USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: On Odia Ofeimun's "Awolowo was greater than Mandela"

Awolowo was greater than Mandela  is the kind of headline that guarantees that even the okuru dogs will be out to wag their tails, to dutifully show their canines, to grow ominously, to do their share of barking. What cannot be denied is that both men are great by whatever parameters within which you would like to define greatness.

Ditto with any of the following headlines:

Benjamin Netanyahu is greater than Mahmoud Abbas!

Muhammad  is greater than Jesus!

Nkrumah is greater than Lumumba!

Malcolm X is greater than Dr. Martin Luther King!

 Nigeria is greater than South Africa!

Goodluck Jonathan  is greater than Jacob Zuma !

Mugabe is greater than Gaddafi

Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey is greater than King Sunny Ade !

 Wole Soyinka is greater than Chinua Achebe - and Shakespeare is greater than both of them!

Obama is greater than Hilary Clinton!

(Of course the assertion that Brother Obama is greater than Hilary Clinton would cause the revered Sheikh Ben-guria to suffer from an apoplexy; such a claim would only perforate his peptic ulcer itself a result of too much pious fasting...)

Well, George Bernard Shaw is reported to have said, "I can think of no writer in English Literature, not even Sir Walter Scott who I more despise than Shakespeare, when I match my intellect against his own!" (As heard from the lips of Von Bradshaw)

Dawodu : Chief Obafemi Awolowo

Chief Obafemi Awolowo speeches

Everyone attests to the impact of his educational policies....

The purpose of the Article – no matter the criteria for making such a comparison could only be to generate debate, discussion and of course in some circles indignation and outright dismissal of any such claim, coming so closely at the heels of dear Madiba's funeral which was a world event .

Ogugua Anunoby says that "Awolowo's greatness is actually diminished by it" (the comparison). Pray Sir, how so?  Very personally speaking, I would say that  it is not an odious comparison,  but  that such a comparison coming at the heels of Madiba's funeral when the dearly departed is still so fresh in our minds is not in good taste and does not, cannot serve its purpose.

This brings us back to man of the people Chinua Achebe's reason for not wanting to honour AWOwith a national funeral, in Achebe's words, because AWO he said "was not an Igbo god!"

And to that extent the author's purpose has been fulfilled. But we could also take a peek at some factors / basis for any comparisons, for their comparative greatness

To be continued,

We Sweden

 

On Saturday, 4 January 2014 20:20:35 UTC+1, Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso wrote:

Just a tiny piece of the ongoing debate...

http://mobile.saharareporters.com/article/symbolism-and-greatness-case-awolowo-and-mandela-remi-oyeyemi
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