₦airaland Forum

laudate:
Nah...you are the one that has been rambling on this thread. Everyone can see it. Now, do you still want to continue telling us about how Soyinka's moves to broker peace, was wrongly interpreted by you as a ploy to 'abandon' Biafra?

You've run out of steam bro, I've addressed it already and you're just desperately grasping at straws at this point.

Given your epic failure to simply provide us your own version of events or sources, I can only conclude that you have nothing to offer. So, I'm done with you.

You may have the last word.

laudate:
Comprehension, kwa? Ok, let me refresh your memory...


Were you not the one who wrote this?? "He visited Biafra on behalf of a group of Nigerian writers to see if they could convince their colleagues on that side to abandon the Biafran project...." Oh, you didn't use the word abandon when talking about Soyinka's actions regarding Biafra?

So, if I implore you to abandon your pointless ramblings on this thread, would that translate to me supporting you at any point?

Cypmeni:

Nna yi mulu yi.

Lol Ekelem gi nwanne.

laudate:
Guy, you have just shot yourself in the foot! You claim he abandoned Biafra, not so? Show us the exact line in the BBC excerpt, where it was written that he abandoned Biafra. Abi, no be you talk am? Stop digressing like a fidgety pregnant woman about to go into labour...!

Maybe you have comprehension issues...I never said he abandoned Biafra. Go and read it again.

laudate:
Making peace moves, does not translate into abandoning Biafra. You are the one twisting Soyinka's efforts to initiate peace, as part of a so-called attempt to abandon Biafra. You can only use the word 'abandon' when someone has offered you 'support' initially. Please show me in the BBC excerpt, exactly where it was written, that 'Soyinka abandoned Biafra,' to use your own words.

I agree, how can he abandon it if he never supported it. That is my entire point.

laudate:
Were you not the one who wrote this?? "He visited Biafra on behalf of a group of Nigerian writers to see if they could convince their colleagues on that side to abandon the Biafran project...." Yet, the excerpt you posted from BBC News website says something different. It says Soyinka met with Ojukwu to call for peace. So making peace moves translates into a call to abandon Biafra? Can you see how you people twist facts to suit your petty propaganda?



We can all see that the somersaulting is coming from your side. The same Soyinka was jailed for visiting Biafra, o! You are so ungrateful, honestly. See as you have misinterpreted his efforts to broker peace, as an attempt to abandon Biafra! God dey!

There had been other delegations too from Nigeria that had visited Biafra to talk them out of secession. Biafra was not attacking Nigeria, Nigeria was intent on attacking Biafra, so these efforts to avert the war were towards convincing the Biafrans that we could continue as one nation...or Soyinka would have gone to Gowon instead to convince him not to invade Biafra. This is not to malign Soyinka in anyway, kudos to him for trying to proffer peace.

In any case, my objective is to prove that Soyinka never acted in support of Biafra, despite his imprisonment, as many claim. He has made this abundantly clear himself, and even this brief piece from BBC clarifies that.

It's a shame you've failed to provide us your version of Soyinka's involvement in Biafra, with your sources. Work on that.

laudate:
You see, it is so easy to decode those of you, who rely on hearsay to propound their theme of propaganda. Assuming this encounter you recited took place in reality, it shouldn't be hard for you to post all the links here, should it? Instead you are dancing around the issue like a fidgety schoolgirl, unable to sit in one place. You were the one trying to pass off your own version, as the gospel truth much earlier. Now for the umpteenth time, post the source or url to your own story here, so we can read and verify if you are actually telling the truth, or making up stories as you go along...

When you are done twisting and somersaulting, go and watch the video I assigned to you, where Soyinka with his own freaking mouth(which you call hearsay in your infinite wisdom ) speaks on the issue. However, since I'm in a generous mood and it's obvious you're making every attempt to resist the education I'm offering you, here's a link to another coverage done by BBC and Wole Soyinka.

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/news/wole-soyinkas-return-to-biafra.html


Wole Soyinka's Return to Biafra.

Forty years ago, Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka travelled to Nigeria's secessionist Biafra region to try and calm growing tensions. The visit saw him thrown in jail, forced to spend 22 months in solitary confinement. Now he has returned to meet those who ordered his detention. The BBC's Mark Rickards accompanied him:



Outside the airport there is a line of black cars waiting, their tinted windows making their occupants invisible.




