Please all those Awoist should read this excerpt from the man they are adore.

Soyinka breaks silence, says BIAFRA (Igbos) SUFFERED GENOCIDE during civil war

By News Express on 16/10/2012

For weeks, many people have wondered where Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka stands on the accusation of genocide against Igbos by the Nigerian Government during the 1967-70 civil war leveled by Prof. Chinua Achebe in his war memoir, There Was A Country.

Well, Soyinka (shown in photo) has finally spoken his mind and, interestingly, he agrees with Achebe that Biafrans, the bulk of whom were Igbos, were victims of genocide during the war.

In an interview he granted Britain’s authoritative Telegraph, the Nobel Prize winner described Biafrans as “people who’d been abused, who’d undergone genocide, and who felt completely rejected by the rest of the community, and therefore decided to break away and form a nation of its own.”

In the interview published last Friday, the interviewer Peter Godwin asked: “Professor Soyinka, you’re not an ivory-tower kind of writer. You are not a stranger to danger, and in fact you’ve been imprisoned on at least two occasions, once in solitary confinement. Can you tell me what that was like?”

Soyinka’s reply: “Writing in certain environments carries with it an occupational risk. When I was imprisoned, without trial, it was as a result of a position I took as a citizen. Of course I used my weapon, which was writing, to express my disapproval of the (Biafran) civil war into which we were about to enter. These were people who’d been abused, who’d undergone genocide, and who felt completely rejected by the rest of the community, and therefore decided to break away and form a nation of its own. Unfortunately, the nature of my imprisonment meant that I couldn’t practise my trade because I was in solitary confinement for 22 months out of the 27, and I was deprived of writing material. So I had to somehow break through the barriers, smuggle in toilet paper, cigarette paper, scribble a few poems, pass messages outside. I was able to undertake exercises to make sure that I emerged from prison intact mentally.”

The interview, which centred of Soyinka’s speech delivered last week at the Hay Festival in Mexico, was entitled “If religion was taken away I’d be happy”. In it, Soyinka condemned religious militancy and declared that now is the time to tackle Boko Haram, the Islamic militants who have been fomenting trouble in Nigeria.

News Express recalls that Prof. Achebe in his war memoirs subtitled ‘A Personal History of Biafra’ accused wartime Head of State Gen. Yakubu Gown and his Vice-Chairman and Finance Minister, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, of carrying out genocide against Igbos. The claim has been generating a lot of controversy, with many Yoruba commentators accusing Achebe of twisting history.

http://www.newsexpressngr.com/news/detail.php?news=437&title=Soyinka-breaks-silence%2C-says-BIAFRA-%28Igbos%29-SUFFERED-GENOCIDE-during-civil-war

On a serious note don't u guyz get tired of this whole civil war threads

And as usual, this man, Gani and Fela are the real greats from the West. A great man stands by the truth even under threat. A true legend.

hardywaltz: On a serious note don't u guyz get tired of this whole civil war threads

not until justice is done

Can the OP provide the link to the article?

This is sensationalism at its best - I doubt Wole Soyinka would agree with Achebe's bitter/fictional tales...

In an interview he granted Britain’s authoritative Telegraph, the Nobel Prize winner described Biafrans as “people who’d been abused, who’d undergone genocide, and who felt completely rejected by the rest of the community, and therefore decided to break away and form a nation of its own.”

http://www.newsexpressngr.com/news/detail.php?news=437&title=Soyinka-breaks-silence,-says-BIAFRA-(Igbos)-SUFFERED-GENOCIDE-during-civil-war

^^^^He was talking about what happened BEFORE the war, THE POGROMS, not what happened during the war...

Why do you guys like quoting people out of context to suit your stupidity? Don't drag him into this nonsense...

Learn how to read BASIC English next time, OP...

By News Express on 16/10/2012
That above is the source. @Shymexx

there will always be decent men in nigeria, even in the most unlikely places
wole soyinka is a gem in yoruba land

there are few of them there

shymexx:

^^^^He was talking about what happened BEFORE the war, THE POGROMS, not what happened during the war...

