Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Adichie, has reacted to labeling of supporters of Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, as fascists by respected Nobel Laureate and playwright, Professor Wole Soyinka.
Prof. Soyinka, in an interview with Channels Television on Saturday, had accused Obi’s supporters popularly called Obidients of fascism over their refusal to entertain criticism, tagging it as their “badge of honour”.
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In the said interview, Soyinka had also described the vice presidential candidate of the LP, Baba Ahmed-Datti, of being a fascist following an earlier interview with Channels where Datti said the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu should not be sworn in.
While reacting to Prof. Soyinka’s comments, the “Half of a Yellow Sun” writer said she strongly disagrees with Soyinka, saying that the “word is a very strong word which doesn’t describe the Obidients.”
She said the word should instead be used for the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INE), rather than Datti and the Obidients.
“I have a lot of love and respect for Prof Soyinka but I disagree very strongly with him on this issue. Fascist is a very strong word and I don’t see any reason why Dr Datti’s interview was termed that way,” Adiche said on Arise TV on Tuesday.
“Fascist can be used for INEC because many Nigerians feel cheated and gagged; with all the violence that occurred during the elections, that is Fascist,” she added.
She said that the confusion over the recent election is due to INEC‘s “delibrate non-transmission of results in real-time as stated in its guidelines.”
According to Adichie, President Muhammadu Buhari and INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, had the chance to become the hero of Nigeria and Africa if only they delivered a transparent presidential poll.