Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka expressed deep disappointment with the recently concluded 2023 elections. In an interview with Channels Television’s *Roadmap 2023*, aired on Monday, the author described the polls as “not exactly the most edifying exercise that we’ve been through.” Although he had been abroad for several months, the news he encountered on his return was “horrendous” and unpleasant. “On arriving, I came in for World Poetry Day, and immediately I was bombarded by the most horrendous narratives both pre‑ and post‑election,” he said. “Since then I have read columns and Nigerian papers for the first time in months, and I didn’t like what I read at all.”
The playwright added that his trust in the system has “broken down completely,” especially because politicians failed to show even the minimal restraint expected of seasoned leaders. “My trust has broken down completely, and even the minimum restraint that we’ve learned to expect from seasoned politicians has been jettisoned,” he continued.
Quoting the current Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, Soyinka noted that while elections are contests, they should be conducted with a festive spirit. “Elections should be keenly contested. But I still believe very much in what I call the Fashola Dictum: they should be yet another aspect of the festive spirit of humanity – and this was anything but festive,” he said.
The presidential and National Assembly elections held on 25 February, followed by the governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections in March 2023, were marred by widespread violence, voter intimidation, logistical problems and other irregularities.
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