As I was taking a walk in the quiet of early morning in my Ikeja, Lagos estate, a silver coloured jeep pulled to a stop beside me, the radiant face of my neighbour smiling broadly from the driver's seat, her golden dark skin glowing powerfully in a self satisfaction suffused by a sense of recently completed effort.
"Where are you coming from?" I asked.
"Balogun" she responded.
"The market?"
"Yes" she answered.
" Why did you not take me with you as I have told you to before? I really enjoyed the last time we went together. What have I done wrong?" I challenged.
That glowing smile still beaming at me, she responded "Okay, I"ll take you next time". Our discussion completed, she zoomed off.
That was Felicia Uchenna, my neighbour who sells food items in the community next to the estate and whose shop I visit when I'm on break from the universe of ideas and words I inhabit as a scholar, writer and publisher.
She is one of the people whose welfare Ayoola Tokunbo suggests is not my business in the context of APC demonization of Igbos in the last Lagos guber election after the party had lost to Labour, led by an Igbo man, in the Presidential elections.
"Outsider weeping more than the bereaved" as Ayoola put it.
At a Bruce Onobrakpeya art exhibition in Lagos, I saw this creature of delicate darkly fair skin, discussing art with a concentrated attention as I gazed at her exquisite proportions.
"Can I speak to her? What could I say?", "bright with the armpit dazzle of a lioness" is Christopher Okigbo's priceless evocation of that beauty which compels and awes at the same time.
That person who had so mesmerized me was Esther Nneka, an art curator whose physical presence and creative personality complements the visual force of the works of art she curates.
She is also one of those people whom Ayoola indicates are not my business in the context of APC anti-Igbo demonization.
After all, my name is nothing near "Chidi" or "Emeka" so whats my business with "awon to jokuta ma momi" "those who eat stones without drinking water," a half jocular, half mocking image of Igbo people as stated in Yoruba, alluding in ambivalent terms to ideas of Igbo resilience.
Ayoola suggested, by implication, that Igbos and myself do not share membership in the human family as fellow humans, that if I am human, they cannot be or must harbour in themselves a negligible percentage of humanity, unworthy of my identifying with them as members of the same species, so why should their pains concern me, his line of thought may be seen as implying.
How do I respond to such a style of thinking in the face of the memory of the gorgeous Igbo women I know, such as Nneka and Uchenna, in the light of my recollections of my mentor Virgina Ola, an Igbo woman who married a Yoruba man though her parents would have preferred an Igbo man, she a lecturer at the University of Benin whose counselling was crucial to my success in an academic program to which I did not want to belong, preferring self education to schooling but compelled into it by family pressure, Ola becoming my unofficial but dedicated guidance counsellor in hours of attention she gave me in her office where I could always call upon her even without an appointment, an unpaid role which a university ought to have paid staff for, counselling students as they navigate the intellectual and emotional challenges of schooling.
Romanus Egudu, Ogo Ofuani, Chinyere Okafor, Nkeonye Otakpor, Felix Okeke-Ezigbo, people of scintillating intellect and memorable pastoral attention to a student in a new universe represented by the university, all lecturers at the University of Benin, all Igbos, luminous in my firmament.
With such a history, how could I fail to see the bereaved, as Ayoola described the Igbos of Lagos in the face of political persecution, and myself, as the same person?
We do not see the faces in the hated crowd, as may be paraphrased a line in J. P Clark's "The Casualties", a poem about the Nigerian Civil War, which was centred in the Igbo heartland in its efforts to secede from Nigeria.
Pull back from the brink and see the faces in that crowd.
Those who light the fires that obscure the faces of those others you are invited to hate, are they in the same world as yourself?
When they are sick, do they que with the crowd in the public hospitals you have to visit?
Do they even go to private hospitals in the same country you share with them?
When they are having the best treatment money can buy in the US and Europe, do they take you along?
They don't beceause at that point you are not useful.
But when its time to remind you, in the name of empowering themselves to make more self caring trips outside the country, that your neighbour is not a human being like yourself, you become useful.