Why do you guys like quoting people out of context to suit your stupidity? Don't drag him into this nonsense...

Learn how to read BASIC English next time, OP...

even if that is true, how many of you yoruba agree that the pogroms was genocide?
don't most of you justify it as worthy reprisal for nzeogwu coup?

wole soyinka must be igbo.

Andre Uweh: By News Express on 16/10/2012
That above is the source. @Shymexx

The title is misleading...

The excerpt on Biafra was about what happened before the war, not during the war?? Or did you guys break away after the war?

re@lchange:

even if that is true, how many of you yoruba agree that the pogroms was genocide?
don't most of you justify it as worthy reprisal for nzeogwu coup?

wole soyinka must be igbo.

But did Yoruba people take part in the pogroms??

That's between you guys and those who committed the pogroms...

re@lchange:


even if that is true, how many of you yoruba agree that the pogroms was genocide?
don't most of you justify it as worthy reprisal for nzeogwu coup?

wole soyinka must be igbo.

Yorubas were not involved in the so called genocide so pls face your enemies across the Niger not Yorubas

shymexx:

But did Yoruba people take part in the pogroms??

That's between you guys and those who committed the pogroms...

And who are those that committed the pogroms?

shymexx:

^^^^He was talking about what happened BEFORE the war, THE POGROMS, not what happened during the war...

Why do you guys like quoting people out of context to suit your stupidity? Don't drag him into this nonsense...

Learn how to read BASIC English next time, OP...

Yes, he was indeed. Many on NL are simply too young to know about the train journeys from the North to the East conveying severely maimed Easterners. Some others simply choose to be mischievous. Let us work together so that such events never occur in Nigeria again. God bless Nigeria.

shymexx:

But did Yoruba people take part in the pogroms??

That's between you guys and those who committed the pogroms...

show me one yoruba in nairaland that condemns the pogroms
even your top posters here like katsumoto and the like justify it

tunnytox:

Yorubas were not involved in the so called genocide so pls face your enemies across the Niger not Yorubas

want me to pull that article with "Igbo ni wan, Igbo ni wan!" in lagos as the pogrom raged?
don't try me

I Don’t Believe In Talking Plenty, As An Igboman, I Must Confess Am Disappointed With My People. Have We Igbos Learned Any lessons From The War= The Answer Is Hell Nooooo. Till date we leave our region and flood to other parts of the country/world to invest, leaving our region/people in misery. There is no crime investing outside, but charity begins at home.

Flooding The Net With Biafra Rants Wont Solve Any Of Our Problems. The Change Starts With everyone Of Us. We Are Not Even United To Start With. Some Igbo States Still Think They Are Better or Smarter Than Others. Some Stupid Igbo People Still Think Osu Are Inferior To Them In This Modern Age And Time. Each Time I Raise This Topic Some People Think Am Osu thats why am very concerned? Hell No I Am A Free Born From A Royal Family, But I Hate The Way We Mistreat Our Brothers Calling Them Osu. I Dont Know What Makes Them Inferior To Us, Whatever Their Fore Fathers Did Centuries Ago Does Not Hold Water Today. I Am Saying This Bc I Travel Alot And I Have Been Racially Abused By Europeans And Asians And I Know How It Feels.

We Need To Sort Ourselves At Home Before Talking About Who Is Oppressing Us. If We Unite Together And Get Our Businessmen To Invest Mainly In The East Then We Would Be A Force To Reckon With In Africa. For Now We Are Not Serious. My Late Father fought the war, he told me the whole story, supporting Igbo or Yoruba will not bring my dad back.

