The Prof use of foul word can only tell how angered he his. Point on did ojukwu do half of what this BH boys are doing? :-XThe Prof use of foul word can only tell how angered he his. Point on did ojukwu do half of what this BH boys are doing?

Soyinka said if religion were to be taken away from the world, he would be one of the happiest people in the world.

Religion is evil.

Good one Soyinka! You alwayz say the truth

I wonder what the prof. said here now that warrants the dumb comments above,he said:

"the Igbo were victims of genocide during the three-year civil war, which was fought to break up Nigeria."

Of course this is a fact!

He equally said:

"now is the time to tackle Boko Haram, the insurgent group that has visited terror on the North, killing over 1,500 since 2009."

Meaning:- reasonable Nigerians should be talking of how to tackle boko haram which is the most critical issue on ground and not to be blabbing on the dead issues.The grammar here is simple na!

shymexx: He said BEFORE the war, not DURING the war...

Everyone knows Wole Soyinka don't really like the Northerners(born to rule mentality) and their religion - and I see why he's biased against them..

I didn't see how Soyinka backed/Opposed Achebe..........Soyinka never said Awolowo commited Genocide......pls where is the backing?


Not Many denied the fact that there was Genocide perpetrated by OJUKWU and GOWON.......



The bone of contention is ;

Awolowo,Because of his Political ambition to become the president starved the Biafrans which led to GENOCIDE

and Yoruba people said That is NOT True which Awolowo has already answered before his demise:::::::



Soyinka was talking about what led to the declaration of Biafra though,It can also mean what occur during the WAR.......



Shymexx, Soyinka has never been bias towards the north.....mayb u shd show me ?

Was dier any tribe like igbo, just askin , taut it was only hausa , yoruba we ve in dis country

Abali1: Please this should be taken to the front page. NL Mod, take note.

I was actually praying and wishing that people like this man(Soyinka) should come out and speak up.
I'm one of those that believe that using hunger as a strategy for winning wars is a crime against Humanity. No matter how much we argue this "Policy", the fact remains that Nigeria committed Genocide against the Biafrans (Igbos in particular).

PLS TRY TO DISPLAY OBJECTIVITYIN ALL YOUR ARGUMENTS, IT IS A SYMBOL OF HIGH LEVEL OF INTELLECTUALISM. WHO COMMITTED GENOCIDE, OJUKWU, BIAFRA OR NIGERIA. IF U DECIDE TO FIGHT WITH ME, HOW CAN U, AT THE SAME TIME EXPECT ME TO FEED U. FROM MY OWN LITTLE KNOWLEDGE OF LOGIC, IT IS NOT RATIONAL. SO, LOGICALLY SPEAKING, OJUKWU KILLED HIS IGBO KINSMEN.

IF THERE WAS NO WAR, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO STARVATION, PAIN, HUNGER, DEATH, ETC. WOULD U EXPECT YOUR ENEMY TO BE FEEDING U? IF U WOULD THEN LET US STOP OUR FIGHT, BUT OJUKWU WOULD RATHER RUN AWAY IN A WOMAN ATTIRE TO IVORY COAST LEAVING THE SO CALLED DYING CHILDREN AND HIS BRETHREN ON THE BATTLE FIELD. AND THIS ACHEBE, A MINISTER I=UNDER OJUKWU RAN TO AMERICA AND NOW WRITING BALDADASH FROM THERE CAUSING PROBLEM FOR HIS BRETHREN IN SW. IF WE DECIDE TO REPEAT.... HE WOULD NOW SAY YORUBA PEOPLE DO THIS OR THAT, HE WOUILD HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT @IT IS ONLY A BASTARD THAT USES LEFT HAND TO POINT TO HIS FATHER'S HOUSE'

£20BILLION:
He never back Achebe on Awolowo's involvement.

MY FRIEND HE DID DIPLOMATICALLY

shymexx: He said BEFORE the war, not DURING the war...

