Honorable Chief Doctor Udogu, Obi of Igboland (like Honorable Chief Nanga in that novel):
You made me laugh hard by suggesting that, in your opinion, our group should be able to name leading Africans for the 4 categories you have listed as:
1. Africa Man of the Year
2. Africa 100 Most Corrupt Leaders of the Year
3. 100 Most Philanthropic Africans of the Year
4. 10 Top African Leaders of the Year, et cetera, et cetera.
I have high, high respect for our dear colleagues on this honorable listserv (some of whom I even easily call dear brothers and dear sisters). Therefore, I do not doubt that some credible names would spring up as winners in all of your 4 listed categories. However, your suggestion reminds me (as a historian) that after the 1966 Ghana coup d'etat ousting the Osagyefo (President Nkrumah), the deputy organizer or leader of the coup (a Major Chukwuma Nzeogwu Sandhurst course mate) wanted to undermine the new "Miss Ghana" of that year, whose uncle was Nkrumah's close ally. So, what did then Colonel A.A. Afrifa say? "If I knew that this niece of a top leader of Nkrumah's toppled regime was in the 'Miss Ghana' contest to win, I would have brought my 95-year old grandmother from the village to run and beat her, hands down". Do you see the irony? How could a 95-year old grandmother (with all the obvious wrinkles) win a beauty pageant over or against a 29-year old woman, with succulent everything?
As for TIME MAGAZINE, it was ready to name Snowden of NASA-leak fame as its 2013 MAN OF THE YEAR if Pope Francis did not win out! In that case, no AFRICAN qualified for that top honor but someone, whose own country has, allegedly, labeled as being a crook and a saboteur!
Another interesting caveat: I was on a panel with five other African brothers and sisters at Africa Center in London (total we were six); Tanzania dynamic socialist Babu (now deceased) was the chairman of the event, and the Africans were from Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Senegal and Gambia. The moderator, a famous Caucasian British Journalist, asked us (as panelists): "So far, which is the most civilized country in Africa?" Our Nigerian sister answered promptly: "I think it is Nigeria because we have a lot of oil."
Sure, Nigeria has a lot of civilization as well as some of Africa' best scholars, with a Nobel Laureate big brother to boot! But I simply wanted to tell the Africa Center moderator that his question was both unfair and unnecessary, but our sister from dear Nigeria answered it the way she did, and she felt good about her answer! So, Honorable Chief Doctor Udogu, are you sure that we could have filled the 4 categories peacefully, and indeed without scuffles, blows and intellectual bloodbath, just as it happens in some African Parliaments?
Were you on this listserv when Professor Chinua Achebe passed away? Did you see the sad way some brothers and sisters did not give the dead his due and final home-going respect? I rest my case!
A.B. Assensoh of "rainy" Eugene, Oregon.
________________________________________
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] on behalf of udoguei@appstate.edu [udoguei@appstate.edu]
Sent: Thursday, December 19, 2013 12:56 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - No African on the Time list of the 100 Most Significant Figures in History
My question on this issue, and similar matters, is: why don't members of this
distinguished listserv develop a list of its own? Such a list could be named
USA/Africa Dialogue:
1. Africa Man of the Year
2. Africa 100 Most Corrupt Leaders of the Year
3. 100 Most Philanthropic Africans of the Year
4. 10 Top African Leaders of the Year, et cetera, et cetera.
This is just a suggestion. Given the caliber and clout of members of this group,
the effect of this project could be enormous for the continent. Also, such an
undertaking could represent an important contribution to improving the
conditions in Africa—The Garden of Eden in Professor Ali Mazrui's metaphor.
Ike Udogu
----- Original Message -----
From: Abdul Salau <salauabdul@gmail.com>
Date: Thursday, December 19, 2013 7:35 am
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - No African on the Time list of the 100
Most Significant Figures in History
To: toyin <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
> Saint Augustine is African.... who cares this is a shrine to white
> powersprinkled with couple of Asians and Africans.
>
>
> On Thu, Dec 19, 2013 at 6:00 AM, Cornelius Hamelberg <
> corneliushamelberg@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > The Time List of the 100 Most Significant Figures in
> History<http://ideas.time.com/2013/12/10/whos-biggest-the-100-most-
> significant-figures-in-history/>
> >
> > --
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-
> Africa> Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of
> Texas at Austin.
> > For current archives, visit
> > http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
> > For previous archives, visit
> > http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
> > To post to this group, send an email to
> USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com> To unsubscribe from this group,
> send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
> > unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
> > ---
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the
> Google Groups
> > "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
> > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it,
> send an
> > email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
> >
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-
> Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of
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You made me laugh hard by suggesting that, in your opinion, our group should be able to name leading Africans for the 4 categories you have listed as:
1. Africa Man of the Year
2. Africa 100 Most Corrupt Leaders of the Year
3. 100 Most Philanthropic Africans of the Year
4. 10 Top African Leaders of the Year, et cetera, et cetera.
