finally Speaks On Tinubu’s Govt

Wole Soyinka dismissed pressure to assess President Tinubu’s administration, stating he would speak on his own terms.

He emphasized that evaluating a government is a collective effort, not bound to a fixed timeline.

Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka has dismissed attempts to dictate when he should evaluate President Bola Tinubu’s administration, asserting that he will speak on his own terms.

VerseNews gathered that Soyinka, known for his independent stance, stated that he would only assess the government when he deems it necessary, rejecting the idea of adhering to a fixed timeline—such as the one-year mark of Tinubu’s presidency.

Soyinka rebuked those expecting him to fulfill his earlier remark about assessing Tinubu’s leadership after one year, which elapsed on May 29, 2024.

“People should stop trying to work on my timetable for me,” he said.

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

“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.”

Soyinka had previously visited Tinubu at his Ikoyi residence on December 24, 2023, where he was asked to evaluate the administration’s performance. At the time, he said he would reserve his comments until after the government’s first year in office.

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With the expiration of this timeframe, many had anticipated his verdict, especially as critics accuse Tinubu’s administration of economic mismanagement, high inflation, and an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis.

However, Soyinka stressed that he was not the sole voice of critique in Nigeria.

“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,” he said.

“The Falanas speak consistently. The Baiyewus speak consistently. The Sowores come out and try to lead demonstrations. It’s a collective effort.”

Responding to those who believe he owes the public a scheduled evaluation, Soyinka questioned why such expectations were placed on him.

“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?’”

Soyinka maintained that while the government’s first year in office meant people had the right to ask for his views, he would only speak when he found it necessary, not on demand.

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