Everyone knows Wole Soyinka don't really like the Northerners(born to rule mentality) and their religion - and I see why he's biased against them..

So soyinka is now a hater of hausa ? to the extend you accused him of been bias toward northerners. This is a true sign that you most yoruba's are pure cowards both the educated ones and uneducated ones except Soyinka and few others among you. You people from south west should continue with your hypocrites and lip service just to please and find favor in the hand of your masters hausa/funanli.What a clear indication that hatred had blind all of you guys eyes. No one should dispute the fact that yoruba's are the real cause of disunite among southern Nigerians, how on earth can someone trust or plan things with a chameleon? IDIIOTS

tuasefemi:
"the Igbo were victims of genocide during the three-year civil war, which was fought to break up Nigeria."

Of course this is a fact!

Are you sure you can read? Are you quoting Wole Soyinka or the journalist? The actual quote from Wole Soyinka in the article is below:

“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.”

There is a reason it is surrounded by, wait for it, QUOTES.

There was no sentence to show that Soyinka backed the Achebe statement that 'Awolowo committed GENOCIDE against the IGBOs'

Yes, a lot of IGBO died but NO, Awolowo did not and is not responsible for their death!

where did he back him or am i not with my glasses?

9ja_I_hail:

Are you mad of something? Why do you quote me with the highlighted part? Am i soyinka or do i work with thisday newspaper, i even attached the link from where the statement was stated on this thread, How hard is it for you to click your mouse on the link and find out if it was stated on the news or not. If you quote me again for rubbish sake i maybe aggressive on my next respond to you.

Thanks.

Stop with your deception, you posted a dead and bogus link. We've discussed the same topic already and we don't need another topic written by some crooked ibo writer with added fake jara.


Some of us know how to read and comprehend and there is nothing in this worthless story to justify the title.

You people abuse your posting privileges on NL by insulting our intelligence with these fake and deceptive stories...

logica: Please respond very aggressively. E no go better for you if you don't.

...... THUG nie bobo i ahahahahahaha...........my belle wan tear ooooo...........dat ''e no go better for U'' really catch me!!!

Blind loyalty is a feature of d military & the military is a moronic establishment(obey d last command?)
Shame some of us are looking 4wod 2 barks of "lep...ai !" 4rm their 'leaders' b4 dey hold an opinion.

God bless Achebe,God bless Soyinka.Long live the literati.The skeptic are free to rush to hell.Awolowo was a villain, and suffered from Igbophobia

Soyinka is one Yoruba man that i have a lot of respect for. He can bare his mind not minding who is hurt. Ride on Soyinka

Blind loyalty is a feature of d military & the military is a moronic establishment(obey d last command?)
Shame some of us are holding on to barks of "lep...ai !" 4rm their 'leaders' as their personal opinion.

Eko Ile:



Stop with your deception, you posted a dead and bogus link. We've discussed the same topic already and we don't need another topic written by some crooked ibo writer with added fake jara.

You're not even ashamed of yourself http://www.channelstv.com/home/2012/10/17/the-igbos-were-a-victim-of-genocide-wole-soyinka/

Ebube_Gid: Tribalism has been the enemy of nigeria. we always support our tribesmen on issues whether they are right or wrong. it's very hard to find nigerians who live their lives without prejudice and tribal sentiments. Soyinka is one of the rare nigerians who is not controlled by this. LONG LIVE TO YOU SOYINKA.

The truth is always bitter.

Long live Soyinka, you are the best out of ur tribe.

Soyinka is correct. Awolowo favoured only the yorubas and impoverished the Easterners. Only 20 pounds to the Easterners millionaire after the war, irrespective of how much you got in the bank. This is wickedness, history should not be swept under the carpet. Awo tried for the Yorubas but his actions against the Easterners still looms, the yorubas ought to apologize on his behalf. QED. Thanks Achebe & Soyinka. Lets be patriotic and stand for the truth always, it could be your region tomorrow.

Soyinka is perhaps the only Yoruba person that I know who has clearly risen about tribalism and as such I respect him a lot.

afam4eva: Soyinka is one Man i respect. He's a man that will always speak the truth and damn the consequences.

Here is the full text of the interview. See how Nigerian Journalists can mislead Nigerians. This a cruel motive


[img]Wole Soyinka: 'If religion was taken away I'd be happy'
The Nobel prize-winner Wole Soyinka spoke this week at the Hay Festival in Mexico. In an extract from his talk, he tells Peter Godwin that now’s the time to tackle militants in Nigeria.

Wole Soyinka: We must stop pussyfooting around Islamic militants Photo: Daniel Mordzinski
By Peter Godwin7:00AM BST 12 Oct 20121 Comment
Peter Godwin 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?
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.
PG There have been high hopes for some African leaders after they were elected – Meles in Ethiopia, or Museveni in Uganda, or Kagame in Rwanda – but who then went to to show a more authoritarian bent. Are you an Afro-optimist or an Afro-pessimist?
WS I’m an Afro-realist. I take what comes, and I do my best to affect what is unacceptable in society. I’ve remarked how similar in many ways Mexico is to Nigeria, and to a number of places: we have the same condition of unstructured, unpredictable violence, both from the state and from what I call the quasi-state. Whether the quasi-state is formed, as its basis, of theocratic tendencies, or secular ideological rigidity, you always have forces, even outside the state, competing for the domination of people. That’s what’s happening on the African continent today. That’s what’s been happening in the Arab states and what led eventually to the Arab Spring. Gradually people come to the recognition after decades of supine submission that they are not whole as human beings.
PG Your parents were Christians, Anglicans, I understand. How has your own religious belief evolved?
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WS I consider myself very fortunate. I was raised in a Christian environment in Abeokuta, but another side of me was very much enmeshed in African values. I gravitated towards what I saw was a cohesive system of a certain relationship of human beings to environment, a respect for humanity in general. I came through a traditional system, where children not only had rights, but had responsibility. In the European world today, especially in America, it seems to be forbidden for children to have responsibilities…
I gravitated towards a deeper knowledge of the orisha, which represents the Yoruba pantheon, very similar in many ways to the Greek pantheon. You have reprobate deities, beneficent deities. I found that more honest than a kind of unicellular deity of either Christianity or Islam.
I don’t know if you’ve been following the news, but just a few days ago some of these Islamic fundamentalists butchered close to 50 students of a technical college. I cannot imagine the religion I was brought up in having such complete contempt for human lives. And yet these are supposed to be the world religions. So that’s why I consider myself rather fortunate that I’ve been able to see what other religions had to offer.
PG How should Nigeria deal with the Boko Haram, the Islamic militants in the north of the country?
WS All religions accept that there is something called criminality. And criminality cannot be excused by religious fervour. Let me repeat something I first said at the meeting organised by Unesco a few weeks ago, which was prompted by the recent film insulting the religion of Islam and depicting the Prophet Mohammed in a very crass way.
The first thing to say is that we do not welcome any attempt to ravage religious sensibilities. That can be taken for granted. But you cannot hold the world to ransom simply because some idiot chose to insult a religion in some far off place which most of the world has never even heard of. This for me is a kind of fundamentalist tyranny that should be totally unacceptable. So a group calls itself the Boko Haram, literally: “Book is taboo”, the book is anathema, the book is a product of Western civilisation, therefore it must be rejected.
You go from the rejection of books to the rejection of institutions which utilise the book, and that means virtually all institutions. You attack universities, you kill professors, then you butcher students, you close down primary schools, you try and create a religious Maginot Line through which nothing should penetrate. That’s not religion; that’s lunacy. My Christian family lived just next door to Muslims. We celebrated Ramadan with Muslims; they celebrated Christmas with Christians. This is how I grew up. And now this virus is spreading all around the world, leading to the massacre of 50 students. This is not taking arms against the state, this is taking up arms against humanity.
PG Is freedom of expression something you see as a universal right rather than as some Western construct?
WS There are many cultures on the African continent where days are set aside, days of irreverence where you can say anything you want about an all-powerful monarch or chief. It’s a safety valve. It’s a recognition of freedom of expression, which perhaps has not been exercised, and bottled up grievances; this is the day when you express your grievances in society. So there is no society, really, which does not boast some form or measure of freedom of expression. Now, it’s true that freedom of expression carries with it an immense responsibility. Well that is why laws of libel exist – that when you carry things too far, you can be hauled up before the community, and judged to see whether you are right to call somebody a thief, or a hypocrite, and damage his reputation. But unless you establish that principle of freedom of expression, we might all just go around with a padlock on our lips.
Audience member I read somewhere my freedom ends where your freedom begins. In Europe there have been cartoonists who have mocked the Prophet. Should they limit their freedom of speech?
WS Religion is also freedom of expression. People want to express themselves spiritually. And they also exercise the right to try and persuade others into their own system of belief. Those nations that say it’s a crime to preach your religion are making a terrible mistake. All they’re doing is driving underground other forms of spiritual intuitions and practices.
If religion was to be taken away from the world completely, including the one I grew up with, I’d be one of the happiest people in the world. My only fear is that maybe something more terrible would be invented to replace it, so we’d better just get along with what there is right now and keep it under control.
The unrest which is taking place as a result of Boko Haram, in my view, has attained critical mass. When a movement reaches that state of total contempt even for universal norms, it is sending a message to the rest of the world, and to the rest of that nation, that this is a war to the end. The president of Nigeria is making a mistake in not telling the nation that it should place itself on a war footing. There’s too much pussyfooting, there’s too much false intellectualisation of what is going on, such as this is the result of corruption, this is the result of poverty, this is the result of marginalisation. Yes, of course, all these negativities have to do with what is happening right now. But when the people themselves come out and say we will not even talk to the president unless he converts to Islam, they are already stating their terms of conflict.[/img]

