Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, former Vice Presidential candidate for the Labour Party, has responded to Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka's critique of Peter Obi, the party's presidential candidate. Soyinka had criticized Obi for failing to manage his supporters' online hostility towards opposing views, suggesting this made him unfit to lead Nigeria.

Baba-Ahmed dismissed Soyinka's remarks as a distraction, refusing to engage further. He suggested that Soyinka's comments were driven by fear of the positive changes Obi might bring to Nigeria. Baba-Ahmed emphasized that intellectual prowess does not justify insulting others, referencing Soyinka's past derogatory remarks about the late General Sani Abacha.

"The respected elder statesman, Soyinka, is preemptively worried about the positive impact Obi could have on Nigeria. His actions are a diversion, and I respectfully choose not to engage with him. We have more important matters to address," Baba-Ahmed said in an interview with Arise Television on Friday.

He added, "Soyinka's intellect does not grant him the right to insult others. I recall him severely criticizing General Abacha, who was not an academic but a soldier. Despite having the ability to say things that could destroy Soyinka, I choose not to."