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Obasanjo, An Overgrown Child Of Circumstance -Soyinka..... / Obasanjo Is An Overgrown Child Of Circumstance –prof. Wole Soyinka New Book, / Soyinka To Obasanjo: You Are An Overgrown Child Of Circumstance (2) (3) (4)
Obasanjo, An Overgrown Child Of Circumstance – Soyinka by ODUBEZE: 1:24am On Oct 28, 2015 |
The Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has
described former President Olusegun Obasanjo as
an overgrown child of circumstance.
Soyinka sharply criticised Obasanjo in his (Nobel
laureate’s) new book, titled InterInventions:
Between Defective Memory and the Public Lie – A
Personal Odyssey in the Republic of Liars,
presented in Abeokuta, Ogun State on Saturday.
Although Soyinka conceded that he used to be
friendly with Obasanjo and admitted in the book
that some stakeholders were making efforts to
reconcile them, he said he owed it a responsibility
to fundamentally respond to lies that Obasanjo
allegedly told against him in his latest biography,
titled, My Watch, described in InterInventions as
Three-Carat Watch.
Soyinka, who in the book also critically takes on
the likes of former Osun State Governor,
Olagunsoye Oyinlola; and veteran critic, Prof.
Chinweizu, wrote, quoting a Yoruba proverb, “The
child that swears his mother will not sleep must
also prepare for a prolonged, sleepless infancy.
So, let it be with Okikiola, the overgrown child of
circumstance.
”I brainstormed with him over meals both when
he was military Head of State – in Dodan
Barracks and in his home, Ota – for some time
after he left office and early in Aso Rock at his
‘second coming.’ Today, it is a different situation.
If he offered to host me, I would wait until he had
first swallowed a morsel from the same dish.
“I had fully attuned myself to the fact that our
Owu retiree soldier and prolific author is an
infliction that those of us who share the same era
and nation space must learn to endure. However,
it does appear to me that there is no end to this
individual’s capacity for infantile mischief, and for
needless, mind-boggling provocations, such as
his recent ‘literary’ intrusion on my peace.
He added that part of the intervention the elders
made was a ‘cordial’ conversation he had with
Obasanjo recently.
According to the Nobel laureate, he, during the
conversation, commended Obasanjo for the
creative way he had developed the Olusegun
Obasanjo Presidential Library, which Soyinka,
however, described as a Presidential Laundromat
and a product of executive extortion.
He added that he discussed the possibility of a
collaboration with the facility.
But Soyinka, who chronicled the various places
his path had met with that of Obasanjo since
childhood, insisted that the lies in which the
former President allegedly thrived were so
unthinkable that he and some other people had
started working on another book solely focusing
on Obasanjo.
He questioned the godliness to which Obasanjo
professed and claimed that the former President
indulged in identity theft.
“Our author invokes God tirelessly, without
provocation, without necessity and without
justification, perhaps preemptively, but does he
really believe in such an entity? Does our home-
bred Double-O-Seven believe in anything outside
his own Omnipotence? Could he possibly have
mistaken the Christian exhortation – ‘Watch and
Pray’ – for his own private inclination to ‘Watch
and Prey? This is a seasoned predator on others’
achievements. He preys on their names, their
characters, their motivations, their true lives;
preys on gossip and preys on contributions to
collective undertakings – even preys on their
identities, substituting his own where possible.”
In the book, Soyinka also commented on the
controversy over the ownership and leadership of
the board of the Centre for Culture and
International Understanding, over which he and
Oyinlola recently exchanged words.
He and a former Corpa Marshal and Chief
Executive of the Federal Road Safety Commission,
Dr. Olu Agunloye, also challenged Major Rasaki
Salawu (retd.), who recently claimed that it was
he – and not Soyinka – that formed the
commission.
At the public presentation of the book, Soyinka
said that he was poised to draw blood with it.
The inauguration of the Soyinka Foundation, held
at the MKO Abiola Cultural Centre, Kuto, attracted
dignitaries that included the Ogun State Governor,
Senator Ibikunle Amosun; his Edo State
counterpart, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, who came in
company with his wife, Lara; former governors of
Ekiti, Rivers and Cross River states, Dr. Kayode
Fayemi, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi and Mr. Donald Duke
While the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun
Gbadebo, also graced the occasion, at the the
programme that featured readings and
performances were scholars/writers such Profs JP
Clark, Biodun Jeyifo and Remi Raji; Odia Ofeimun
and Kunle Ajibade.
Amosun commended Soyinka and the organisers
of the event for the initiative and promised to
support it.
Efforts to get Obasanjo’s reaction failed as one of
his aides said the former President had travelled
to Ivory Coast to monitor elections.
- PUNCH. |
Re: Obasanjo, An Overgrown Child Of Circumstance – Soyinka by BALLOSKI: 1:32am On Oct 28, 2015 |
1 Like 1 Share |
Re: Obasanjo, An Overgrown Child Of Circumstance – Soyinka by FastShipping: 1:39am On Oct 28, 2015 |
I can't wait to read the book. 1 Like |
Re: Obasanjo, An Overgrown Child Of Circumstance – Soyinka by pat077: 2:49am On Oct 28, 2015 |
Okay. |
Re: Obasanjo, An Overgrown Child Of Circumstance – Soyinka by pallybrown(m): 5:08am On Oct 28, 2015 |
that's designer's name for him 1 Like |
(1) (Reply)
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