I Admire Amaechi For Not Stepping Down For Tinubu During APC Primary – Soyinka

Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has commended former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi for what he called a brave and steadfast position during the 2022 All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary, where Amaechi stood firm and did not withdraw in favor of President Bola Tinubu.

Speaking at an event in Abuja celebrating Amaechi’s 60th birthday, Soyinka recalled how he observed the primary election live from Abu Dhabi and was deeply impressed by Amaechi’s resolve to stay in the contest despite significant pressure to step aside.

“The main reason why I had to be here today, it’s first of all that I admire Rotimi Amaechi’s fighting spirit,” Soyinka said. “And it’s a very consistent one, but the most memorable for me — because I watched this event live on TV all the way from Abu Dhabi. I wanted to see the drama of all the primaries going on during the election. I wasn’t really here but I said I want to watch this contest and I’m glad I did. Because it gave me a great, most malicious pleasure, rascally if you like, pleasure — to see the incumbent president being given a dose of his own medicine.”

Soyinka compared Amaechi’s defiance in 2022 to Tinubu’s own resistance during Olusegun Obasanjo’s presidency, when Tinubu stood against alleged attempts to amend the constitution to allow a third term.

“Let me explain this. For somebody we knew as the last man standing when he fought to a standstill, a former president who was manoeuvring himself into a position of changing the constitution and obtaining a third term,” Soyinka said.

“He keeps denying it but he and I know for a fact and so do others. And towards that goal, he was sort of emasculating the powers of the constituent elements of the federation. And by the end, this president was the last man standing, resisted that effort. All the others had sort of cowed down because their statutory allocation had been stopped contrary to the constitution. But one man, he was the last man standing. Well, he obtained a dose of his own medicine from Rotimi Amaechi during the primaries. I enjoyed that very much.”

Soyinka noted that Amaechi’s refusal to step down, even as others rallied behind Tinubu, exemplified democratic principles and personal conviction.

“While everybody was, you know, falling over one another conceding, there was one individual who got on the podium and he said no, I’m not conceding. I didn’t come all the way here to commit ‘lúlẹ̀’. And that man was Rotimi Amaechi. And I said this is what democracy is all about.”

In the APC primary, Tinubu won the presidential ticket with 1,271 votes, while Amaechi secured second place with 316 votes, and then Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo came third with 235 votes.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli