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Why Peter Obi Visited Me – Wole Soyinka [FULL TEXT]

Published

2 years ago

May 9, 2023

Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka says Peter Obi’s visit was not for “reconciliation” as reported in some quarters.

Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate for the 2023 elections, visited the literary icon on Sunday following the former’s supporters – known as Obidients – recent fallout with Soyinka after he faulted the former Anambra governor’s running mate’s comment about the exercise.

Following the visit, many reports claimed it was a reconciliatory move by the LP flagbearer. But in a statement on Monday evening, Soyinka said the visit was not for such.

“Before it gains traction and embarks on a life of its own, I wish to state clearly that the word ‘Reconciliation’, inserted into some reports of Peter Obi’s visit to me yesterday, Sunday, May 7, is a most inappropriate, and diversionary invocation,” Soyinka said in a statement he captioned “A visitation and the allure of Reconciliation”.

“Let me clarify: I know the entity known as Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party. I can relate to him. I know and can relate to the Labour Party on whose platform he contested elections. There are simply no issues to reconcile between those two entities and myself.

“However, I do not know, and am unable to relate to something known as the ‘Obidient’ or ‘Obidient Family’. Thus, albeit in a different vein, any notion of Reconciliation, or even relations – positive, negative or indifferent – with such a spectral emanation is simply grasping at empty air.

“During that meeting, attended by two other individuals only, the word ‘Reconciliation’ was never bruited, neither in itself nor in any other form. It simply did not arise.

“By contrast, there were expressions of ‘burden of leadership’ ‘responsibility’, ‘apology’, ‘pleading’, ‘formal dissociation from the untenable’, all the way to the ‘tragic ascendancy of ethnic cleavage’, especially under such ironic, untenable circumstances. Discussions were frank and creative. The notion of Reconciliation was clearly N/A – Non Applicable. It was never raised.”

Read the full statement below
A VISITATION, and the ALLURE of “RECONCILIATION”

Before it gains traction and embarks on a life of its own, I wish to state clearly that the word “Reconciliation”, inserted into some reports of Peter Obi’s visit to me yesterday, Sunday, May 7, is a most inappropriate, and diversionary invocation. Let me clarify: I know the entity known as Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party. I can relate to him. I know and can relate to the Labour Party on whose platform he contested elections. There are simply no issues to reconcile between those two entities and myself. However, I do not know, and am unable to relate to something known as the “Obidient” or “Obidient Family”. Thus, albeit in a different vein, any notion of Reconciliation, or even relations – positive, negative or indifferent – with such a spectral emanation is simply grasping at empty air.

During that meeting, attended by two other individuals only, the word “Reconciliation” was never bruited, neither in itself nor in any other form. It simply did not arise. By contrast, there were expressions of “burden of leadership” “responsibility”, “apology”, “pleading”, “formal dissociation from the untenable”, all the way to the “tragic ascendancy of ethnic cleavage”, especially under such ironic, untenable circumstances. Discussions were frank, and creative. The notion of Reconciliation was clearly N/A – Non Applicable. It was never raised.

The following should be understood but never underestimated. What remains ineradicable from that weekend of orgiastic rave in social media was the opening up of the dark, putrid recesses in the national psyche that we like to pretend do not exist. It invited – into minds seeking a grasp on reality – gruesome variations on images from Dante’s Purgatorio. A fathomless pit was exposed, at the bottom of which one glimpsed a throng of the damned, writhing in competitive lust for the largest of the gangrenous ladles in a diabolical broth. To peek over the edge of that pit for a prolonged spell was to turn giddy, with a risk of falling into the tureen of inhuman pus. To attempt to navigate one’s way, however gingerly, along a mat spread across the infernal abyss, is an invitation to moral suicide.

For the serious-minded, I call attention to essays I have offered on the theme of Reconciliation based on Truth and the ethical imperative of Restitution. There will be further elaborations forthcoming in DEMOCRACY PRIMER III – Bookcraft’s INTERVENTION series now brought forward for publication on June 12, the watershed extorted from the current regime as the nation’s Democracy Day,

If, from here on, I now comply with entreaties from several valued, genuinely concerned directions, and ignore new provocations, however vile, it is only because I also approve of Mohammed Ali’s strategy of Rope-a-Dope, where blind menace is left flailing hopelessly at the disdainful manifest of Truth.

Related Topics:Peter Obi Prof. Wole Soyinka

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Flood: Residents Chide Edo Govt Over Failure To Show Concern

Published

2 minutes ago

September 18, 2025

Editor

Residents of Ekpoma in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State have lambasted the Governor Monday Okpehbolo-led state government over failure to show concern on the tragic incident where a cocoa merchant, Frank Omoruyi, was swept away by flood.

Recall that it was reported on Tuesday that flood swept away a man earlier identified as motorcyclist.

The residents, while expressing displeasure over the state government’s failure to send any rescue team to help recover the corpse, said they paid what they termed ‘good money’ to divers from Benue State to recover Omoruyi’s corpse from a burrow pit at Uwenbo area after two days of intense search.

The residents who lamented that no state government or local government official joined in the rescue operation, threatened to protest and stop further construction work of the Benin-Auchi highway.

A resident, Samuel Osarenkhoe said: “Two Benue boys were hired to get the body out. We paid them handsomely. He was a cocoa merchant. He was our member and a good friend.

Another resident, Luis Ebabulu, said: “They were saddened that no government official visited the community two days after the incident occurred.

“No government official has been here since the incident occurred. We have been contributing money to pay people to search for the body. We are coming out tomorrow to protest to stop the project. They cannot be doing roads and be killing us.

“Flooding and erosion problems have been worsened by the construction of the Benin-Auchi highway. The contractor channeled flood water to the borrowed pit.”

Edo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Hon. Paul Ohonbamu, said Governor l has desilted drainages across the state.

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Police Disown Viral Recruitment Notice, Warn Against Fraud

Published

3 hours ago

September 18, 2025

Editor

The Nigeria Police Force has disowned a recruitment notice circulating on social media, describing it as fake and warning Nigerians not to fall victim to fraudulent schemes.

The document, titled “Nigeria Police Force Recruitment Exercise 2025”, had invited applications from SSCE, OND, HND, and B.Sc. holders, listing requirements such as age limits, fitness standards, and academic qualifications. It also outlined an alleged application process through a supposed police recruitment portal scheduled to open on September 23, 2025.

The notice claimed that candidates were expected to be Nigerian citizens by birth, hold a valid National Identification Number, and meet minimum height and academic criteria. It also warned against membership of secret societies and directed applicants to submit various documents, including birth certificates and guarantor declarations.

In a post on its verified X handle on Thursday, the Nigeria Police Force dismissed the claims and stamped the document “FAKE” to alert the public.

The Police Service Commission (PSC) had earlier issued a similar warning. On August 30, PSC spokesperson Ikechukwu Ani clarified that no recruitment exercise had been announced for 2025.

“The advertorial currently in circulation is fictitious and diversionary,” Ani said. “The Commission has repeatedly urged young Nigerians eager to join the police to be patient and await the official process.”

He added that the forged documents being circulated bear no resemblance to the Commission’s official communication.

The police authorities reiterated that any official recruitment exercise would be publicly announced through verified government platforms.

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Okpebholo Warns Companies Against Fuelling Edo–Delta Boundary Dispute

Published

3 hours ago

September 18, 2025

Editor

Edo State governor, Monday Okpebholo, has issued a stern warning to companies attempting to exploit the lingering boundary dispute between Edo and Delta states.

Okpebholo cautioned the companies to desist from encroaching on Edo territory while the matter remains before the National Boundary Commission (NBC), for adjudication and adjustment.

The governor’s stance follows a recent reports of encroachment on Edo territory by the Delta State Government and companies allegedly attempting to establish operations on disputed lands.

Okpehbolo, accompanied by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG), Zone 5, Salman-Dogo Garba, and other top security officials, spoke when he paid a fact-finding visit to the disputed areas.

The disputed territory lies between Urhonigbe Community in Orhionmwon Local Government Area of Edo State, and Umutu community in Ukwuani Local Government Area of Delta State.

Represented by his deputy, Hon. Dennis Idahosa, Okpebholo, while addressing residents of Urhonigbe community, assured them of his administration’s commitment to safeguarding their interests, but urged restraint.

He further urged the affected communities to remain peaceful and law-abiding, stressing that the dispute was being handled at the highest level of national authority.

“We are here at the boundary to see the disputed area and the actual demarcation. We are appealing to the Federal Government and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ensure that the NBC steps in and expedites action so that this dispute is resolved once and for all.

“This River Ethiope is a natural boundary. We don’t want any crisis in the South-South or between Edo and Delta states. We are brothers, having once been Bendel State before Delta was created. We want peace, and we want the right thing done quickly.”

“Please don’t take laws into your hands. As a government, we will protect the territorial integrity of Edo State. But we must maintain peace and harmony with our neighbors while this matter is before the NBC,” he pleaded.

Okpebholo emphasised that while his administration was committed to defending Edo territorial claims, it would do so with fairness, peace, and respect for due process.

“Our ultimate goal is to ensure justice, preserve harmony, and protect the integrity of our people and our State,” he affirmed.

In his remarks, AIG Salman-Dogo Garba urged restraint, describing both Edo and Delta as inseparable partners in peace and development despite the dispute.

“I appeal to the communities, Edo and Delta are still brothers despite this land dispute. Be peaceful, avoid violence, don’t take up arms over this matter as it is already before the NBC,” he advised.