In an interview with Sahara TV, the writer, poet & social critique
said late premier of the old Western region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, was a
greater man than South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, Dr. Nelson
Mandela.
I am too much of an Awolowo man not to
see that the process of moving into independence in South Africa and in
Nigeria followed exactly the same pattern. It was based on a negotiated
settlement. The liberation struggle did not create the end of apartheid.
It was a negotiation and Nigerians negotiated exactly the way Mandela
negotiated.
“You can hype it if you like, but the
pattern was exactly the same. You move from one meeting to the other,
discussing politics and economics, and they successfully convinced
Mandela to buy the pig in a poke of an economy and they also successfully succeeded in convincing Nigerians to buy the pig in a poke of an economy.
“The only man in Nigeria, who stood up
against it, was (Obafemi) Awolowo. He was quickly jailed and all his men
scattered across the prisons in Nigeria. Some driven abroad and the
educational system that he had put in place was smashed.” Ofeimun said
"People talk about Mandela’s capacity to
put various classes (of people) together as theory, but Awolowo ironed
it out very clearly, why you don’t need a class struggle, in order to
create a society in which all children can go to school; in which
everybody can get a job, and in which old age pensions will be paid to
people.
“It is not just love and I want to
emphasise that. Those who criticise Awolowo’s socialism for wanting in
love are obviously basing their argument on his claim that a government
should be like a sun that shines on all equally. If it is about a theory
of how to bring the people together on the African continent, none is
as good as the Awolowo’s and I’m not trying to pretend.
“Bring all their writings, fine phrases,
alright, but reduce them to economic terms, and I can tell you that
there is only one man who rivals Awolowo in this respect and that is
Nkrumah. Unfortunately unlike Awolowo, Nkrumah did not believe in either
a democratic or a federal theory. If you want to save Africa, you need
those two.”
Ofeimun said he chose Awolowo over Mandela because..
"The simple reason is that what needed to be
done in South Africa, after apartheid was precisely what Awolowo wanted
for Western Region and Nigeria after independence. Which is to say put
every child at school, ensure that productivity takes the creativity of
the individual citizen into proper focus and build the relationship
between people and not on whether they did not love each other? But
whether there is justice and equality.”
Interview transcribed by Punch.
What do you guys think of the comparison ?
THE
PUNCH NEWSPAPER’S report has it that Writer and poet, Odia Ofeimun, has
rated the late Premier of the old Western Region, Chief Obafemi
Awolowo, above late former South African President, Nelson Mandela.
In an interview with Sahara TV, the writer, poet & social
critique said late premier of the old Western region, Chief Obafemi
Awolowo, was a greater man than South African anti-apartheid
revolutionary, Dr. Nelson Mandela.
I am too much of an Awolowo man not to see that the process of moving
into independence in South Africa and in Nigeria followed exactly the
same pattern. It was based on a negotiated settlement. The liberation
struggle did not create the end of apartheid. It was a negotiation and
Nigerians negotiated exactly the way Mandela negotiated.
“You can hype it if you like, but the pattern was exactly the same.
You move from one meeting to the other, discussing politics and
economics, and they successfully convinced Mandela to buy the pig in a
poke of an economy and they also successfully succeeded in convincing
Nigerians to buy the pig in a poke of an economy.
“The only man in Nigeria, who stood up against it, was (Obafemi)
Awolowo. He was quickly jailed and all his men scattered across the
prisons in Nigeria. Some driven abroad and the educational system that
he had put in place was smashed.” Ofeimun said
“People talk about Mandela’s capacity to put various classes (of
people) together as theory, but Awolowo ironed it out very clearly, why
you don’t need a class struggle, in order to create a society in which
all children can go to school; in which everybody can get a job, and in
which old age pensions will be paid to people.
“It is not just love and I want to emphasise that. Those who
criticise Awolowo’s socialism for wanting in love are obviously basing
their argument on his claim that a government should be like a sun that
shines on all equally. If it is about a theory of how to bring the
people together on the African continent, none is as good as the
Awolowo’s and I’m not trying to pretend.
“Bring all their writings, fine phrases, alright, but reduce them to
economic terms, and I can tell you that there is only one man who rivals
Awolowo in this respect and that is Nkrumah. Unfortunately unlike
Awolowo, Nkrumah did not believe in either a democratic or a federal
theory. If you want to save Africa, you need those two.”
Ofeimun said he chose Awolowo over Mandela because..
“The simple reason is that what needed to be done in South Africa, after
apartheid was precisely what Awolowo wanted for Western Region and
Nigeria after independence. Which is to say put every child at school,
ensure that productivity takes the creativity of the individual citizen
into proper focus and build the relationship between people and not on
whether they did not love each other? But whether there is justice and
equality.”
Interview transcribed by Punch.
- See more at:
http://www.naijaloaded.com.ng/2014/01/02/awolowo-was-greater-than-mandela-odia-ofeimun-says/#sthash.ZloYA0jh.dpuf
THE
PUNCH NEWSPAPER’S report has it that Writer and poet, Odia Ofeimun, has
rated the late Premier of the old Western Region, Chief Obafemi
Awolowo, above late former South African President, Nelson Mandela.