Thanks
Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju
As I was taking a walk in the quiet of early morning in my Ikeja, Lagos estate, a silver coloured jeep pulled to a stop beside me, the radiant face of my neighbour smiling broadly from the driver's seat, her golden dark skin glowing powerfully in a self satisfaction suffused by a sense of recently completed effort."Where are you coming from?" I asked."Balogun"" she responded."The market?""Yes" she answered." Why did you not take me with you as I have told you to before? I really enjoyed the last time we went together. What have I done wrong?" I challenged.That glowing smile still beaming at me, she responded "Okay, I"ll take you next time". Our discussion completed, she zoomed off.That was Felicia Uchenna, my neighbour who sells food items in the community next to the estate and whose shop I visit when I'm on break from the universe of ideas and words I inhabit as a scholar, writer and publisher.She is one of the people whose welfare Ayoola Tokunbo suggests is not my business in the context of APC demonization of Igbos in the last Lagos guber election after the party had lost to Labour, led by an Igbo man, in the Presidential elections."Outsider weeping more than the bereaved" as Ayoola put it.At a Bruce Onobrakpeya art exhibition in Lagos, I saw this creature of delicate darkly fair skin, discussing art with a concentrated attention as I gazed at her exquisite proportions."Can I speak to her? What could I say?", "bright with the armpit dazzle of a lioness" is Christopher Okigbo's priceless evocation of that beauty which compels and awes at the same time.That person who had so mesmerized me was Esther Nneka, an art curator whose physical presence complements the visual force of the works of art she curates.She is also one of those people whom Ayoola indicates are not my business in the context of APC anti-Igbo demonization.After all, my name is nothing near "Chidi" or "Emeka" so whats my business with "awon to jokuta ma momi" "those who eat stones without drinking water," a half jocular, half mocking image of Igbo people as stated in Yoruba, alluding in negative terms to ideas of Igbo resilience.Ayoola suggested, by implication, that Igbos and myself do not share membership in the human family as fellow humans, that if I am human, they cannot be or must harbour in themselves a negligible percentage of humanity , unworthy of my identifying with them as members of the same species, so why should their pains concern me, his line of thought may be seen as implying.How do I respond to such a style of thinking in the face of the memory of the gorgeous Igbo women I know, such as Nneka and Uchenna, in the light of my memory of my mentor Virgina Ola, an Igbo woman who married a Yoruba man though her parents would have preferred an Igbo woman, she a lecturer at the University of Benin whose counselling was crucial to my success in an academic program to which I did not want to belong, preferring self education to schooling but compelled into it by family pressure, Ola becoming my unofficial but dedicated guidance counsellor in hours of attention she gave me in her office where I could always call upon her even without an appointment, an unpaid role which a university ought to have paid staff for, counselling students as they navigate the intellectual and emotional challenges of schooling.Romanus Egudu, Ogo Ofuani, Chinyere Okafor, Nkeonye Otakpor, Felix Okeje-Ezigbo, people of scintillating intellect and memorable pastoral attention to a student in a new universe represented by the university, all lecturers at the University of Benin, all Igbos, luminous in my firmament.With such a history, how could I fail to see the bereaved, as Ayoola described the Igbos of Lagos in the face of political persecution, and myself, as the same person?We do not see the faces in the hated crowd, as may be paraphrased a line in J. P Clark's "The Casualties", a poem.about the Nigerian Civil War, which was centred in the Igbo heartland in its efforts to secede from Nigeria.Pull back from the brink and see the faces in that crowd.Those who light the fires that obscure the faces of those others you are invited to hate, are they in the same world as yourself?When they are sick, do they que with the crowd in the public hospitals you have to visit?Do they even go to private hospitals in the same country you share with them?When they are having the best treatment money can buy in the US and Europe, do they take you along?They don't beceause at that point you are not useful.But when its time to remind you, in the name of empowering themselves to make more self caring trips outside the country, that your neighbour is not a human being like yourself, you become useful.ThanksOluwatoyin Vincent AdepojuOn Tue, 25 Apr 2023, 7:24 am Oluwatoyin Adepoju, <ovdepoju@gmail.com> wrote:Ayoola Tokunbo,
In these lines''Outsider weeping more than the bereaved?''
