By Samuel Adeola
Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka has commended former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, for his courage during the 2022 All Progressives Congress (APC), presidential primaries, describing him as one of the few aspirants who refused to bow to pressure to step down for Bola Tinubu.
Soyinka, speaking at Amaechi’s 60th birthday celebration in Abuja over the weekend, said he admired Amaechi’s “fighting spirit” for staying in the race despite overwhelming pressure from party leaders.
Amaechi finished second in the primaries with 316 votes, while Tinubu clinched the ticket with 1,271 votes. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo came third with 235 votes.
“I watched the primaries live from Abu Dhabi and took rascally pleasure seeing Tinubu get a dose of his own medicine,” Soyinka remarked, drawing a parallel between Amaechi’s stance in 2022 and Tinubu’s defiance of former President Obasanjo’s third-term bid in the mid-2000s. “That’s what democracy is all about.”
Amaechi, who played a major role in the 2015 alliance that helped unseat President Goodluck Jonathan, is now reportedly involved in political consultations aimed at building a coalition to challenge Tinubu’s government in 2027.
