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Abati Dissects Soyinka's Book #interinventions. by RexTramadol1: 3:47pm On Nov 07, 2015 |
Wole Soyinka: A sojourner among liars
By Reuben Abati
Professor Wole Soyinka was quoted saying his
latest book is the “nastiest” that he has written so
far. InterInventions: Between Defective Memory
and the Public Lie- A Personal Odyssey in The
Republic of Liars (Ibadan: Bookcraft, 2015,
136pp) is quite close to being just that. But who
knows if an even nastier book may follow as
Soyinka embarks on the task of exposing lies in
our Republic as he has promised that
InterInventions, a follow up to Interventions series
(I-IV) will be dedicated solely to the dismantling of
lies in the public space: malicious and non-
malicious lies, lies told, lies magnified, lies
fraudulent, murderous lies, accidental lies,
uttered from depraved minds whose sole
intention is to create burdens for their victims,
malign, impugn and lower the other so they can
be raised or their stomachs can be nourished at
other’s expense.
This is nevertheless, a publication in which
Professor Soyinka settles strictly personal scores,
but this is no pamphleteering that he modestly
alludes to, but a fine, extended essay in the
distinguished tradition of that form. He is
polemical, punchy and critical – without mercy or
measure! There is no deceit, no pulling of
punches, not much of deliberate concealment; it
is Soyinka wielding a Bazooka in one hand, and a
gilt-edged knife in the other, shooting down the
hypocrisy and pretensions of representative
figures in a Republic of Liars, where defective
memory, an affliction worse than amnesia, but
much closer to dementia, and psychosis, is
standard fare. He deploys language dramatically
and draws blood even if his mood remains
charismatic and entertaining as he laughs at
human folly, and the verminous antics of his
named and shamed traducers.
The writer focuses on his personal experiences as
a victim of the burden of being lied to, being lied
against and being pushed to defend his right not
to be lied against, but his theme is probably far
more important than his content and mood. He
ends up inviting us to think further about a social
malaise, a missing, distorted, disjointed ethical
link, and so his subjects – including Obasanjo,
Chinweizu, Adewale Maja-Pearce, Peter Enahoro,
Major Salawu, Gbenga Daniel, Abiola Ogundokun,
Olagunsoye Oyinlola – rise off the pages, as
illustrative archetypes of a hydra-headed crisis at
the heart of society, namely how self-delusion,
ego, power and an obsessive, compulsive,
alimentary propensity turns adults into liars.
Other associated themes along this line of moral
exhortation will include the sheer uncertainty of
life, the unpredictability of human character, and
the near-helplessness of victims in a nation of
fabulists.
Thus, the entire narrative is organic, with the
humanistic import of the content, imbued with a
personal orientation as it were, taking us closer to
larger questions of ethics, humanity, the
inviolability of truth. Man and his foibles is the
central subject of inquiry invariably; there is a
certain universality in the tendency of man,
including those who quote the Bible with
practised ease, to be nasty and brutish. I
recommend this book for everyone’s reading
pleasure and instruction. It is quite affordable,
only N1, 000 per copy, and certainly, a
temptingly quotable book – more so as the reader
is reassured by the author’s statement of
indemnity. Here goes: “My publishers are hereby
fully indemnified by me against court processes,
as well as the consequences of any libel suits that
may arise from this maiden number of the
InterInventions series” (p.93). The stoutly
flagellated figures in the book, who are described
as “the greatest public liars I have ever known”,
thus ridiculed have every reason to be angry but
obviously, Soyinka in taking his pound of flesh
cannot be bothered.
There can be no greater denigration to be sought
beyond his depiction of former President
Olusegun Obasanjo, as the philosopher-king who
is “an overgrown child of circumstance;” “Double-
O-Seven”, “an infliction”, “a hypocrite”, and
“irredeemable egomaniac” or Chinweizu as
“Chichidodo”, a bird that feeds on shit, or
Adewale Maja-Peace as “the area-boy of letters”;
or Peter Pan as “lying, opportunistic,
contemptible”; Olagunsoye Oyinlola as “the Prince
of Darkness”; Gbenga Daniel as “DaaniElebo”.
Professor, ki lo de? Or when of Maja-Pearce, whom
he calls “Ade-Boy!”, the writer says: “It is a time
to remind him that the stern rod of Ogun awaits
all lying tongues.” (p.38). Professor, ewo ni t’epe!
