One would expect every Nigerian would respect his memory and pray for his soul to rest in peace; but this has hardly been the case as some people are trying hard to play security politics with his death.
(Wondering: Why we too get intelligent people for this country sef?)
Please read what i saw on Wole Soyinka's and J.P Clarks' joint statements:
“These are forces that arrogantly pride themselves implacable and brutal enemies of what Chinua and his pen represented, not merely for the African continent, but for humanity."
“Indeed, we cannot help wondering if the recent insensate massacre of Chinua’s people in Kano, only a few days ago, hastened the fatal undermining of that resilient will that had sustained him so many years after his crippling accident.”
What is it with respected Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka? Did he have to play out his paranoia on something as sensitive as suggesting Chinua Achebe's death was facilitated by the bombings in Kano? Now he drags, J.P. Clark, one member of the "pioneer quartet of contemporary Nigerian literature" with him on this claim which even a child would know is too unnecessary to make.
The past week was a little tense. There were rumours of reprisal killings in the southeast after the Kano bomb blasts. Statements like those could be taken entirely out of context and soon you will find people on the street maiming their nieghbours to revenge the death of a demigod.
As much as I understand how much Soyinka and Clark miss their colleague, I think their statements were misguided and quite unnecessary.
I dunno. I guess there's so much negativity in the country that even an esteemed writer like Prof. Soyinka cannot simply write a short condolence note about his revered colleague without seeming sanctimonious.
ReplyDeleteBut still on the matter sha, R.I.P Prof. Chinua Achebe.
It makes me wonder KoH...i grew up respecting these men but they keep giving me a reason to doubt if they deserve my respect. I think its either about the desire to be relevant...to have their statement published all over the media as an issue to pay attention to...or they are probably getting too old.
ReplyDeleteThe negativity is not as much as its purported...Soyinka is just paranoid...am sure he wished it was a military regime which he would easily hang Achebe's death on