Soyinka Not Surprised Buhari Lost His Glory Just 18 Months Into Office
Nigerian playwright and Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has said that he was not surprised that in just 18 months in office, President Muhammadu Buhari’s popularity had diminished, dashing the hopes of Nigerians that voted him into power
Recall that National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), John Odigie-Oyegun, had at some point admitted that Buhari’s approval level had diminished drastically since his ascension to power in 2015.
THE WHISTLER further recalls that Presidential spokesperson, Mr. Femi Adesina, in a bid to water down the negative ratings, maintained that the percentage of Nigerians who complain about Buhari’s incompetence were “in the minority”.
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But Professor Soyinka’s statement only confirms further a recent report by the BMI Research, which indicated that President Buhari’s popularity rating had dropped from about 80% by the ending of 2015 to about 41% this September.
“There’s nothing surprising to me about his losing popularity, it should be expected. People wanted change, that word was not just a slogan, it was a promise,’’ Soyinka said.
“Fulfilling political promises when you take over the reins of power and you have to clean up a lot of mess, it’s not easy,” said the Nobel prize-winning author.
Although Soyinka felt Buhari was a better candidate during the 2015 presidential elections, the 82-year-old now thinks it was high time Nigeria did away with leaders with military backgrounds.
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“I was not particularly enamoured of the idea of a military person continuing — for heaven’s sake, it’s been too long.
“I feel very passionate that it’s about time that we eliminated the last vestiges of military control, of military representation. It’s as if there are no brains outside the military,’’ he added.
