Read This Open Letter To Prof. Wole Soyinka By A Nigerian Born Polish MP
Dear Prof. Wole Soyinka,
It is with deep sadness that I read your remarks made during you lecture titled ‘Predicting Nigeria, Electoral Ironies’ at the Harvard University Hutchins Centre for African & African American Research, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, where you referred to the Igbos as “greedy”.
During your lecture you were alleged to have said:
“The Igbos are probably the only group of Nigerians that you can predict with great accuracy whom they will vote for in an election, because they tend to put their votes where their stomachs take them; suffering as it were, from incurable money-mindedness, as they would stop at nothing in their quest for personal financial gain.”
Your statement is not only divisive based on ignorant stereotyping, it also is also racist, and capable of of flaring up tribal conflicts amongst Nigerians. Such a statement from a respected statesman and educated nobel laureate can cause unprecedented havoc in the very delicate unity of our nation - Nigeria. It is very alarming to hear lately of anti-Igbo rhetoric from the Yoruba elite and especially from people of your intelligence and calibre. It is very sad and disheartening.
For us Nigerians in the diasporas- we cherish our fraternity and constantly strive hard to build our brotherhood not only as Nigerians but also as Africans. I am an Igbo, an elected member of the Polish Parliament. Many Nigerians in Poland, including Yorubas turn to me for help and support when they have problems. I treat them as my brothers and I am my brother's keeper.
Your alleged statement, with all due respect, Professor Soyinka, is uninformed, infantile and stereotypical and is a heavy blow on Nigerian Unity. Every tribe or Nigerian nation has its perceived attributes- And yes, the Igbos, like the Jews, are industrious and entrepreneurial and this should be a source of national pride.
Wisdom is said to grow as we get older. It is therefore expected of you as an elderly statesman, Profesor Soyinka, that you will be a role model to the younger generation of Nigerians and indeed Africans. Many look up to you as an example to follow. It is therefore imperative that you show a good example by correcting the above mistake. And the only way you can make up for your mistake is to publicly apologize to the Igbos and to Nigerians for your unwise and tactless statement. May I also advice that you think twice before you make such blanket statements in future.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
John Abraham Godson, MP
Chair, Parliamentary Group for Africa
President, The African Instituteki
I predict also that Soyinka will not give an apology without the Igbo characteristic nzogbu nzogbu enyi mba Enyi marched to his doorstep. His apology will thereafter come as the characteristic Yoruba laying flat on his belly, rubbing together of both of his palms and begging "ejooooo e ma binu" ha ha ha ha!
ReplyDeleteDon't expect any apoloy, rather be vigilant for these are signs of ominous things to come. First the Oba of Lagos, threatening and causing Ndigbo with Lagoon and swearing to show his seriousness. Then an American trained cardiologist gloating at the xenophobic attacks on blacks in South Africa believing that the victims are Igbos, what a shame. Then this stereotyping and generalization of Ndigbo as greedy. This is how it started against the Jews in Germany before the genocide, first give a dog a bad name in order to hang it. They are very conscious what they are doing and the expected result. Onye ndi iro gbara gburu gburu
ReplyDeleteIGBO have shown the world that they strongly
ReplyDeletebelieve in one Nigeria by establishing their
business,building factory and opening company in
every party of NIGERIA they are in;by so
doing,bringing development to those area:
But still HAUSA and YORUBA don't appreciate our
help in developing their place and also cannot let
IGBO to be in peace in this country without their
hate speech or killing in the NORTH.
LET THEM KNOW THAT
Without IGBO there will be no NIGERIA:
Without IGBO,NIGERIA economy will be ZERO:
If they doubt it,let each region in NIGERIA be on
their OWN and let see the region that will suffer
most.
Say NO to hate against IGBO
COMR OLEBUNNE IFEANYI BONAVENTURE
share for IGBOS survival.
