Ololade Bamidele (and everyone):
Please next time you post a link, give a snippet of the story. I am almost sure that many did not react to this story of Ngugi wa'Thiongo because they did not even know the contents. I personally don't read links that don't provide a summary of what is in there. Here are my takes (and concerns) about the story - with some annotations:
1. That the famous Ngugi wa Thiong'o physically abused his first wife (really?);
2. The first wife died in 1995 (and what were the circumstances?);
3. He remarried one Mrs. Njeri;
4. The union got them two children;
5. He and the second wife separated (who knows whether more physical and/or emotional abuse took place as well);
6. The 53-year old son of the first wife, who is himself a professor of literature at Cornell, is concerned that his mother has been wiped out of notice in the life of Mr. Ngugi wa Thiong'o (I read this is not the first time he would sound this clarion call about the situation but no one seems to give any attention);
7. The 86 year old currently lives alone in Irvine, California; and
8. The octogenarian currently suffers from kidney ailments.
I am concerned about everything, but more concerned about #1, #7 and #8 above.
A. Personally, I am surprised to hear this. I have always seen the famous writer to be gentle, human and serious. To learn that he physically abused his first wife bothers me a whole lot. But, I am also aware of Chimanda Ngozi Adichie's warning obout the "danger of a single story." I hope one of Mr. Thiong'o wards would please respond to this serious accusation.
B. If it is true that the octogenarian lives alone at 86 and suffers from some kidney ailments, could someone (guild of African writers, fellow scholars, Tanzanian Academy of Letters, etc., etc) please intervene before we hear the all-too-common news of another big tree falling in the ever-receding forest of the African academy? It's easy to start writing about them at death, after all, as the Yoruba saying goes, "Ìgbà a kú làá dère . . ." (humans are often canonized only after death). But why not do something now and let this man know how much he is loved in life?
Just thinking out loud!
MOA
On Thursday, March 14, 2024 at 12:30:52 AM GMT+1, 'Ololade Bamidele' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> wrote:
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