I have high, high respect for our dear colleagues on this honorable listserv (some of whom I even easily call dear brothers and dear sisters). Therefore, I do not doubt that some credible names would spring up as winners in all of your 4 listed categories. However, your suggestion reminds me (as a historian) that after the 1966 Ghana coup d'etat ousting the Osagyefo (President Nkrumah), the deputy organizer or leader of the coup (a Major Chukwuma Nzeogwu Sandhurst course mate) wanted to undermine the new "Miss Ghana" of that year, whose uncle was Nkrumah's close ally. So, what did then Colonel A.A. Afrifa say? "If I knew that this niece of a top leader of Nkrumah's toppled regime was in the 'Miss Ghana' contest to win, I would have brought my 95-year old grandmother from the village to run and beat her, hands down". Do you see the irony? How could a 95-year old grandmother (with all the obvious wrinkles) win a beauty pageant over or against a 29-year old woman, with succulent everything?
As for TIME MAGAZINE, it was ready to name Snowden of NASA-leak fame as its 2013 MAN OF THE YEAR if Pope Francis did not win out! In that case, no AFRICAN qualified for that top honor but someone, whose own country has, allegedly, labeled as being a crook and a saboteur!
Another interesting caveat: I was on a panel with five other African brothers and sisters at Africa Center in London (total we were six); Tanzania dynamic socialist Babu (now deceased) was the chairman of the event, and the Africans were from Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Senegal and Gambia. The moderator, a famous Caucasian British Journalist, asked us (as panelists): "So far, which is the most civilized country in Africa?" Our Nigerian sister answered promptly: "I think it is Nigeria because we have a lot of oil."
Sure, Nigeria has a lot of civilization as well as some of Africa' best scholars, with a Nobel Laureate big brother to boot! But I simply wanted to tell the Africa Center moderator that his question was both unfair and unnecessary, but our sister from dear Nigeria answered it the way she did, and she felt good about her answer! So, Honorable Chief Doctor Udogu, are you sure that we could have filled the 4 categories peacefully, and indeed without scuffles, blows and intellectual bloodbath, just as it happens in some African Parliaments?
Were you on this listserv when Professor Chinua Achebe passed away? Did you see the sad way some brothers and sisters did not give the dead his due and final home-going respect? I rest my case!
A.B. Assensoh of "rainy" Eugene, Oregon.
________________________________________
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] on behalf of udoguei@appstate.edu [udoguei@appstate.edu]
Sent: Thursday, December 19, 2013 12:56 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - No African on the Time list of the 100 Most Significant Figures in History
My question on this issue, and similar matters, is: why don't members of this
distinguished listserv develop a list of its own? Such a list could be named
USA/Africa Dialogue:
1. Africa Man of the Year
2. Africa 100 Most Corrupt Leaders of the Year
3. 100 Most Philanthropic Africans of the Year
4. 10 Top African Leaders of the Year, et cetera, et cetera.
This is just a suggestion. Given the caliber and clout of members of this group,
the effect of this project could be enormous for the continent. Also, such an
undertaking could represent an important contribution to improving the
conditions in Africa—The Garden of Eden in Professor Ali Mazrui's metaphor.
Ike Udogu
----- Original Message -----
From: Abdul Salau <salauabdul@gmail.com>
Date: Thursday, December 19, 2013 7:35 am
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - No African on the Time list of the 100
Most Significant Figures in History
To: toyin <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
> Saint Augustine is African.... who cares this is a shrine to white
> powersprinkled with couple of Asians and Africans.
>
>
> On Thu, Dec 19, 2013 at 6:00 AM, Cornelius Hamelberg <
> corneliushamelberg@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > The Time List of the 100 Most Significant Figures in
> History<http://ideas.time.com/2013/12/10/whos-biggest-the-100-most-
> significant-figures-in-history/>
> >
> > --
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-
> Africa> Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of
> Texas at Austin.
> > For current archives, visit
> > http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
> > For previous archives, visit
> > http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
> > To post to this group, send an email to
> USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com> To unsubscribe from this group,
> send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
> > unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
> > ---
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the
> Google Groups
> > "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
> > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it,
> send an
> > email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
> >
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-
> Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of
> Texas at Austin.
> For current archives, visit
> http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue For previous
> archives, visit
> http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html To post
> to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to
> USAAfricaDialogue-
> unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
> ---
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>
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