MOSES OCHONU: THE COMMA BEFORE THE PERIOD
Toyin Falola
MOSES OCHONU: THE COMMA BEFORE THE PERIOD
I thought we use a comma in a sentence because we have more to say, and we detour via semicolons, colons, dashes, brackets, and other punctuations before we get to the king of them all, the period. And if you misuse one, as in failing to recognize that a semicolon is the husband of a comma, on top of it with a longer orgasm, but declimbed to become the heir to a period, do not blame me if Farooq, the friend of Moses, hammer you on the head. And please do not say that because English is a foreign language, semicolon can replace a colon. Not so, as one lives in the village and the other in the city, meeting once in a while to quickly depart.
Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, this is no more than a comma, as more words will pour in a deluge (I need not add rain or flood to a deluge!) as foretold by that Prophet, whose name I cannot remember at this time. Moses was surprised at his news, as he put it on his Facebook that one of his admirers sent to me.
Since I got into this profession, holding an endowed chair has been my ultimate goal. It is the highest institutional academic recognition and I dreamed of one day attaining that height. Glory be to God; that dream has come true. Although I aspired to it, I did not think that it would come this soon, making it even sweeter. Moses Ochonu
As an aside, I am not on Facebook, perhaps because I don’t know what a face is doing in the company of a book! An Eyebook, yes, but one is yet to be created. And even when some friends created one for me, I asked it to be taken down. And my son works for Facebook in London! Thank you all for supporting his daily bread. But Moses forgot to add, even as huge achievements, that he has declined offers from Columbia and Yale! Unknown to him, whenever those searches commence, names are solicited, as universities must do, that his name, from our own end, is always there. Always there!
I predicted it would happen: for him, for Clapperton, for Ibhawoh, for Nimi, for Wale, for Chika, for Ugo, the Nwokeji Of Ugoland in Oakland country. Ibhawoh’s own came at the speed of light, becoming a national figure. I have one or two other names to add, and one name to delete as I play God with the future of His own creation.
I have the unusual privilege, a few of which I share with Salah Hassan and Paul Zeleza, of compiling names for all the biggest awards. Some get it, some miss it, but I keep re-nominating, adding more lines, more evidence, more arguments. I have even spent hours without end to promote deserving people like Ama Ata Aidoo, thinking that if we failed with Ngugi we should move to another person. One missed what I once nominated him for, and I am completing a book on him just to re nominate him! This is our own Victor Ekpuk who has missed the MacArthur genius award for reasons that baffle me.
The story of Moses is about to begin; what he sees as the end, I see as the beginning. So, I can only compose a comma on his sweet achievement, my own sweeter dreams!
It is no secret that I admire Moses, and that I see him as ten times more talented than me in terms of the ability to conceptualize and complicate, not to talk of his refined use of language. I don’t have his language, not even close. He is a better historian than me. Even all my graduate students in the last ten years know that I see him as my intellectual superior. I have invited him to Austin to speak to my seminar; and to Nigeria to give a Keynote. I have visited him, and I enjoyed a good meal at his place in Nashville. He once invited me to his campus to engage in a stimulating dialogue, pairing me with Mamdou Diouf. What a great conversation! I have sold him where it is possible to, recently inviting him to give a talk at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.
We sometimes disagree on intellectual grounds, as I occasionally initiate debates in private email messages different from those on Dialogue where I don’t want anyone to accuse me of corrupting my role as a moderator. Even my occasional intervention to ask people to stop talking is greeted with “Am I using your mouth?” All what I can do is to say “No sir!” I am an incurable Pan-Africanist, and Moses, Farooq Kperogi, Akin Ogundiran, Augustine Agwuele and a new breed of African intellectuals do not always see things my way. It is precisely because they differ, for creating alternative paradigms, that I actually worship them. A scholar who operates only in the company of those who always agree with him is a mediocre. We flourish because we have critics. Once in a while, one of them will be angry and send me a rude private message; but I will smile, saying that the future of Africa that I imagine does not leave me with the luxury of a fight. Conflict requires two people for it to work—I know of those who engage in conflicts with me, but I do not know of any human being that I engage in conflict with.
This achievement, as much as Moses would like to think of it as his, belongs to us all, the fulfilment of my own dream for Africans and Africa. And because this is a dream comes true, our register must respect the registrar of language.
Age gives me the privilege to offer a sermon, the register that I just mentioned. Here is one. It is so sweet to sleep and have sweet dreams. In some cases, the dream is so sweet that you wish you never woke up, interrupting it! Someone once wisely counselled, however, that no matter how sweet your dreams may be, if you do not wake up and pursue them vigorously, they will remain just that – dreams! – nothing concrete at all to show for the dream. Waking up years later with the taste of ashes in the mouth because time was spent dreaming, no time was spent working, no dream life to show for it.
