Many thanks for your kind advice.
Bitrus
Dr. Bitrus Paul Gwamna
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Assensoh, Akwasi B.
Sent: Thursday, May 30, 2019 12:06 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - A Reply to Kperogi.doc
Dear Professors Kperogi (Farooq), Gwamna (Bitrus) & Agbese (Pita):
I am one of your "secret" admirers. Therefore, I have followed your writings as well as your recent forum/dialogue exchanges very carefully. Now, as my Yoruba mentor
of old (Baba Ijebu) would have said, please "let sleeping dogs lie quietly" by ending the near-acrimonious debate (or feud). As a Nigerian at heart, I have often followed
the activities of the Association of Nigerian Scholars in the Diaspora (ANSD). Therefore, I know that the association is alive and kicking.
In future, please endeavor to sort out erupting differences privately. Again Baba Ijebu would have exclaimed: "We should not wash our dirty linen in public!"
Cheers always.
A.B. Assensoh.
-----------
Rev. A.B. Assensoh, LL.M., Ph.D. (e-mail: aassenso@indiana.edu; assensoh@uoregon.edu)
Professor Emeritus, Indiana University
Courtesy Professor Emeritus
Department of History
University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon 97403
USA [Oregon Telephone #: 541-953-7710 Fax #; (541) 346-6576
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Dr. Bitrus Gwamna <bgwamna@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 29, 2019 5:09 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - A Reply to Kperogi.doc
Sir: the forum is replete with articles denouncing the administration for its inadequacies. You are asking me to agree with you that the administration has no redeeming value. I will not be true to myself if I did that. I truly do not want to pursue this issue any further.
Bitrus
Dr. Bitrus Paul Gwamna
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju
Sent: Saturday, May 25, 2019 5:28 AM
To: usaafricadialogue <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - A Reply to Kperogi.doc
Bitrus,
Your assessment of US hypocrisy could be factual.
Would that exonerate inadequacies of the Buhari govt?
Could you share what your organisation had to say about the Buhari govt on the subject in question?
toyin
On Sat, 25 May 2019 at 11:25, Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju <toyin.adepoju@gmail.com> wrote:
From Dr. Bitrus Gwamna
A Reply to Kperogi
Dear Colleagues:
Let me begin this note by first acknowledging my familiarity with Professor Farooq Kperogi, not only through his pithy write-ups on numerous social media platforms but several phone conversations, email exchanges and a physical encounter in Columbia, Missouri, last July. His amiable disposition is a sharp contrast from the passion conveyed in his articles on this forum. I also have established a rapport with Professor Kperogi's ideological counterpart, Professor Moses Ochonu. Like Farooq, Moses has a most charming disposition. I am indeed grateful to them for positively responding to the request by the planning committee of last year's Zumunta National Convention to address our gathering.
Second, Professor Pita Ogaba Agbese and I acknowledge our full membership of the Association of Nigerian Scholars in the Diaspora [ANSD). This association was conceived several years prior to the 2015 Nigerian elections for conversations and discussions on literary and socio-political themes. The association is yet to be registered as our membership is yet to decide on the appropriate platform for dispensing the outcomes of our deliberations and increasing our membership. We know that the association does not need to be registered for its members to call for conferences or express their views on issues which concern them or our country. Our last physical encounter with each other was September 1st at Eagan, Minnesota, during which members of the association analyzed Nigeria's security situation and proposed a set of policy options for a lasting peace in the country. Our discussions are long and exhaustive as there is a desire on our part to reach a consensus or a majority decision on any issue before a communique is issued. Alas, Professor Agbese and I whose names represent the Association of Nigerian Scholars in the Diaspora have been embarrassed by the verbiage contained in the write-up that has angered Professor Kperogi. Had it undergone the editing process that has been put in place by our members, he and those displeased with its contents might have had little cause to fault our stance. We believe that the current military chiefs have done an outstanding job in containing the Boko Haram menace and we urge that the progress and the momentum against Boko Haram and other threats to peace and stability in Nigeria sustained. On Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank, we did not see the need for Nigeria to move in a different direction on fiscal or monetary policy. It is interesting that those who always excoriate President Buhari on appointments which they alleged were anchored on nepotism would not applaud the president for nominating Emefiele for a second term as CNB governor.
We also felt that US reports on human rights in Nigeria are written from a holier-than-thou attitude on the part of the US State Department. The US record on the treatment of its minority populations leaves much to be desired. Moreover, while the US is quick to condemn the actions of security forces in other parts of the world, it has refused to subject its own security forces to standards required under international law. The contempt in which the current US administration under President Donald Trump holds international norms is clearly demonstrated by Trump's decision to pardon American soldiers who had been convicted of violating US and international law. We wish that one day, our nation too would issue annual reports on human rights in the US. However, in the meantime, we don't feel obliged to accept everything the US says about Nigeria. We do not consider the US a god or an oracle whose opinion on Nigeria cannot be challenged.
We will not seek to deprive the learned professor of his right to rail against the current Nigerian presidency detesting the head of the administration with every ounce of his energy. However, to arrogate to himself, the right to decree what structures should exist or claim the academic label is not only uncharitable but smacks of dictatorship, an attitude unworthy of his stature as a scholar. I have been on this forum long enough to witness the good, the bad and ugly among members when arguments fail to mollify their egos. Yes, facts are sacred, but the interpretation of various narratives leads to different outcomes.
We will be careful to properly edit the contents of our publications to ensure that we are accurate in our communication with those who are exposed to our deliberations and conclusions, but we will not tailor our beliefs to please anyone for fear not to be tagged fraudulent.
While we appreciate Prof. Kperogi's determination to protect our integrity when he saw a publication that aroused his suspicion, we would have laid his suspicion to rest if he had contacted us before rushing to this forum to declare our association as fraudulent. Cordially Yours,
Bitrus Gwamna, also writing on behalf of Pita Agbese.
On Sat, 25 May 2019 at 11:20, Toyin Falola <toyinfalola@austin.utexas.edu> wrote:
Attachments generally do not work well. You may have to repost—copy and paste method/
TF
Toyin Falola
Department of History
The University of Texas at Austin
104 Inner Campus Drive
Austin, TX 78712-0220
USA
512 475 7224
512 475 7222 (fax)
http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
From: dialogue <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> on behalf of "Dr. Bitrus Gwamna" <bgwamna@gmail.com>
Reply-To: dialogue <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Date: Saturday, May 25, 2019 at 5:13 AM
To: dialogue <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - A Reply to Kperogi.doc
This message is from an external sender. Learn more about why this matters.
--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/01b501d51299%24a35cc580%24ea165080%24%40gmail.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/7DDF4367-0E6B-48D8-AF70-B6D7D42295F7%40austin.utexas.edu.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/CALUsqTR65yj%2B_4Oi1%3DsAKg3aOf-xjfTf0ET-cKgu%3DaTD7fDwBg%40mail.gmail.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/009d01d51662%24dac41fb0%24904c5f10%24%40gmail.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/1559235956639.97507%40indiana.edu.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
No comments:
Post a Comment