Were you referring to me as an outsider, a non-Igbo person, ''weeping more than'' Igbo people, ''the bereaved''?
Please clarify because I would not want to have misread you.
Great thanks
toyin adepoju
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Oluwatoyin Adepoju <ovdepoju@gmail.com>
Sent: 22 April 2023 23:36
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - SATURDAY ESSAY:That Thought-Filled VP Yemi Osinbajo Speech - by Bolaji AlukoThe same old story.
'... the historical and grating Igbo sing-song of Lagos being "No Man's Land". The ensuing victory crowing, and the bending of LP gubernatorial candidate Chinedu Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour to his half-ethnic Igbo roots ''
Could you please provide evidence of this sir?
Anti-Igbo demonization is an old APC tactic.
What led to the Oba of Lagos declaring ''if Igbos dont vote for my candidate Ambode, I will throw them into the lagoon''?
Did Igbos crow about anything before that happened?
Was there any candidate with an Igbo mother or any kind of Igbo roots like Rhodes-Vivour on the ballot then?
Kadiri has insisted that he has a right to refer to intellectuals who obfuscate reality as dishonest intellectuals and he has been given support by at least one person in his declaration.
What name is to be given to those who keep chanting in rhythm to a political strategy whose allegations they cannot validate?
APC has successfully hoodwinked a good no of Yoruba people, including members of the Yoruba intelligentsia, through its ''they want to steal Lagos from us'' campaign.
But the real owners of Lagos are the people who defeated APC in the Presidential election.
Cosmopolitanists who are tired of the business as usual culture of APC and PDP.
Nobody knows tomorrow.
thanks
toyin
thanks
toyin
--On Sat, 22 Apr 2023 at 23:24, Mobolaji Aluko <alukome@gmail.com> wrote:
--*SATURDAY ESSAY:That Thought-Filled VP Yemi Osinbajo Speech*
Here are my several take-aways from his recent speech at NIPSS.
1. The Muslim-Muslim ticket of the APC caused unnecessary religious tension, when in fact seventeen other political parties were presenting their own mixed and singular religious and non-religious tickets, giving quite a latitude of alternative choices. Osinbajo's reference also to an intra-religious rivalry in politics was an oblique reference to hints of evangelical/non-evangelical, Anglican/Catholic preferments which Obi's political campaign engendered.
2. With the split of PDP into three mixed-religion tickets, clearly politics trumped religion, otherwise they should and would have come together to defeat the Muslim-Muslim ticket, whose almost nine-million majority votes were the only ones that passed constitutional muster.
3. Osinbajo spoke about his unhappiness with prophets. The only ones I heard were Christian political prophets prophesying an Obi/LP win and demonizing everyone else who supported anyone else, particularly the Muslim-Muslim ticket. For this Christian, that was most embarrassing.
4. Of the four main parties and personalities, two election results were clearly ethnically sectional: (i) Kwakwanso's NNPP in Kano State and (ii) Peter Obi's LP in the South-Eastern states. The other two candidates had healthy votes outside their geopolitical states of origin.
5. Finally, the rawest form of ethnic tensions to which Osinbajo referred occurred only in Lagos State between the Yoruba and Igbo, when the surprising loss of Lagos State in former governor Tinubu's presidential votes highlighted the historical and grating Igbo sing-song of Lagos being "No Man's Land". The ensuing victory crowing, and the bending of LP gubernatorial candidate Chinedu Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour to his half-ethnic Igbo roots leading to the March 18 guber election led to an indigenous Yoruba backlash. Rhodes-,Vivour's routing in that election, with the resounding win of the performing incumbent governor Babatunde Sanwoolu, were the outcome.
The above are the facts, as different from fantasy.
Bolaji AlukoApril 22, 2023
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