A sermon must have its application. Our brother, colleague, and friend Moses did not make that mistake. From his days at Bayero University, Kano, where he obtained his BA History, he showed his acumen for dream-making and achievement. For the entire duration of his studies there, he held the Bayero University Scholarship for Outstanding Academic Performance, eventually also scooping up the Michael Crowder Prize for the Best Student on Modern African History and the Best Graduating Student in the Department of History of the class of 1997. His department did not hesitate to offer him an immediate graduate assistantship the same year. With such stellar early achievements, no future political detractors can ever say Moses did not graduate from the Department of History at Bayero!
An application must become motivational. Having started so well, it is no wonder that his career became studded with one starry achievement after the other. Obtaining subsequent degrees in African History from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, he was appointed assistant professor at Vanderbilt in 2004, becoming associate professor in 2011 and then professor in 2015. He has published three books, with two others forthcoming, numerous articles in refereed journals and chapters in books, and is a sought after keynote speaker and guest lecturer. His research in this time received various recognitions including various grants and fellowships. Many would have rested on their laurels at this point but Moses wanted the Chair, and never relented for one day. He knew what he wanted when he stepped into the American academy: the almighty endowed Chair!
A motivation must turn into a testimony. Professor Moses Ochonu is indeed deserving of this most recent and highest recognition of his university. He has established for himself the distinguished reputation of being one of the leading scholars of northern and middle belt Nigeria today, joining the ranks of the like of Smith, Adeleye, Mahdi, Usman, to mention but a few since I am just in the comma mood. His important 2014 book, Colonialism by Proxy: Hausa Imperial Agents and Middle Belt Consciousness in Nigeria, the finalist for the prestigious ASA Herskovits Prize for the Best Scholarly Book in African Studies in any Discipline in 2015, subverts the accepted understandings of the mechanics of indirect rule in British colonial Africa, and especially in northern Nigeria. He argues there that it was “subcolonialism” and not indirect rule that dictated British policy because the Hausa-Fulani overlords of the non-Muslim people of the middle belt negotiated their domination of these populations by recourse to claims of superior authority conferred on them by the Jihads of the early 1800s. His fine and sophisticated analysis of these dynamics are major contribution to the corpus of Nigerian history, setting him apart and above his peers.
A testimony goes with a confessional. Moses is passionate about Nigeria, and this is evident in his continuous and numerous commentaries about Nigerian affairs. He is deeply engaged in puzzling the challenges and proposing the solutions for the country’s progress. We know him here on the USA Africa Dialogue Series forum, as a voice that brings gravitas to any conversation he is engaged in, nuancing his analysis with uncommon insight, an eye for the fine points, and an attempt at objectivity on many divisive topics. On Facebook, he has already reached the limit of the number of friends that he can accept because thousands are so keen to read what he has to say on the various issues of the day! His essays have appeared in major Nigerian newspapers in print and online and his provocative article “The Shattering of the Buhari Mythology” in African Arguments was voted by readers as the 2016 Best Article of the Year. He is not a Nigerian academic that observes and comments about the country from a distance; no, he takes time out to visit, navigating pot-holed roads, locating the latest and best chicken suya spots in Abuja, and even taking time to appreciate Big Brother Nigeria on TV!
A confession ends in a blessing. This March, Moses already celebrated his birthday, and the news of his appointment to the Cornelius Vandebilt Chair must be perhaps the best birthday gift he has ever had. We celebrate with him, and wish him bigger dreams, above all.
This is a comma in the long sentences that I need to write on Moses, the intellectual messiah of our time, just one of the commas before I reach the end with a period.
TF
Ochayi Okpeh
This indeed, is a befitting comma in the yet to be concluded long story of this intellectual giant. Agbalagba Falola, you have said if all. We should rejoice in this historic recognition of our brother and colleague. We are proud of his intellectual prowess and wish him many more elevations and recognition in the not too distant future. Thank you Sir, for this piece.
--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
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/d/optout.
Olayinka Agbetuyi
ZALANGA SAMUEL
Moses, please accept my sincere and joyous congratulations and celebration of this great accomplishment of yours.
