Soyinka: I didn’t support Buhari in 2015 — but I said Nigerians shouldn’t vote for Jonathan

Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka claims that he did not urge Nigerians to vote for President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.

Soyinka gave a press conference in Lagos on Thursday.

Several times during the run-up to the 2015 presidential election, the Nobel laureate criticized former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

According to The Cable, Soyinka declared in 2015 that he would not advise anyone to vote for Jonathan, and questioned the former president’s re-election campaign.

Despite his criticism of Jonathan, the Nobel laureate stated during the press conference that he never endorsed Buhari’s candidacy in 2015.

“I informed Jonathan that he had a chance to win that election. He messed up. “He really messed up on a lot of levels,” he remarked.

“I told him straight up before the election. I explained to him that I would not vote for him or support him since he had lost the people’s confidence and trust due to a number of actions and inactions, including his failure to combat corruption. Despite this, it is untrue to claim that I backed Buhari’s election.

If I truly think that was the best course of action, I would come out and say this is the candidate. I defy anyone to tell me when, where, and in what language I said vote for Buhari.

“I stated unequivocally, ‘do not vote for Jonathan.'” I don’t regret it because the level of corruption was at an all-time high at the time.

“It’s a pity that one has to dwell on the negative. I never said anything along the lines of ‘vote for Buhari.’ It’s nowhere to be found. Buhari did not receive my vote. If you don’t believe me, then ask the security guard who used to accompany me in Abeokuta if I abandoned my house that day