Dear Ebrima,
Thank you again for your reply to my last posting.I do agree with Omar on the
fact that there was no need from your end to abandon this discussion and that
it is very unfortunate you choose to do so.Having different opinion on a
subject, among sincere people,I believed ,should be a healthy departure to
expand our knowledge on the issue and I do believed that one of the main
objective of this forum is to create grounds for exchange of ideas.But anyway
since you decided for another type of forum to continue this discussion I am
Ok with that,hoping that there are still people on the forum who will be
interested in continuing the discussion,less we pull all our efforts towards
the great proposal from Dr Saine,this is perhaps the greatest proposal that
have so far appeared in this forum as far as I am concern.Have a nice week
end.
For Freedom
Saiks
Brother Saiks:
I hope you are now okay! Long time no see! Anyway, with regard to Wole
Soyinka, I have come to the conclusion that each one of us is entitled to
his or her opinion about him, and perhaps we should just leave it at that.
Within the last two hour or so, I have contacted, by phone, activists and
some professors in the UK who know him (Wole) in person, and really the
opinion has been divided, or in other words, it is a mixed one.
Some spoke favourably about him, while others did not. Some refer to him as
a "progressive person", while other call him a "proud Yoruba man who is
pro-Southerners in relation to Nigeria politics."
I was given references of scholarly works very critical of him, but equally,
I was told about references of works in favour of him.
One agreed with me and said: "Wole Soyinka definitely has a pro Yoruba or
pro South bias. In fact, he has said before that it was about time a
Southerner also governed Nigeria. He said Nigeria is not just owned by the
Northerners (who are mainly the Hausas)"....
For your information, most of those who ruled Nigeria from Independence to
now, have been Northerners (the Hausa Fulanis), who are from the Northern
part of Nigeria. However, the present day leader, Obasanjo, is a Yoruba; and
the Yorubas mainly live or come from the South. Saiks, Nigerian politics,
really, is interesting but a very complex one: some times very, very diffult
to understand!! Next time you are in London, we'll continue the discussions.
Another one says to me: "Soyinka is very proud, but an honest person. He is
both genuine and progressive. And he has always fought against repression in
Nigeria and elsewhere"....
So, saiks, really, with regard to Soyinka, I think the best thing is that
each one of us should be entitled to his or her opinion about him. Like I
said before to brother Latjorr, you believe what you believe and I believe
what I believe. Frankly, for me, I have already made up my mind about him.
All the same, if you are interested in the references I mentioned earlier
on, I can give them to Ndey for you. In fact, Muhammed Faal, has the
references of works critical of him (Wole). So I can ask him to give them to
Ndey directly for you.
There are also references of works in his favour, which I can send to Ndey
once I've received them by post some time next week.
I must take the opportunity to say that I am very sad, or down, right now,
because one of these professors I contacted, who has written a lot - very
impressively - on the Gambia, had this say to me, when I called him....
"Ebrima, I have a very bad news for you and my Gambian friends. I have been
diagnosed with a neck cancer; and, unfortunately, it is a malignant one."
"I am very open about it and please feel free to tell people about it.
Sadly, it is a malignant cancer, not a benign one, and that is why I am
already losing my speech; by the way, I hope you can hear me a little bit",
he added.
Yes, two doyens of Gambian studies are leaving the scene. One has retired
recently, and now the other one who was supposed to continue holding the
forth, is diagnosed with a malignant cancer of the neck.
It is really a sad day for me! I'll be paying tribute to these two men by
sharing/reviewing on the L, some of their great piece of works on the Gambia
from 1966 to now, and we shall give them credit where they deserve it and
take issue with their interpretation/analyses if we have good grounds to do
so.
Dr Saine, be ready to take over the mantle from these two good people
(laugh). Actually, you have already taken over the mantle from the two and
you too are doing a good job on the Gambia.
Ebrima
PS: Latjorr, my sincere apologies to you if you feel offended by my last
posting. You are a good guy, and I know you mean well. Saiks, equally, is a
great guy and I know that both of you mean well. Some times communication
via the internet, as said by Halifa some time ago, could be difficult. I
have great respects for the two of you and do keep up the good work you are
doing!!
Latjorr: Let me in fact bring some fun into it! Do you remember when you
came from Banjul, to play for SAF football club in the serekunda West
Nawettan? This was when Edu brought you and Gerry I believe, from Banjul, to
play for SAF FC in those days. But in the end, you were disqualified from
playing in the Nawettan, because you had lived in Banjul and not Serekunda
at the time.
Actually, I never mention this to you, but I remember you very well. Edu
mother's in Senegal used to live in Sicap Amities trois, or Sicap Baobao in
Dakar, and I used to visit the family regularly, in the mid to the late 80s.
And the last time I visited them, this time in the 90s, your sister I
believe, the bilingual secretary who was working for the OMVG in Dakar, was
in fact living there at the time. Just thought I should mention this to you!
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