afam4eva:
You're not even ashamed of yourself http://www.channelstv.com/home/2012/10/17/the-igbos-were-a-victim-of-genocide-wole-soyinka/

Ode, this is the dead and bogus link your brother posted, not the one you posted with your rescue mission...

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/soyinka-backs-achebe-on-civil-war-memoir/127


Even with the link you posted, show us where WS said anything relating to the title...


Idi/otic as usual...

Geomac:

Either before, during or after the war, he has made his points

That's his opinion and he's entitled to it...

However, stop asserting that he 'backs' Achebe's fictional tales - that's misleading...

You guys just like to pick and choose whatever suits you, things don't work that way...

he was refering to the pre war events not during d war or even after............ this is off point< i tot its about awolowos involvement in genocide.

donroxy:
Shymexx, Soyinka has never been bias towards the north.....mayb u shd show me ?

I didn't say he backed Achebe, I was just putting his words in the context in which he made them... The genocide is debatable, however, he asserted that it was before the war(pogroms) - that was my point...

I've read tons of articles written by Wole Soyinka - and I know there's no love lost between him and the Northerners(and their way of life/religion)...

Btw, I'm Yoruba..

[size=20pt]This the full interview from UK Telegraph. Click the link[/size]

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

afam4eva:
You're not even ashamed of yourself http://www.channelstv.com/home/2012/10/17/the-igbos-were-a-victim-of-genocide-wole-soyinka/

@AFAM. Why are you brothering yourself giving more link to this brainless IKO MUGU. His conscience is too little to accept the truth rather he will resolve to kill the messenger instead dealing with the message itself.I can't stop singling out soyinka while describing south western Nigerians as cowards. In fact this people i am talking about is capable to win noble prize for cowardice.