WHY CHINUA ACHEBE IS STILL ANGRY

Snippets from Chinua Achebe’s memoirs on Biafra-‘There was a country’, has already began to generate controversies. The most unfortunate part of this controversy is its ethnic dimension, Yoruba vs Igbo. Prominent Yoruba leaders believe that the good name of their icon Chief Obafemi Awolowo is being toiled with, while Igbo leaders feel that Professor Chinua Achebe said what needed to be said. Other Nigerians from my generation and younger are probably like ‘what the F%&&$k??’

Of course I did not experience the Biafran war but my parents did and so I have ‘indirectly’ re-lived their various war experiences.
My father was born and bred in Lagos during the 1940s, he grew up on Lagos Island, Lafiaji to be precise and his mastery of the Yoruba language was and still is flawless. My mother was born in Lagos too and her Yoruba also flawless. The war broke out long before my parents even met each other but they both had distinct life changing experiences.

[b]As at the time Biafra was declared, my father was a young banker in Lagos, a bachelor and a typical ‘Eko for show’ fun loving guy. As soon as my father noticed the suspicion his presence elicited among his Yoruba hosts he quickly moved to a new location and wait for it...changed his name. My father became known as Mr Johnson in his new location, spoke his Yoruba even more fluently and being very dark skinned no one could mistaken him for an Igbo.

But eventually, he was ‘outed’ by a former neighbour; his story is that in spite of Federal government’s stance on unity, there were some rogue ‘unknown Northern soldiers’ who were fond of rounding up Igbos in Lagos and summarily executing them. And these soldiers did come to Mr Johnson’s compound, all my Dad could remember on that fateful morning was sounds of people outside shouting, [size=14pt]“Igbo ni wan, Igbo ni wan.”[/size] He quickly made for the back door balcony of his first floor apartment, and jumped out dislocating his right leg in the process. He then limped towards the back fence and scaled over it, still landing with the same dislocated leg. My dad describes the pain as ‘unbelievable’ but he escaped, that’s why I’m here today. He still walks with a limp till this day.[/b]

On my mother’s side, she and her family ran out of Lagos and moved to her father’s house in Port-Harcourt, thinking it was a safe haven. Port Harcourt quickly fell to Federal forces and they all moved to their ancestral home in the present Imo state. What my maternal family experienced in their own village was probably worse than all her experiences with the non-Igbos combined.

Apparently, returnee Igbos from outside the Eastern region were discriminated against by their own people. Back then, Igbos weren’t fond of building solid houses in their villages, many had built their houses in Lagos, Port Harcourt and the North. And so, as my mum and her family became penniless returnee Igbos, many people within her community who even benefitted from her family’s pre war benevolence mocked them. They said things like, “Foolish people, you all went to build houses on foreign lands, why didn’t you carry the houses on your heads and bring it over?”

The Biafran soldiers on the other hand were something else, young boys were summarily conscripted into the army. Molestation by Biafran soldiers was so rampant that young girls were advised to make themselves ugly and smelly on their way to the market so that soldiers will not find them attractive.


So, as it were, the Federal government slapped Biafrans on one cheek and the Biafran authorities also slapped Biafrans on the other cheek. But the most decisive slapped ended up being the ‘food blockade’ allegedly designed and implemented by Chief Obafemi Awolowo. I heard stories of how thousands of ‘Aje butter’ Biafran children died off within weeks into the food blockade.

Chinua Achebe’s position is that this singular action eventually wiped off over two million people mainly children and can safely be termed as genocide. Those on Awolowo’s side believe that it was a ‘necessary evil’ needed to make the war end quickly; afterall, how can you feed your enemies? Giving them energy to keep on fighting you.

Both schools of thought are correct.

We have seen wars in Africa that have lasted for over fifteen years, but the Biafra war lasted for just three years. Ironically, many of the ‘long term’ wars in Africa boasted of casualties in their thousands while the Nigerian Civil war of just three years posted a ‘gallant’ figure of over two million dead.

I feel Chinua Achebe’s pains; a man that lived to see an entire promising generation wiped out right in from him. I understand Obafemi Awolowo’s stance, ‘the war just needed to end quickly so that the nation can move on.’