As we come through baggage reclaim there is a mad scrum and in the middle of it is Wole Soyinka, Nigeria's Nobel Prize-winning author.

I am surrounded by large men in dark glasses who demand I get into a car.

As we are not far from the dangerous Delta region of the River Niger, the thought of kidnapping flashes briefly through my mind.

Mr Soyinka climbs into a land cruiser, I am led to the car behind and we speed off with hazard lights flashing and sirens blazing.

It is the beginning of Wole Soyinka's return to Biafra.

Persecution

Wole Soyinka, affectionately known as "the prof" by many Nigerians, has been collected from Benin City Airport by a group known as the Sea Dogs.

Further investigation reveals that they are part of a fraternity set up in 1952 with Soyinka as one of seven founding members - hence the honour of a motorcade.



We are now heading for Asaba and the first stop on an emotional journey back to the civil conflict of 1967.

Back then Nigeria teetered on the brink of civil war.

The people of the east, referring to themselves as Biafrans, felt that they had suffered discrimination and persecution at the hands of the Nigerian Federation and their leader Odumegwu Ojukwu declared his intention to create an independent state.

Violent conflict seemed inevitable, and a group of Nigerian intellectuals then resident in London argued that someone should travel to Biafra to speak to Ojukwu and attempt to head off hostilities.

It fell to Wole Soyinka to undertake that dangerous mission to a jittery and volatile region.

He met with Ojukwu and later returned to Lagos.

Suspicious of his motives, the federal government imprisoned Soyinka on suspicion of his involvement in the sale of military aircraft to the east.

He was to spend 26 months in jail, all but four of them in solitary confinement.

Now he has returned to see both Ojukwu and back in the west Gen Yakuba Gowon, the former leader of the Nigerian Federation who authorised his detention without trial.

Wooden guns

We arrive in Asaba and the Sea Dogs drop us in the lavish palace of Professor Edozien, and from there across the River Niger, where in 1967 Soyinka had slipped through a loosely observed blockade into Biafra.

In the feverish marketplace of Onitsha, the town on the eastern bank, he remembers his first visit well.

"There came this group of very young vigilantes with wooden guns," Soyinka says.

"They handled those wooden guns as if they were real guns. It was a kind of portent of what was to come, of a people unprepared for war but with absolute faith."


Soyinka was arrested at wooden gunpoint and taken to Enugu, the capital of the self-proclaimed state of Biafra. Here he waited for the opportunity to speak with Ojukwu. Wole Soyinka and Odumegwu Ojukwu

When it came, Ojukwu was polite but firm.

At the time, he said he was representing the people, and it was they themselves who had pressed for secession.

Forty years on, he is blind and infirm yet fiercely unrepentant.

Soyinka guides him to a chair and he reiterates his position.

"If you want Nigeria, I do not think it is impossible - but you will just have to train yourselves into really believing the equality of citizenship," he says.

"If you are not prepared for it, forget Nigeria."

We revisit the Presidential hotel where Soyinka stayed.

He remembers the size of the rats in those days and feels that, unlike the rest of Enugu, the hotel seems to have taken a turn for the better.

We still choose to stay overnight somewhere else, leaving behind the long shadows of the past and the distant memories of oversized rodents.

Civil war

Returning to Lagos, Soyinka is concerned that Gen Gowon will pull out of the interview.

They have met before, but Gowon seemed nervous - understandably so, face to face with the Nobel Prize winner he slung in jail.

But confirmation comes through: Gowon will meet us at his house.

As we enter, he points out that Soyinka is spot on time in a country not famous for punctuality.

"We civilians have to teach you bloody soldiers about discipline," jokes Soyinka.

They talk through the background to the Biafran war and Gowon acknowledges the suffering that was experienced on both sides.

"No victor, no vanquished" was his theme at the end of the war and he is keen for Soyinka to know that he was serious in his intention to ensure that no-one felt excluded from Nigeria.

Soyinka points out that there were some terrible atrocities committed by federal troops.

Gowon accepts that this happened, although he says he was not aware at the time.

After all the horrors of the civil war, Nigerians need to forgive, he says.

Finally, Soyinka is ready to challenge him about his imprisonment.

Wole Soyinka and General Gowon"Ah yes," exclaims Gowon. "You were my house guest."

Soyinka tells him of the solitary confinement, the hardship, and Gowon seems genuinely surprised. "I had no idea," he says.