In an interview with Sahara TV, the writer, poet & social
critique said late premier of the old Western region, Chief Obafemi
Awolowo, was a greater man than South African anti-apartheid
revolutionary, Dr. Nelson Mandela.
I am too much of an Awolowo man not to see that the process of moving
into independence in South Africa and in Nigeria followed exactly the
same pattern. It was based on a negotiated settlement. The liberation
struggle did not create the end of apartheid. It was a negotiation and
Nigerians negotiated exactly the way Mandela negotiated.
“You can hype it if you like, but the pattern was exactly the same.
You move from one meeting to the other, discussing politics and
economics, and they successfully convinced Mandela to buy the pig in a
poke of an economy and they also successfully succeeded in convincing
Nigerians to buy the pig in a poke of an economy.
“The only man in Nigeria, who stood up against it, was (Obafemi)
Awolowo. He was quickly jailed and all his men scattered across the
prisons in Nigeria. Some driven abroad and the educational system that
he had put in place was smashed.” Ofeimun said
“People talk about Mandela’s capacity to put various classes (of
people) together as theory, but Awolowo ironed it out very clearly, why
you don’t need a class struggle, in order to create a society in which
all children can go to school; in which everybody can get a job, and in
which old age pensions will be paid to people.
“It is not just love and I want to emphasise that. Those who
criticise Awolowo’s socialism for wanting in love are obviously basing
their argument on his claim that a government should be like a sun that
shines on all equally. If it is about a theory of how to bring the
people together on the African continent, none is as good as the
Awolowo’s and I’m not trying to pretend.
“Bring all their writings, fine phrases, alright, but reduce them to
economic terms, and I can tell you that there is only one man who rivals
Awolowo in this respect and that is Nkrumah. Unfortunately unlike
Awolowo, Nkrumah did not believe in either a democratic or a federal
theory. If you want to save Africa, you need those two.”
Ofeimun said he chose Awolowo over Mandela because..
“The simple reason is that what needed to be done in South Africa, after
apartheid was precisely what Awolowo wanted for Western Region and
Nigeria after independence. Which is to say put every child at school,
ensure that productivity takes the creativity of the individual citizen
into proper focus and build the relationship between people and not on
whether they did not love each other? But whether there is justice and
equality.”
Interview transcribed by Punch.
- See more at:
http://www.naijaloaded.com.ng/2014/01/02/awolowo-was-greater-than-mandela-odia-ofeimun-says/#sthash.ZloYA0jh.dpuf
THE
PUNCH NEWSPAPER’S report has it that Writer and poet, Odia Ofeimun, has
rated the late Premier of the old Western Region, Chief Obafemi
Awolowo, above late former South African President, Nelson Mandela.
In an interview with Sahara TV, the writer, poet & social
critique said late premier of the old Western region, Chief Obafemi
Awolowo, was a greater man than South African anti-apartheid
revolutionary, Dr. Nelson Mandela.
I am too much of an Awolowo man not to see that the process of moving
into independence in South Africa and in Nigeria followed exactly the
same pattern. It was based on a negotiated settlement. The liberation
struggle did not create the end of apartheid. It was a negotiation and
Nigerians negotiated exactly the way Mandela negotiated.
“You can hype it if you like, but the pattern was exactly the same.
You move from one meeting to the other, discussing politics and
economics, and they successfully convinced Mandela to buy the pig in a
poke of an economy and they also successfully succeeded in convincing
Nigerians to buy the pig in a poke of an economy.
“The only man in Nigeria, who stood up against it, was (Obafemi)
Awolowo. He was quickly jailed and all his men scattered across the
prisons in Nigeria. Some driven abroad and the educational system that
he had put in place was smashed.” Ofeimun said
“People talk about Mandela’s capacity to put various classes (of
people) together as theory, but Awolowo ironed it out very clearly, why
you don’t need a class struggle, in order to create a society in which
all children can go to school; in which everybody can get a job, and in
which old age pensions will be paid to people.
“It is not just love and I want to emphasise that. Those who
criticise Awolowo’s socialism for wanting in love are obviously basing
their argument on his claim that a government should be like a sun that
shines on all equally. If it is about a theory of how to bring the
people together on the African continent, none is as good as the
Awolowo’s and I’m not trying to pretend.
“Bring all their writings, fine phrases, alright, but reduce them to
economic terms, and I can tell you that there is only one man who rivals
Awolowo in this respect and that is Nkrumah. Unfortunately unlike
Awolowo, Nkrumah did not believe in either a democratic or a federal
theory. If you want to save Africa, you need those two.”
Ofeimun said he chose Awolowo over Mandela because..
“The simple reason is that what needed to be done in South Africa, after
apartheid was precisely what Awolowo wanted for Western Region and
Nigeria after independence. Which is to say put every child at school,
ensure that productivity takes the creativity of the individual citizen
into proper focus and build the relationship between people and not on
whether they did not love each other? But whether there is justice and
equality.”
Interview transcribed by Punch.
- See more at:
http://www.naijaloaded.com.ng/2014/01/02/awolowo-was-greater-than-mandela-odia-ofeimun-says/#sthash.ZloYA0jh.dpuf