Samuel
Sent: Friday, March 24, 2017 5:39 AM
To: dialogue; Yoruba Affairs
Cc: olubo...@yahoo.com; ololadeo...@gmail.com; Adeyemi...@yahoo.com; charles...@yahoo.com; muffy...@yahoo.com; bad...@yahoo.com; olupa...@gmail.com; kayodeon...@yahoo.co.uk; ralia...@yahoo.com; benson...@gmail.com; deity:; babj...@yahoo.com; tolu...@gmail.com; fortune...@gmail.com; julia....@wolfson.ox.ac.uk; josepha...@gmail.com; shegun...@gmail.com; ajigba...@gmail.com; M Insa Nolte; Olukoya Ogen (koya...@gmail.com); moyo.o...@utexas.edu; Afolabi, Omoniyi; Ademola Dasylva; Aribidesi Usman; Bukola Adeyemi Oyeniyi; Micheal Afolayan; PHILIP_OGUNDEJI OGUNDEJI; akinlabi; Segun Ojewuyi; tunde_b...@yahoo.com; Adenle, Adewale; Abayomi Ola; ogundimu; agbetuyi; Babatunde; Mosadomi, Tola; Akinloye A Ojo; Akinyemi,Akintunde; tadeg...@yahoo.com; ogun Ogundiran; dele....@miamioh.edu; mimikofemi; agwale Agwuele; arinpe adejumo; bimbola adelakun; dotuna...@utexas.edu; Adeleke_Adeeko Adeeko; aaa adesanya; AdeěleěkeĚ AdeěeĚňkoňě; Olasope Oyelaran; kolapo....@howard.edu; Adeshina Afolayan; SamuelOloruntoba; borgu; nimi; Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso; Oyeniyi, Bukola; ab Assensoh; samson ijaola; bayo; Victor Ekpuk; Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso; Ogungbemi; obasa; adeyemi_bukola_oyeniyi oyeniyi; samade...@yahoo.co.uk; REGISTRAR REGISTRAR; Bisola F; Gbenga Dasylva; Oluwole 2 Dasylva; Ropo Ewenla; kpda...@yahoo.com; Gbenga Akosile; oreli...@yahoo.com; ayo_olukotun-yahoo.com; M Buba; dele Ashiru; Akinjide OUNTOKUN; Wale Ghazal; Odugbemi Ibrahim; Ochayi Okpeh; sati Fwatshak; odey ODEY; Stephen Akintoye; Saheed Aderinto; kgi...@austin.rr.com; Emmanuel Babatunde; Vik Bahl; Tade Akin Aina; akan...@yahoo.com; dele jegede; Wale Adebanwi; aka; Caroline Tushabe; fallou ngom; DOYIN AGUORU; misschr...@utexas.edu; Chukwuemeka Agbo; ZALANGA SAMUEL; adigun...@yahoo.com; baba...@yahoo.com; bte...@umassd.edu; Oladele Balogun; Alexius Amtaika; Bode Ibironke; Ayobami Salami; Bamitale Omole; dijiaina; Ademola Araoye; Egodi Uchendu; Nasong'o_Shadrack; abo...@utexas.edu; Michael Vickers; Martin Shanguhyia; Kenneth Kalu; scot; Tunji Olaopa; Omowunmi Sadik; Nemata Blyden; kolawole adekola; Gaf Oye; Afolayan, Funso; Steiner Ifekwe; Carina Ray; Dawuni, Josephine; Tanure Ojaide; Odia Ofeimun; Uyilawa Usuanlele; Anene Ejikeme; Abimbola Asojo; Pamela Smith; Abdul Bangura; Felicia Ohwovoriole; Saine, Abdoulaye; Jimoh Oriyomi; lekan pearce; Babs Sobanjo; Mukhtar Bunza; Bessie House-Soremekun; Gloria Chuku; MOLEFI K. ASANTE; tunde jaiyeoba; Uzoma Osuala; Chap Kusimba; Philip Akpen; Admin; Abidogun, Jamaine M; Olufunke Adeboye; Chima Korieh; Femi_Osofisan Osofisan; tony agwuele; adje...@utexas.edu; Paul T. Zeleza; Jalloh, Alusine; Adejumo, Christopher O; Ashafa Abdullahi; mario.j.azevedo; olatunji oyeshile; ebunoduwole2k2; nikeajayi_52; Abosede George; Yvette M Alex-Assensoh; bridy...@gmail.com; folahan...@gmail.com; Shennette Garrett-Scott; Vusi Gumede, Prof; Mickie Koster; Sifiso Ndlovu; Udogu; Yemisi Obilade; Yusuf Adedayo Hauwau Evelyn; Bello Maryam; Bolaji Akinyemi; kwame Essien; Osondu, Epaphras; Toyin Falola
Subject: MOSES OCHONU: THE COMMA BEFORE THE PERIOD
onyima blessing
Anthropology (University of Ibadan, Nigeria)
Lecturer/Ethnographic Researcher
Sociology & Anthropology
Nnamdi Azikiwe University
Awka Nigeria.