Soyinka breaks the sombre mood with a flash of humour: "Let me tell you publicly, if the boot had been on the other foot, I would have slung your arse in jail much earlier."

As we leave, the two men embrace and there is a palpable sense of forgiveness and relief in the air.

Wole Soyinka's return journey is complete, a journey not only back to Biafra, but also back to confront those whose actions 40 years ago placed him in solitary confinement.

It is where some of his finest poems were written.

The ghosts of Biafra can be found in the pages of his work, scribbled on scraps of paper as the terrible history of the civil war was itself being written.

Wole Soyinka's Return To Biafra is broadcast on BBC World Service on Wednesday 24 October at 0806 GMT.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/7057098.stm

laudate:
Oga, why are you just perambulating and dribbling around the issue? Post the source, link or url. Is that too much for you to do? Why are you embarking on a length recital of an unproven story? Was that what you were asked to do?

Doing a simple YouTube search is too hard for you? Where can I find your fairytale of Soyinka's involvement in Biafra? You are not serious. Now buzz off...this is what I'm asking you to do.

This bespectacled midget is gradually encroaching into efulefu territory.

laudate:
Re-ea-ally??! You don't say. Please post the source and url of this your story, so we can read it and verify. The version that we heard concerning Soyinka's involvement in Biafra was totally different, o!

Do a YouTube search of "Wole Soyinka speaks at Christopher Okigbo international conference Harvard University".

Here he speaks of his understanding of events surrounding the war at length. He states that he had hoped to meet up with some of the writers from Biafra at a conference in Brussels, but they didn't show up. Later on, at a meeting in London, some of the writers decided to send someone to Biafra to try and talk their colleagues out of the idea of Biafra...some guy named Aminu was going to go, but they decided his safety was not guaranteed in Biafra because he was a northerner. Soyinka decided to go...he recollects being called a saboteur by some Biafran soldiers and finally being able to meet Okigbo in Enugu, but Okigbo was already totally committed to Biafra. He went back to Nigeria and was arrested.
I'm not proclaiming every word that comes out of Soyinka's mouth to be gospel, but these are his own recollections. I'm also interested in hearing this your version of Soyinka's involvement in Biafra and your sources.

laudate:
Who told you this tale? Kindly post the source and links to this your story, so we can all read it and verify. Thanks as you comply. There are too many tales by moonlight, masquerading as fact on NL, whenever the civil war is being discussed.

Tale of what? That people involved or suspected to have been involved in Jan 15th coup were not going to be safe in Nigeria at the time? I think anyone familiar with events that precipitated the war simply understands this...do u need a source to know that Ifeajuna and Nzeogwu wouldn't be safe in Nigeria either? Feel free to disagree.

SMH...entire communities have been wiped out in Benue state with hardly any reaction from the federal government, but they're quick to condemn a single attack in far away Manchester. Clearly, they value English lives more than ours.

gbosaa:
Stop educating those Afonja clowns. They know the truth. They are only here for mischief cos the scratch burrows on their faces are itching terribly this morning.

You are right, I better let them wallow in their ignorance.

ettybaba:
Wole Soyinka was in prison for supporting biafra while ojukwu was in a brothel in Ivory Coast where he had escaped to leaving behind his ragtag soldier at the mercy of Nigerian Army.

Soyinka never supported Biafra. He visited Biafra on behalf of a group of Nigerian writers to see if they could convince their colleagues on that side to abandon the Biafran project. He met with the great poet Christopher Okigbo in Enugu, and subsequently returned to Nigeria where he was jailed for visiting Biafra. This is according to Soyinka himself.

ettybaba:
No igbo man has ever died for any noble cause.
Are we talking about those that supported Abacha and justified the killing of saro wiwa?

Again with the wicked practice of trying to condemn an entire people with the actions of a few individuals. I guess you'll tell me of the likes of Enwerem and Nzeribe supporting Abacha. How about the Yorubas that supported Abacha or have you deluded yourself that they didn't exist. What of the likes of General Diya, Abacha's second in command, Generals Adisa, Olanrewaju and others who wined and dined with Abacha while their brother Abiola was denied his mandate and languished in jail? What of all the Yoruba Obas that went to Aso rock, were paid off and pledged to forget the Abiola agitation(as confirmed by Al-Mustapha and Senator Adefuye)? Surely, their actions represent the desire of all yorubas.

peckhamboi:
Kindness is just inbuilt inside the Yoruba DNA.

