I Admire Amaechi Because He Gave Tinubu A Dose Of His Own Medicine – Soyinka

Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka has praised former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, for standing his ground during the 2022 All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary, where he refused to step down for eventual winner Bola Tinubu.

Speaking at Amaechi’s 60th birthday celebration in Abuja on Saturday, Soyinka described the former governor’s action as a bold and admirable move.

He said Amaechi showed real courage by staying in the race, even as many others backed out to support Tinubu.

The literary icon said what impressed him most was how Amaechi defied the pressure to step aside, even when it seemed like nearly everyone else was falling in line.

Soyinka said, “The main reason why I had to be here today — it’s first of all that I admire Rotimi Amaechi’s fighting spirit.

“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.”

He drew a parallel to a time when Tinubu himself resisted pressure from then-President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was accused of trying to push for a third term in office.

Soyinka recalled how Tinubu was the “last man standing” during that political battle — and said it was ironic that during the 2022 APC primaries, Amaechi gave Tinubu a taste of his own medicine by standing firm.

“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,” he 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.

“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 2022 APC primary, Tinubu won with 1,271 votes. Amaechi came in second with 316 votes, while then Vice President Yemi Osinbajo placed third with 235 votes.

KanyiDaily recalls that Rotimi Amaechi said that APC delegates who sold their votes to Tinubu during the presidential primary are now regretting their actions.