Wole Soyinka Praises Edo Governor Oshiomhole

Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka has described the Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, as “a worthy ambassador” of the nation’s “progressives” community.

A few days ago, Oshiomhole and his wife Iara paid a courtesy visit to Soyainka and his wife, Folake Soyinka, at their Abeokuta home.

Praising Comrade Oshiomhole’s activism as Governor, the literary giant said:“Adams, I must use this occasion to thank you for your courage, for not forgetting your roots and for not letting us down.

 

“I’ve always believed that people should try and remain themselves and not allow themselves to be blinded by power. Which is why among the favourite photographs I keep today is the one where you were shown really digging it down at a public concert with your two fingers pointing to the ground like arrow, without any inhibition. I think the picture was taken sometime in 2012.

“When I saw it splashed on the front page of the newspaper while driving on a Lagos street, I grabbed a copy from the vendor and I told my wife ‘Yeah, this is the Oshiomhole that we’ve always known’.”

Mrs. Folake Soyinka expressed her gratitude towards the governor’s efforts to transform public schools in the state since coming on board in 2008.

“I’m sure the governor does not know this; I attended St Maria Goretti in the 70s and graduated in 1979. In our days, it was a beautiful school. But many years later, the school was completely run down,” she said. “But when I checked recently, I was quite impressed with what I saw. The school has been completely transformed.”

She added that the same transformations happened to Idia College and hundreds of other public schools across the state.

In return, Comrade Oshiomhole thanked Professor Soyinka and his wife for dinner invitation, underlining that achievements made under his stewardship in Edo would not have been possible without the critical solidarity of the anonymous counselors like the Nobel laureate.

Oshiomhole said: “Prof, I am eternally indebted for the support and inspiration you have provided me over the years, dating back to when I was in the Nigeria Labour Congress. Some would limit themselves to just being critics or commentators on the pages of the newspapers. But you are different, sir. You are not just a man of words but also a man of action.