₦airaland Forum

naptu2:
How do you know that there are a billion names that would better reflect their goals and what is wrong with the name?? Have you read the book??

Do you know the meaning of the term Fraternity??

Where did I say that he called for an end to fraternities and why would he do that.

He ordered that the Pyrates Fraternity to cease existing in university campuses because some fraternities on campuses had morphed into youth gangs and he didn't want the same to happen to the Pyrates Fraternity. That was a long time ago and they have ceased existing on university campuses decades ago.

Why shouldn't he wear red? Do you want to police what a free man chooses to wear in a democracy??

That's why I said that I'm often unsure whether to answer these questions because I'm not sure if the people that ask them are serious or not.

Do you know the difference between a youth gang and a fraternity??

naptu2:
You see, all these things have been discussed so many times over the decades such that when people make comments like the kind that I have seen on this thread, I wonder if they are serious or joking. That's why I sometimes choose not to answer.



What did Wole Soyinka study at the University of Ibadan? Answer: English literature, Greek, and Western history.


What is Professor Wole Soyinka's profession? Answer: He is a playwright and novelist.

Where did all those names come from? Answer: Treasure Island.

What is Treasure Island? Answer: It is a book that is often used to English Literature.



I listened to a BBC interview a long time ago (decades ago), in which Professor Soyinka addressed this issue. The interviewer called these organisations "cults" and Professor Soyinka said that they are not cults, they are youth gangs. He explained that it was because of these youth gangs that he ordered that the Pyrates Fraternity should cease existing on university campuses. He blamed the government for allowing these youth gangs to exist and he even hinted at the fact that a lot of the members are children of people in government and that's why the government had not done anything about them. He condemned the barbaric acts that were committed by these youth gangs.

That was on the BBC World Service Radio a long time ago.

naptu2:
Confraternity ➜ Youth gang ➜Mafia.


1) Fraternities and Sororities: A confraternity, fraternity or sorority (and in, America, Greek letter organisation) are social clubs in universities in many parts of the world. These associations are very common in American universities and very many Americans, including prominent politicians, businessmen, and entertainment stars are members of the associations. The associations were generally formed to help their members academically and serve as a forum for people to network and connect. Fraternity = brotherhood, sorority = sisterhood. Former president George H. W. Bush was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon at Yale, Bill Clinton is an honorary member of Phi Beta Sigma, and George W. Bush is a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon at Yale like his father. Basketball star, Michael Jordan, is a member of Omega Psi Phi, civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha and comedian and actor Cedric “The Entertainer” is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi.

What Wole Soyinka started was a fraternity that was meant to be like the fraternities in American universities.


2) Youth gangs: A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectively, in illegal, and possibly violent, behaviour.

Many youth gangs sprang up in the United States in the period between the 1940s and the 1960s. The most well known are the Bloods and the Crips. These youth gangs control territory through acts of violence and intimidation. They usually have their unique colours and symbols like handshakes, walking styles and dances. They could violently attack and even kill someone for wearing their colour in their territory. They raise funds through illegal means like bullying and intimidation, drug sales, etc.

Many fraternities in Nigerian universities became youth gangs in the 1970s and most especially in the 1980s. They engaged in violent acts like murder and assault, gruesome initiation rituals, etc. In response to this, Professor Wole Soyinka pulled the Pyrates Fraternity, now known as the National Association of Seadogs, out of the universities.


3) Mafia: A mafia is a type of organized crime syndicate whose primary activities are protection racketeering, arbitrating disputes between criminals, and brokering and enforcing illegal agreements and transactions. Mafias often engage in secondary activities such as gambling, loan sharking, drug-trafficking, prostitution, and fraud. Examples of Mafia syndicates include the Cosa Nostra, the Yakuza, the Camorra and the Bratva.

The members of these 1980s and 1990s youth gangs have become older and some of them have moved out of Nigeria. They have established their organisations as criminals syndicates in places like Canada, Italy and the United States. They engage in drug trafficking, pimping prostitutes and other illegal activities and they have formed agreements with or fought wars against the Italian Mafia, the American Mafia and other such illegal organisations.

Some members of these organisations have become government officials and high ranking members of the society in Nigeria.


What Wole Soyinka founded in 1952 was a fraternity, not a youth gang or mafia syndicate.