However, the question is, could there have been a better way to end the war? What if the ‘Aburi accord’ had been strictly adhered to? What if the South west region which today is the most vocal on the call for a sovereign national conference stood by the Eastern region back then and demanded for true federalism or con-federalism? I have never met Chinua Achebe and maybe I never will, but I’m thinking these are some of the thoughts that haunt him every day. Especially when he looks at todays Nigeria and the persistent calls for true federalism by many, including ‘descendants’ and ‘followers’ of Awolowo.

I’m an Igbo man and I guess I 'deserve' the right to be biased about this issue. However, I strongly believe that all the parties involved in the Nigerian civil war meant well for the Nigerian nation. Although, there’s a popular saying that ‘the road to hell is filled with good intentions.’

Did the deliberate food blockade on Biafra lead to a quick end to the Nigerian civil war? It did, Chief Obafemi Awolowo was right.

Did this deliberate food blockade also lead to the untimely deaths or genocide of over two million Biafrans? Yes it did. Chinua Achebe is right.

Unfortunately, many still believe that the word ‘Genocide’ is only appropriate when the instrument of death used are gas chambers, guns and machetes.

Starvation is also an instrument of death and unlike others; it’s very slow and extremely painful.

http://mrstanleynwabia..com/2012/10/therewas-indeed-country-why-chinua.html

Ricky_Ross: I Don’t Believe In Talking Plenty, As An Igboman, I Must Confess Am Disappointed With My People. Have We Igbos Learned Any lessons From The War= The Answer Is Hell Nooooo. Till date we leave our region and flood to other parts of the country/world to invest, leaving our region/people in misery. There is no crime investing outside, but charity begins at home.

Flooding The Net With Biafra Rants Wont Solve Any Of Our Problems. The Change Starts With everyone Of Us. We Are Not Even United To Start With. Some Igbo States Still Think They Are Better or Smarter Than Others. Some Stupid Igbo People Still Think Osu Are Inferior To Them In This Modern Age And Time. Each Time I Raise This Topic Some People Think Am Osu thats why am very concerned? Hell No I Am A Free Born From A Royal Family, But I Hate The Way We Mistreat Our Brothers Calling Them Osu. I Dont Know What Makes Them Inferior To Us, Whatever Their Fore Fathers Did Centuries Ago Does Not Hold Water Today. I Am Saying This Bc I Travel Alot And I Have Been Racially Abused By Europeans And Asians And I Know How It Feels.

We Need To Sort Ourselves At Home Before Talking About Who Is Oppressing Us. If We Unite Together And Get Our Businessmen To Invest Mainly In The East Then We Would Be A Force To Reckon With In Africa. For Now We Are Not Serious. My Late Father fought the war, he told me the whole story, supporting Igbo or Yoruba will not bring my dad back.

thank you for a sound lesson! gbam!

re@lchange:


want me to pull that article with "Igbo ni wan, Igbo ni wan!" in lagos as the pogrom raged?
don't try me

Go ahead mate! Igbos were not killed or harmed in the SW even during the war.

shymexx:

^^^^He was talking about what happened BEFORE the war, THE POGROMS, not what happened during the war...

Why do you guys like quoting people out of context to suit your stupidity? Don't drag him into this nonsense...

Learn how to read BASIC English next time, OP...

Coming from you, I won't be surprised? Perfect case of pot calling kettle black; you do same thing and then turn around to accuse others. I need to archive this post because when NEXT you quote out of context like you've done on numerous occasion, I will call you out based on your own admission (by your post).

tunnytox:

Go ahead mate! Igbos were not killed or harmed in the SW even during the war.

do you still believe that after reading the article?

