Gloria in excelsis deo !
Gloria Emegawali,
"Some songs were done by chosen men
Some from men, insane" ( Life is for learning )
Re- your earlier interpretations of Professor Toyin Falola's very modest, humble,
"The glory is not mine. All that is mine is how God works in me."
But in the end we agree that Professor Falola did not claim to be writing infallible scripture and we know that even the inspired scripture of the so called "New Testament" are subject to all kinds of criticism, historical , linguistic, factual, and so forth. Nor has he declared that he is the last prophet and is about to start a new religion to be known as Falolaism , with you as one of the priestesses and one Bangura as an Apostle, an exegetical theologian riding on Falola's glory, bearing the light ( Falola's effulgence) to the nations….
The Sufis say that the heart ( the temple where God dwells) is the seat of the intellect. (Personally I think that some poetry comes from there)
I don't know who was the man or woman of the year last year or the year before, but in my opinion based on the criteria presented by the also inimitable Professor Ayo Olukotun and concurred by all of us the praise singers, as far as I can remember, Professor Falola God bless him, deserves to be the man of many years, as a man of principle, a man for all seasons, without objection, an African Renaissance Man of the new century, although some of us must admit that to some extent Muhammadu Buhari should most probably have earned the title "Man of the Year" last year when he astounded Nigeria, Africa, the world by winning the Nigerian presidential elections. (Would he have voted for Resolution 2334, I wonder)
In the region of literary distinction we have been offered the autobiographical - a book of wisdom entitled "a mouth sweeter than salt" ( 2005) followed by "Counting the Tiger's Teeth" ( 2014) and for those interested in the Yoruba universe –Falola & Adesanya, Etches on Fresh Waters a work "Dedicated to the Yoruba God Sango, and Goddess Oya" a veritable goldmine of beauty, poetry, ethics, folklore , guidance. We may count our blessings...
There's a lot more that could be said. It's 2.32 pm in Stockholm…
A nasty piece of work here
Wishing everyone a restful weekend and a Happy New Year!
Cornelius
On Friday, 30 December 2016 06:45:29 UTC+1, Emeagwali, Gloria (History) wrote:
I agree with Prof. Babawale completely. Professor Falola is inspirational. Prof. Olukoton indeed fashioned the perfect letter.
That Falola is Man of the Year is indisputable. I must confess though that initially, I got a bit nervous, at the statement
that the work was the product of God, or something to that effect:
"The glory is not mine. All that is mine is how God works in me."
I was worried for two reasons.
Firstly, if the work was the product of God and perhaps, by implication, of divine inspiration, then how would anyone dare to apply
historiographical analysis and scholarly criticism to any of the 12 books. They would be, collectively, beyond all forms of evaluation
and assessment. Only renegades and fools would dare to do book reviews, or write critical assessments - critical activities that
academics are prone to do for new publications.
Secondly, claims about divine intervention or inspiration are often followed by the creation of a religion
of some sort - with an "inspired" religious leader at the helm. This is the stuff of which saints and other divine
intermediaries are made.
But then I realized that my interpretation of the statement was too literal, and even erroneous. The professor
simply meant that he was thanking God for giving him the strength to produce the works in question. It is a statement
that atheists and even agnostics may challenge - but pretty much captures the overall spirit of gratitude that Believers
share- no matter their religion or faith. No problem with that. No cause for alarm.
We look forward to the harvest of 2017. May 2017 be a wonderful year for us all.
Professor Gloria EmeagwaliProfessor of History
History DepartmentCentral Connecticut State University
From: 'Olatunde_Babawale' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafric...@googlegroups.com >
Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2016 5:08 PM
To: ayo_olukotun via USA Africa Dialogue Series; USAAfricaDialogue
Cc: toyin...@austin.utexas.edu; adeb...@hotmail.com; adigun...@yahoo.com; amomo...@yahoo.com; aoluko...@yahoo.com; ayodu...@yahoo.com; babso...@gmail.com; ban...@unrisd.org; boye...@hotmail.com; chibuz...@yahoo.com; Ebunoluwa Oduwole; falan...@yahoo.com; faw...@yahoo.com; hafsat...@hotmail.com; jum...@yahoo.co.uk; laji...@yahoo.com; moju...@gmail.com; med...@yahoo.com; mvic...@mvickers.plus.com; oluk...@yahoo.com; osagha...@yahoo.co.uk; paddyk...@yahoo.com; profbayo...@yahoo.com; r-jo...@northwestern.edu; rot...@yahoo.com; salawu...@yahoo.com; to...@yahoo.com; walead...@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Fw: columnThis piece by Prof Ayo Olukotun is a testimony to the reward of hard work which Prof Falola personifies.Prof Falola's incomparable intellectual achievements remain a source of inspiration to us all.He is a man in whom we are well pleased.Thank you Prof Olukotun for the characteristically well-crafted piece.
Tunde BabawaleDepartment of Political ScienceUniversity of LagosLagosNigeriaSent from my BlackBerry 10smartphone.
googlegroups.com Cc: toyin...@austin.utexas.edu; adeb...@hotmail.com; adigun...@yahoo.com; amomo...@yahoo.com; aoluko...@yahoo.com; ayodu...@yahoo.com; babso...@gmail.com; ban...@unrisd.org; boye...@hotmail.com; chibuz...@yahoo.com; Ebunoluwa Oduwole; falan...@yahoo.com; faw...@yahoo.com; hafsat...@hotmail.com; jum...@yahoo.co.uk; laji...@yahoo.com; moju...@gmail.com; med...@yahoo.com; mvic...@mvickers.plus.com; oluk...@yahoo.com; osagha...@yahoo.co.uk; paddyk...@yahoo.com; profbayo...@yahoo.com; r-jo...@northwestern.edu; rot...@yahoo.com; salawu...@yahoo.com; to...@yahoo.com; walead...@yahoo.comSubject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Fw: column
--U
Sent from my BlackBerry 10smartphone.
--
On Thu, Dec 29, 2016 at 1:21 PM, Ibini Olaide<ibini_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
On Thu, Dec 29, 2016 at 1:20 PM, Ibini Olaide<ibini_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
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