Madame,
It was a joke.
On Wed, Aug 10, 2011 at 5:01 PM, Pamela Smith <pamelasmith@mail.unomaha.edu> wrote:
Hi Lavonda:
I find your response to Chidi's piece rather baffling; hence my uncharacteristic response since I read and have enjoyed a number of your observations, which I consider to be right on target).
Fact: we each come at to literature (general), literary pieces (specifically) with some baggage or another which we reflect in our interpretation (loosely called 'criticism'). Unlike the dramatist who provides stage directions to guide the reader/actor a wee bit, the novelist, the poet, etc., as in Chidi's piece, puts out his/her material for the reading public, and the rest, as we know, is history. I don't know if your response below is a "historian's" reading of Chidi's piece, but it misses the point/intent/meaning of (inherent in) the piece. Simply, this is a "Who is this PROPHET, shunned by his own, but lauded abroad" lampoon. In other words, if streets in the capital city are named for and after rogues and militants/terrorists (the blood-thirsty BOKO HARAM types); if the highest table in the land is laid daily for mean-spirited, thieving, oppressive people/politicians, .... (I think you get the point), where, oh where, can be found IN NIGERIA the name of this globally-sung, much-accomplished Professor Toyin Falola in the NIGERIAN annals of the TRULY accomplished sons & Daughters of the soil?
Simply, this piece is (and needs to be read, I think as) a:
I even sense a bit of my favorite Langston Hughes' "Laughter to keep from crying" here in my reading. I think Chidi's piece revised that slightly to: "Laughter amid the crying" -- laughter in celebration of Falola's millionth achievement award amid rueful tears for things gone bad!
- prophet/physician-not-appreciated/recognized-by-his/her-own lampoon, a satire
- darn good, on-the-mark, successfully written tongue-in-cheek statement about Nigeria -- a SATIRE -- in which no-one is named and therefore no-one should take offense. If you know anything about Boko Haram and the oppressive goings-on in Nigeria, and the way the crooked folks at the helm reward or have themselves rewarded, then you'd see the broad landscape of ills Chidi's piece has recorded.
- top-rate, from-the-heart salute to Professor Falola, a "roast," if you will. Salutes don't come any better.
- subtle statement: in-the-land of accolades, even the bloodthirsty Boko Haram militants find recognition
- blunt conclusion: then who cares about or gives honor where honor is due anymore? What is the value of a "hundred books published...etc.," when....?
- CONCLUSIVE: If Boko Haram(ing) is what brings recognition and value, then, hmmmm...? I'm thinking about it. Why not, IF...?
Cheers.
.
-----usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com wrote: -------To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
From: Lavonda Staples
Sent by: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Date: 08/10/2011 01:41PM
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Who Is This Professor Toyin Falola?
Came out of the library for two ticks of a tock to answer Chidi1. University of Texas at Austin is not an Ivy League University. It's great. I would pee my pants if I got accepted to their Ph. D. History program, BUT, it is a state university with a measure of open enrollment. The exceptions of state university as an Ivy League institution would be University of Virginia and University of California at Los Angeles (UVA and UCLA respectively). Examples of Ivy League are: Harvard, Yale, Columbia, etc. and so forth. I hope you get the picture my brother.2. Stop Hatin'! (urban colloquialism)3. Don't be burnin' bread! (Mississippi colloquialism created during slavery which is actually a LOOSE translation of a Yoruba proverb which guards using words to wish ill on someone, especially someone who is more successful, defenseless, or who cannot defend your accusation because you do not do so in public). Burnin' bread on someone is an act which displays envy and/or cowardice. The expression exists to make plain, without uncertainty, the ties between the Africans who arrived in what would become the United States and those Yoruba and Igbo (for the most part) relatives who remained back "home."4. The work of Toyin Falola, especially what I'm reading right now, "A History of Nigeria" is essential for independent researchers and those who have grown weary of using the accepted canon(s) of history. What Dr. Falola does with his work is present a history from the mouths of those who populate history instead of an interpretation from outside/external to the subject(s).5. Stop Hatin'!4.--
On Wed, Aug 10, 2011 at 4:35 AM, Chidi Anthony Opara <piprom@hotmail.com> wrote:
--Forum members have been congratulating Professor Toyin Falola for another high profile award. The awards keep coming. Who is this Professor Toyin Falola, if I may ask?
I am aware that he is a distinguished Professor of History in an Ivy League University in the USA. I am also aware that he has written over a hundred widely acclaimed books, scholarly articles, etc, including poetry. He is on the faculties of many World class Universities and chairs many distinguished organizations Worldwide, and so what?
How many chieftaincy titles does he have? During anniversaries of his birth, marriage, etc, I do not recall seeing and/or hearing congratulatory messages to him by "well wishers" on Nigerian newspapers, television and radio stations.
He does not even have a "National Honour Award" like the Nollywood comedian, "Aki" of the "Aki and Paw-paw" fame. No Street in Abuja have been named after him, soon, a major street in Abuja would be named after the late Boko Haram leader.
He was not even nominated in the last ministerial nomination, even if he was, I am sure he would not have been able to mobilize "Ghana must go" bags to the Senate chamber for his "clearance".
How many times has he dined with his country's President? Something Niger Delta militants do on daily basis. The Boko Haram people will soon be invited.
Does he have the clout to introduce me to someone who will give me a note to someone who will phone my state governor, Chief, Dr., Sir, Owelle, etc, Rochas Okorocha,(JP) to appoint me his Special Adviser on Poetry Matters? I hear there is a Special Adviser on Comedy or something that sounds similar.
Does he……..? Abeg make I hear something jare! Right now I feel like joining Boko Haram.
------- Chidi
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La Vonda R. StaplesAdjunct Professor, Department of Social SciencesCommunity College of the District of Columbia"It is the duty of all who have been fortunate to receive an education to assist others in the same pursuit."
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Community College of the District of Columbia
314-570-6483
"It is the duty of all who have been fortunate to receive an education to assist others in the same pursuit."
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