Of Abiola Ogundokun, Soyinka thunders: “Of all
the loathsome lumps of slime that ever oozed
from the sump of human depravity to aspire to
human form, none comes close to the two-legged
parasite that goes by the name of Abiola
Ogundokun”. Whaa-a-t? And in taking on Major
Rasaki Salawu, he says “Howu Salawu” – a vocalic
alliteration which cryptically summarises the
subject-matter; a considerable part of the book is
devoted to a profiling of the self-same Salawu in a
manner that evokes shame or the equivalent of a
mortal decapitation. Soyinka’s anti-heroes owe
themselves a duty to say something in self-
defence, for the naming and shaming tends to
stick, with all the stamp and authoritativeness of
the inimitable WS. Audi alteram partem.
Which is why I was surprised that President
Olusegun Obasanjo in a reported interview with
The Punch, made light of it:
Reporter: While you were away from the country,
your friend Prof. Wole Soyinka inaugurated (sic) a
book in which he called you a child of
circumstance.
OBJ: (Talking in Yoruba: Se o so be?) Meaning: Did
he say so?
Reporter: He even said he won’t eat any food you
give him without you eating from the food first.
OBJ: (Continues in Yoruba: Mi o mo o)Ehnhenhn? I
don’t know.
Obasanjo irritated by the Soyinka questions, gets
up and walks out of his study during the
interview…but the reporter keeps throwing
questions at him.
Reporter: Why are the two of you always
quarrelling?
OBJ: Kini wahala yin? (What is your problem?)
Indeed, what is our problem? But just in case
President Obasanjo has not read the book, I
recommend that he should especially as Soyinka
has promised a follow-up shake down edition: “a
collective effort, a corroborative-or self-cancelling-
anthology by many long-suffering victims…
dedicated solely to the Otta phenomenon.” (p.
53). Our Republic of Liars is a temporary space for
Soyinka; his reputation in the world of letters
places him historically, in the long run, beyond
local dog-fights; but as for this book, emotional
responses to the vengeful biographical
dimensions cannot be unexpected.
Take-away, though: our problem – we do have a
problem as a collective – is the sobering
realization that Nigerians enjoy telling lies, much
more than any other community that we know,
and that we are indeed, a Republic of Liars. We
are a nation of fabulists, richly imaginative, when
that asset is well-conditioned, it produces
excellence, but misapplied, the tale-bearer
becomes a professional aproko, as they say, a self-
made radio station, transmitter, booster,
conditioned to promote untruths, and as the tale
travels from one mouth to another, new layers are
invented and added, often so viciously that the
original source often finds it unrecognizable. But
much damage is done, and it is this wickedness
of man to man – as theme and principle- that
Soyinka deplores.
The rise of the internet has even made lying so
easy and convenient, the anonymity that the
social media offers allows a lie to grow until its
continued affirmation imposes it on public
memory as received wisdom. Lies pollute the
public mind; they damage relationships and
destroy a sense of community. Soyinka insists on
the inviolability of the truth and decent conduct,
but the rot is widespread, the phenomenon is a
new normal reality. Politicians lie to the electorate,
win the votes and turn around shamefacedly to
say they never said whatever even in the face of
concrete evidence made possible by electronic
reproduce-ability. This culture of deception
remains unchecked because the institutions for
seeking redress remain inchoate: libel cases can
go on forever, or they may run into a technical
hitch concocted by lawyers, requiring that they
be started de novo. And to worsen it all, the
followership enjoys the lies and the lying,
compelling an assessment of our Republic in real
and fictive representations as the biggest lie in
search of truth.
Soyinka does not recommend a resort to self-help;
but he inflicts punishment with his pen, and
laments in a memorable instance: “Chei! There is
Death o!” Let’s add: “Chei! There is God o!…”- the
ultimate judge. 1 Like |
Re: Abati Dissects Soyinka's Book #interinventions. by LORDDICE(m): 3:49pm On Nov 07, 2015 |
. |
Re: Abati Dissects Soyinka's Book #interinventions. by Nobody: 4:56pm On Nov 07, 2015 |
The enemy of my enemy is my friend |
Re: Abati Dissects Soyinka's Book #interinventions. by drberry(m): 5:06pm On Nov 07, 2015 |
A |
Re: Abati Dissects Soyinka's Book #interinventions. by datola: 5:14pm On Nov 07, 2015 |
Welcome back Abati! |
(1) (Reply)
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