Really the disease of corruption in Nigeria has become so perverse as a syndrome since the last two decades 1995 to 2015. Like AIDS or Ebola, Corruption in Nigeria is now so deep as to touch even the intellectuals. In other nations of the world, political leaders fall back on intellectuals to solve thorny socio-economic problems. In Nigeria, the intelligentsia have started manifesting symptoms of intellectual corruption syndrome. The laureates among them now assume partisan postures and talk carelessly like agboro or motor park touts, no longer like statesmen. It is sad and unfortunate to associate a laureate with the statements attributed to Professor Wole Soyinka and he has not refuted them yet. Something has really gone wrong. It is more shocking especially when his statements are so sweeping and false. Even when the bulk of the oil revenue of Nigeria comes from the East, of the major ethnic groups the Igbos have the least number of oil blocks and they are not complaining. The Igbos spread their investments, including real estate properties in every city of Nigeria; while some ethnic groups build only in their areas of origin. These two examples perhaps constitute what Soyinka translates as 'greedy' and 'too much love of money'. By global standards N120 million does not make one a millionaire. One needs much more than that to join the class of millionaires. There are more millionaires from the major ethnic groups other than Igbos. With the unrequited devastation and deprivation of the civil war, only a handful of Igbos are in the millionaire class. This is perhaps disturbing to some as an unintended miracle. Yet the Igbos pray for the peaceful and harmonious progress of all Nigerians. Igbos really have to work very hard more than others to survive. If this translates as 'greedy' to Soyinka, so be it. Soyinka's statements are racist, unkind, false and insensitive. It is unconscionable for a Nobel laureate to make such sweeping political statements about any group, more so about a group he professes to be the nationals of his own country. Nigeria really needs redemption. My advice to all well-meaning Nigerians is to IGNORE any such divisive and inflammatory careless talks. They are a distraction from the main challenges of nation building. We need to rally round the new administration of the President-elect General Muhammadu Buhari to embark on innovations that will transform Nigeria from perennial retrogression to exponential growth. God save Nigeria. It shall be well. Dr. Lasbrey Uzoma Nze, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
ReplyDeleteIT IS HIGH TIME NIGERIANS AND ECOWAS LAY THE FOUNDATION STONE OF LOVE, UNITY AND INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
ReplyDeleteUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
BERKELEY, CA
INVITATION TO
2ND ANNUAL GUOSA LANGUAGE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2015
------- Original Message --------
Subject: CASannc- CALL FOR PAPERS: Guosa Language International
Conference
From: CAS-UCB General List
Date: Tue, January 20, 2015 2:45 pm
To: CAS Announcements
Center for African Studies, UC Berkeley
General Listserv
GUOSA LANGUAGE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
CAL-STATE UNIVERSITY
HAYWARD CA. 94542
DATES - FRIDAY AUGUST 21 TO MONDAY AUG 24, 2015
THEME: AUTHENTIC INDIGENOUS LINGUA FRANCA FOR WEST AFRICA – HOW?
Guosa Language International Conference is inviting Keynote Speakers, Chief Guest Speakers, Guest Speakers, Observers and participants from all over the world, to brainstorm in finding an Authentic Indigenous Lingua Franca for the West Regional Countries of Africa or the (ECOWAS). Guosa is a language evolution from the West Africans, by the West Africans and for the West Africans. This is linguistic, artistic, scientific, cultural, tourism and technological democracy in historical time line of coming together as truly independent nations of Africa. Please read below for full details about the conference
CONFERENCE LOCATION:
BAYVIEW ROOM
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY HAYWARD,
CALIFORNIA 94542
CALL FOR ABSTRACT PAPERS
An Authentic indigenous lingua franca evolution for the Economic Communities of West African States (ECOWAS) or African continent is well overdue. Linguists are convinced that people’s thought process in the languages of their motherland are more complete, easier, faster to learn, more informative and intra-cultural sense of unity than when they speak other languages that have no identical traditional roots to their ethnicity.
There are many ethnic languages, dialects, fractional tongues in Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Senegal, all other ECOWAS nations of Africa. The Guosa language evolution covered over 200 of these diverse languages, beginning with only two at the historical beginning. Guosa is made up of carefully detailed units of different ethnic languages and dialects. The aims and objectivities are to enable the West Regional Countries of Africa popularly known as the ECOWAS, and Africans communicate in one common indigenous language and unity. This will in the long run usher in the much needed unity, identity, political stability as well as African Industrial Revolution, AIR.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.guosa-language-tv.com/guosa-language-international-conference.html
CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS CONTACT:
Vanessa Brooks, (510) 225-9172 Ext. 3
Alex G. Igbineweka, (510) 225-9172 Ext. 1-3
Email: guosa-language-intl-conf@live.com
www.guosa-language-tv.com
Center for African Studies
University of California, Berkeley
342 Stephens Hall #2314
Berkeley, California 94720-2314
http://africa.berkeley.edu
Phone: 510.642.8338