₦airaland Forum

VBCampaign:
Soyinka's Plane Seat Brouhaha: A Final Word

When I embarked on the defense of Prof. Wole Soyinka’s honor in the unfortunate incidence on a plane, where a young man commandeered the Nigerian Noble Laureate to stand up from his allotted seat, I was totally unprepared for the reactions that would follow. The social media, which understandably is populated by young people, came agog with these folks defending what this young man did. In other words it is okay in modern Nigeria to come on a plane, find a man of honor on your seat and insist he must vacate that space, despite so many folks pleading that you allow the man be. This essay is my final word on the matter but lest you think I have changed my mind on it; I have not. That young man is untaught, uncouth, and disrespectful. If this country future would be bequeathed to the likes of those supporting this young man, we could as well kiss any hope of this country getting better good-bye.

The story hit the social media on Monday, 24th June. On Tuesday morning, the following day, a leading radio station in Ibadan had three people presenting an early morning program. Quite unexpectedly, the discussion was reduced to a matter of respecting or not respecting an elder. Immediately I sent a tweet to them and I told them not to misinform the public. The vibes I was getting from these people was that it was okay to tell off an older person in public. That this was the time of young person and that there is no such thing as honoring age anymore. We are now educated and the world belongs to us. What balderdash; what nonsense! What happened between Wole Soyinka and that young man was not a matter of respecting or disrespecting an elder; even though it eventually led to it. It is the fact that that young man lacked tact and sense.

Everyone on each side of the debate agree that Soyinka very likely sat on that young boy’s seat by mistake. Most people, including me, also agree that the seat by the window belonged to the boy. What I would never, for the life of me, understand is a young man, in Nigeria, coming on a plane, seeing an eighty year old man seated; a man who the whole world reveres; a man who had long been influencing nations before that boy’s father was born. You see such a man and you insist, in spite of pleas from people and airline hostess to let sleeping dog lie, that you would have your seat. That is indecorous. That is not lack of respect – even if it shows eventually that the boy does not possess home training.

So, some have been coming at me and telling me how disappointed they are with the position that I have taken on the matter. They say I am a reformer and should be siding with young people on this. Let me make clear the limits of my reformation in this article. My reformation concerns only doctrines in the Bible – doctrines that lead to salvation. I have no intention to reform culture or our age-old practices. On such, I remain a conservative. I am a leading critic of the teachings of David Oyedepo and E. A. Adeboye. But if I were to meet them on the plane, like that boy met Soyinka, I would never insist on having a seat they may be sitting on which is mine. The Christian reformation still remains within the boundaries of Christian charity and the Bible makes it clear that love is not rude. I meet many of the people whose doctrines I criticize in real life and I show them respect. That is how I was raised and there is no reformation that can take that away from me.

I had an indelible experience in church recently. I was in a Bible Study meeting and I got into a debate with the leader of the group. Actually, it had happened one or two times before this day. This man would be nearing his 80th year and he was visibly upset with me. He gave me a resounding tongue lashing in the presence of no less than forty persons. Till date, I believe I was right on the subject of debate but I was not taught to respond to an elder – especially when they are angry. I kept quiet and I received the rebuke of my adult life. It was life transforming because even though it appeared the man had his say, somehow I believe I had my way. Subsequent events in this group showed me that this man understood my position and indirectly accepted it. I believe I won that debate; but I won it through a loss. That young man, who refused to give up his seat to Soyinka, won the debate but lost a reputation.

What I grieve the most over is not him but the legion of young people who are defending him and saying they also would do the same if they were in his shoes. I pity this generation.

Some are saying that I have made Wole Soyinka a demi-god. This is wrong. Soyinka is far from being my role model in life. Soyinka is a humanist; I am a Christian – a minister of the gospel of Christ. Soyinka led the formation of the first confraternity in Nigeria, which led up to our having cults in our nation’s universities. I would never do that; I condemn all types of cults. But the contribution of Wole Soyinka to the Nigerian project is not something we can conclude enumerating. A young Wole Soyinka put his life at stake and invaded a radio station in 1964 insisting that the true results of the then Western Region elections be read to the people. In 1966, he took a dangerous trip to the then Biafra to try to convince Ojukwu not to go to war with Nigeria. For this he was slammed in prison by the military government of Yakubu Gowon for three years.

Soyinka’s quest for a better Nigeria is seen in his literary works, his campaign for democracy, his campaign for good governance, his numerous protestation for the good of society, and so on. In the 1980/90s, Wole Soyinka sold the idea of a road safety to the military government of Ibrahim Babangida. Today, as a result of that, we have the Federal Road Safety Corps. All of these added to his winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986 for his book “The Man Died” – which were his prison memoirs. Soyinka is a great Nigerian and ought to be accorded that respect. Those who are speaking against him in this matter of a plane seat surely do not know the history behind that man.

In 1998, General Abubakar Abdulsalami went to Soyinka in his London home, following the death of Abacha, and told him that the military government were ready to support his being elected as Nigeria’s President. He turned down the offer on the basis of principle. I believe he felt he could do better for Nigeria through his writing and speaking, than being a politician. Others took the offer he refused and are today owners of universities, private jets, libraries and homes all around the country. Wole Soyinka has chosen a life of simplicity and because he would not fly first class, he needs to be embarrassed by a boy who does not know his left from his right, and who is not likely to achieve a tenth of what Soyinka has achieved if he were to live for a thousand years.

Again, let me make it clear, my reformation does not include the tearing down of age old cultural practices that has done this nation a lot of good and that distinguishes our children in the committee of nations. EOD.

© Deji Yesufu

Deji Yesufu is the author of the books Victor Banjo and Half a Millennium. He can be reached on newdejix@gmai.com

Source: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2197750823634449&id=1505609702848568