Here is the quote:

Wole Soyinka Writing in certain environments carries with it an occupational risk. When I was imprisoned, without trial, it was as a result of a position I took as a citizen. Of course I used my weapon, which was writing, to express my disapproval of the [Biafran] civil war into which we were about to enter. These were people who’d been abused, who’d undergone genocide, and who felt completely rejected by the rest of the community, and therefore decided to break away and form a nation of its own. Unfortunately, the nature of my imprisonment meant that I couldn’t practise my trade because I was in solitary confinement for 22 months out of the 27, and I was deprived of writing material. So I had to somehow break through the barriers, smuggle in toilet paper, cigarette paper, scribble a few poems, pass messages outside. I was able to undertake exercises to make sure that I emerged from prison intact mentally.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/hay-festival/9600954/Wole-Soyinka-If-religion-was-taken-away-Id-be-happy.html

His claim is that they suffered genocide BEFORE the civil war, rather than during it.

ekt_bear: Here is the quote:


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/hay-festival/9600954/Wole-Soyinka-If-religion-was-taken-away-Id-be-happy.html

His claim is that they suffered genocide BEFORE the civil war, rather than during it.

the man was in jail during the war
he became a prisoner of conscience who supported biafras cause
you want him to spell it out for you
so that you awoists extremists will way -lay him and kill him in ijebu igbo
nice try!

re@lchange:


do you still believe that after reading the article?

The article does not indict the Yorubas in any way! Those people who were after the said banker 'mr Johnson' were NORTHERN SOLDIERS not Yorubas. Secondly, when soldiers with guns come to your house you're left with no option but to comply if you do not want to risk your own life, so those shouting 'Igbo ni won' are simply left with no choice.

tunnytox:
The article does not indict the Yorubas in any way! Those people who were after the said banker 'mr Johnson' were NORTHERN SOLDIERS not Yorubas. Secondly, when soldiers with guns come to your house you're left with no option but to comply if you do not want to risk your own life, so those shouting 'Igbo ni won' are simply left with no choice.

so they had no duty to protect their neighbor simply because the soldiers walked by
what is your duty to your neigbhor? smh

re@lchange:

He claims that they suffered:
a) genocide
b) X, Y and Z.

Then
c) they decided to secede.

He did not claim that they suffered genocide after deciding to secede.

If you are drawing other conclusions from the snippet I posted, then you simply don't know how to read the English language properly.

ekt_bear: re@lchange:

He claims that they suffered:
a) genocide
b) X, Y and Z.

Then
c) they decided to secede.

He did not claim that they suffered genocide after deciding to secede.

If you are drawing other conclusions from the snippet I posted, then you simply don't know how to read the English language properly.

maybe we should wait until he vindicates awo
this man is above tribal politics by miles
he is one of the very few yoruba like that
pls stop trying to belittle the man
awo cannot touch his shoes!

Where did I belittle the man? Kindly quote me.

re@lchange:


so they had no duty to protect their neighbor simply because the soldiers walked by
what is your duty to your neigbhor? smh

So if you're confronted by angry soldiers with guns ready to kill your main concern will be your neighbour's rather than your own life and that of your family?
Pls cut the crap mate!

ekt_bear: Where did I belittle the man? Kindly quote me.

You just got sucked into ibo mind bending game. I don't even know why you guys take these clowns seriously. I don't get into any serious debate with them, I just clown and make fun of them. These are people with serious case of low self esteem and insecurity. just look at what the post and the mundane nonsense they get obsessed with. They are eternally messed up mentally. What's the difference between ashebe and the ones on NL? Nothing, the mentality is the same.

re@lchange:


maybe we should wait until he vindicates awo
this man is above tribal politics by miles
he is one of the very few yoruba like that
pls stop trying to belittle the man
awo cannot touch his shoes!

Are you MAD? And who is this piece of shaite that will tell who can touch whoever's toes outside the cannibalistic iboland? Both Chief Awolowo the Great and Professor Wole Soyinka are eons and 1000000 light years of ojuku and Acheve, much less you dredgy scum of the earth to take their name to your putrid mouth! I wonder how the Federal troops did not notice you coward to plant a large bomb in your putrid mouth before detonating it.