POLITICS TODAY

Nobel laureate, Professor Wole soyinka has come down on labour Party’s Vice presidential candidate Datti Baba-Ahmed, over the latter’s comments against the judiciary, pointing out the remarks smacked of “fascistic language”.

Soyinka reacted to Datti’s coments in chat with Arise TV on Wednesday, monitored in Kaduna.

Earlier on March 22, Datti, had told Channels TV, that the country has no president-elect notwithstanding the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announcement of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the election.

Datti declared that Tinubu would be leading an unconstitutional government if sworn into office because the APC candidate “has not met requirements of the law”.

The controversial Datti interview sparked an assortment of criticisms from political stakeholders as well as the slamming by National Broadcasting Commission a N5 million fine against Channels TV.

Soyinka therefore described Datti’s remarks as a “kind of do-or-die attitude and provocation” that goes contrary to democratic ethics.

He said the LP vice-presidential candidate attempted to dictate to the supreme arbiter of the nation, an act the Professor described as unacceptable.

“I have never heard anyone threaten the judiciary on television the way Datti did. I heard the kind of menacing, blackmailing language as that to which we were treated by Datti. That kind of do-or-die attitude and provocation is not what I think we have all been struggling for,” Soyinka said.

“Nearly the totality of Datti’s comment in the interview was unbecoming. It was like trying to dictate to the supreme arbiter of the nation, and whatever you think of the supreme court, it is an institution we all refer to sooner or later.

“But Datti kept saying, in his wisdom, that the supreme court must agree with him. That is what is known as fascistic language and it is not acceptable.”