Yorubas are also the heroes of their useless IPOB struggle, if not for Fayose and FFK, the albino would still be rotting in prison.

There was no Ibo leaders to be found then, it was only after the Yorubas freed him that they crawled out of their wood work and started visiting him at home.

Yet with all these kindness, they still repay us back with hatred.

Fayose and FFK did nothing to secure Nnamdi Kanu's release. The two blabber mouths showed up ONCE for publicity stunt at the court room. All the hard work was done behind the scenes to negotiate Kanu's release by people who actually approached the government.

shukuokukobambi:
What of azikiwe? Was he a biafran traitor too? Or a hero?

Zik was working tirelessly, even with Ojukwu, to find a peaceful resolution. His efforts went a long way in getting other African leaders to attempt to intervene in the conflict.

These are some of the Yoruba that were involved in what they like to term "Igbo coup". The wicked will suggest that all Igbo should be held responsible for the actions of Nzeogwu, but Ademoyega's actions are solely his.
Of course, these guys had to fight for Biafra after the Biafrans freed them from prison. The northerners would have quickly executed them if they stepped foot in Nigeria at the time.

Interestingly, every time I've heard a non-Igbo speak on the need to stop the marginalization of the Igbo in Nigeria it's always been a northerner. Others find it difficult to even acknowledge the marginalization .

There's nothing God cannot do, but many are too proud, too selfish and too wicked to humble themselves before God.

Mcowubaba:
Lol.. OK..
Sorry

Hahaa, it's all good bro.

Mcowubaba:
Oga, I'm still right.
Stop displaying your ignorance.

I was obviously talking about the distance from where I stay, if you read my previous comments carefully.

You'll see that I stay in Montgomery County, and the guy I was chatting with stays in Baltimore.

The distance of those counties to DC, Is more than 50 minutes even on good traffic.
You could see I wasn't talking about the border towns between DC and Maryland, your sense could have told you that..
But you don't think.

Yes, we all know that Maryland and Washington DC are neighbors just like Lagos and Ogun state in Nigeria

And lastly, it's not a must to Criticize or quote someone.

Lol guy how did you take the simple question I asked you as some personal attack? Even if I missed your point, all I did was pose a simple question without any harsh words...here you're ranting about ignorance and being criticized. Dude, I don't know if you're on your period or something, but chill out.

Mcowubaba:
Peter psquare caption his picture Chilling in DC.
But the OP translated that to Maryland
Though it's a 48 minute drive, the (Maryland nd DC) are not the same place..

Are u in Maryland now?
Where exactly?

How's Maryland 48 minutes from DC? Maybe you meant to say Baltimore or some place further. There are places in Maryland that are part of DC Metropolis.

Nicca shut the hell up and take pictures!

I highly doubt it, the current crop of junior officers aren't made of the same stuff as their highly ambitious and adventurous predecessors. However, those three old men that met in Minna a few weeks ago, and their cohorts could find some loyalists in the military to do their bidding.

darediamond:
The North Is Gradually Going The Way of there Useless dead son ABACHA again whom they themself killed to avert the War Afonjas would have brought over to there land!!!!

O.P.C was not established to Police Yoruba land like Bakasi oo Abokis remember.
Do not try to overthrow Osibanjo oo.
Your military migth is nothing before us if we turn to become Wild.
Who ever is reading should tell AREWA to watch it now.
You are nearing that same road again all you Northern Elites. Hmmm
Did "Nigeria"Military defeated Agbekoya?

Bros if you beat that chest any harder it might explode!!! I'm sure the northerners are shaking in fear at the mere thought of confronting the yoruba....aaahhhh eeeehhhh, you guys will drive them all to Niger republic in a fortnight.

A lot of pained souls on this one. Chika enjoy your life abeg.

Ogah's case was completely baseless to begin with. Now he can go and focus on his EFCC case...hopefully he gets a refund from Abang too.

Okezie till 2023!

kenex4ever:
didnt u see d house was commissioned in 1999. He was not in politics then

Lol you people can deceive those that are not in the know, but much of this was still being built in OUK's 2nd term as a governor.

deji15:
He made it running things for Abacha. He was an Abacha boy. It is all part of corruption

Wrong. Abacha never liked OUK...however, he's a confirmed IBB boy.

ettybaba:
Flaties are very good at praising thieves of their tribe.

Afonjas practically worship the ground Tinubu walks on. Fact.