Wole Soyinka: Kongi’s True Harvest
Professor Wole Soyinka is battling probably the fiercest battle of his long life – a battle for his legacy. His case is very instructive and I in particular, I am learning a lot from it. As events marking his 90th celebration are heating up, the attacks and innuendos rubbishing his rich legacy in the struggle are also heating up. Soyinka is being “rubbished” especially on social media and within the younger population as a man that seems to have lost his bearing. They have labelled him a turncoat and some have gone as far as labelling him an ethnic bigot, and all of that heavy and wicked bad names that seem to have ruffled his famous grey hair. If you have been living under a rock, Soyinka in his recent utterances seems to have developed near short-sightedness to the current sufferings of Nigerians. His positions, even for me a diehard fan, are at best now “one kind.” It is like seeing a very bad road accident and ignoring it and admiring the rose flowers by the roadside. This has made Soyinka a target for all sorts of abuse from a generation that really does not have respect for elders in the first place. All I am even begging for at this point is that
Baba’s recent utterances should not be used to tarnish his rich pedigree in the struggle. He has a very long history of fighting on the side of the people. From the civil war, through various military regimes and even very recently, past presidents including Obasanjo and Jonathan. So, his recent recapitulation as it were, although a little bit annoying, should now not be used to “finish him pata pata.” Shey we all have grandparents or in this case great grandparents? You know how set and stubborn they can be on issues; do we now start abusing them and calling them all sorts of unprintable names? Shebi we just used to sha laugh, shake our heads and hug them and walk away saying “Kai, daddy you are stubborn and set in your ways.” We seem to forget that Baba is 90 years o and is like our grandfather who is stubborn and set in his ways o. We should not put fire to his beards simply because the man has suddenly developed some mental blockage. We should just hug him, smile and say – daddy come and take cornflakes and sleep, the sun is too hot. Na beg !!!! The man is still a great man, despite all of this. Thank you.