Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka has categorically distanced himself from a viral post linking him to the endorsement of the presidential ambition of the former governor of Lagos State and Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
A post implanted with the pictures of Soyinka and Tinubu, went viral on the Internet last November indicating that the he endorsed Tinubu’s aspiration.
The post went viral in the public space again after Tinubu said on Monday that he had informed President Muhammadu Buhari of his intention to run for presidency in 2023.
But while reacting to the post in a statement on Wednesday, Soyinka declared that he has never involved himself in politics or campaign for any politician, adding however that in 2023 he would get involved in politics and campaign for longtime friend in 1993 NADECO struggle.
In the statement titled; “Season of Fakery Galore,” Soyinka described the authors of the post as illiterate public interlopers who lacked the courage of their conviction and must steal identities of their betters.
He further said; “Here we go again. The same boring, illiterate public interlopers who lack the courage of their conviction and must steal the identities of their betters. “One can only hope that the public has learnt to identify Fake News and join in the urgent task of exposing and disgracing these despicable touts.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I have not even thought of 2023, much less inserted candidates into coveted positions.
“The signature of this latest moron is familiar – he or she does not even know the difference between ‘Laureate and Laurel.’ This is an ancient forgery being recycled for the umpteenth time. Those who pass it round do themselves and their recipients a disservice. Find something worthwhile to occupy your time.
“In any case, we have no business with politics in the land of the dead, and the most recent information I have on me is that I died sometime last year.
“The email account of the year’s Nobel ‘Laurel” was hacked by these same agents to publicise my demise, so who is this still politicking WS ‘Laurel’?” he asked.
Prof Soyinka was rumoured dead last year after hackers used the social media handle of Tanzania novelist and winner of 2021 Nobel Prize for Literature, Abdulrazak Gurnah to announce his demise.