Fellow African Humanities Program (FAHP) @ Rhodes University Grashamtown South Africa.
bn.o...@unizik.edu.ng
nonyel...@yahoo.com
+2348065014542
27710193887.
This message is eligible for Automatic Cleanup! (toyin...@austin.utexas.edu)
Add cleanup rule
| More info
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDial...@googlegroups.com
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
Kenneth Harrow
Beautiful encomium.
Dear moses, I hope becoming the messiah won’t be too much of a burden for your human enterprises!
ken
Kenneth Harrow
Dept of English and Film Studies
Abosede George
Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju
On 24/03/2017, 'Adekunle, Julius' via Yoruba Affairs
<yoruba...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
> Congratulations to Prof. Ochonu. We wish you success in your new
> assignment.
>
>
> Julius
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Sati Fwatshak <sfwa...@gmail.com>
> Sent: Friday, March 24, 2017 9:56 AM
> To: Toyin Falola
> Cc: dele....@miamioh.edu; Paul T. Zeleza; Gbenga Dasylva;
> moyo.o...@utexas.edu; Gbenga Akosile; Mickie Koster; Olajumoke
> Yacob-Haliso; Chap Kusimba; bayo; ab Assensoh; mario.j.azevedo; Abosede
> George; ralia...@yahoo.com; Tanure Ojaide; arinpe adejumo; dialogue;
> Omowunmi Sadik; Adeyemi...@yahoo.com; Jimoh Oriyomi; agwale Agwuele;
> mimikofemi; josepha...@gmail.com; Odugbemi Ibrahim; Yvette M
> Alex-Assensoh; Felicia Ohwovoriole; Osondu, Epaphras; M Buba; Abayomi Ola;
> Bukola Adeyemi Oyeniyi; Nasong'o_Shadrack; odey ODEY; Ayobami Salami; Wale
> Adebanwi; agbetuyi; Ropo Ewenla; Segun Ojewuyi; Afolayan, Funso; Alexius
> Amtaika; deity:; Anene Ejikeme; adeyemi_bukola_oyeniyi oyeniyi; Mosadomi,
> Tola; Tunji Olaopa; Ashafa Abdullahi; Admin; Babs Sobanjo; kolawole adekola;
> ololadeo...@gmail.com; Aribidesi Usman; Sifiso Ndlovu;
> folahan...@gmail.com; Bolaji Akinyemi; Odia Ofeimun; Ademola Araoye;
> obasa; Bello Maryam; bad...@yahoo.com; scot; Bamitale Omole; Nemata Blyden;
> Akinloye A Ojo; Jalloh, Alusine; fallou ngom; Babatunde; Martin Shanguhyia;
> kayodeon...@yahoo.co.uk; ayo_olukotun-yahoo.com; Steiner Ifekwe;
> Mukhtar Bunza; ZALANGA SAMUEL; Udogu; Dawuni, Josephine;
> benson...@gmail.com; Oyeniyi, Bukola; Gloria Chuku; Caroline Tushabe;
> kolapo....@howard.edu; shegun...@gmail.com;
> julia....@wolfson.ox.ac.uk; Bode Ibironke; Yoruba Affairs; tunde
> jaiyeoba; Kenneth Kalu; misschr...@utexas.edu; Philip Akpen; Abimbola
> Asojo; tadeg...@yahoo.com; charles...@yahoo.com;
> fortune...@gmail.com; kgi...@austin.rr.com; Ochayi Okpeh; DOYIN
> AGUORU; Uzoma Osuala; ogun Ogundiran; adigun...@yahoo.com; dele jegede;
> Adekunle, Julius; Carina Ray; Femi_Osofisan Osofisan; Micheal Afolayan;
> ajigba...@gmail.com; Emmanuel Babatunde; Olasope Oyelaran; aaa adesanya;
> ogundimu; bridy...@gmail.com; Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso; Adenle, Adewale;
> nikeajayi_52; Vusi Gumede, Prof; Chima Korieh; Abdul Bangura; Uyilawa
> Usuanlele; abo...@utexas.edu; Ademola Dasylva; ebunoduwole2k2; aka;
> Akinyemi,Akintunde; Oladele Balogun; Chukwuemeka Agbo; olupa...@gmail.com;
> bte...@umassd.edu; dotuna...@utexas.edu; Egodi Uchendu; AdeěleěkeĚ
> AdeěeĚňkoňě; PHILIP_OGUNDEJI OGUNDEJI; Olufunke Adeboye; Bessie
> House-Soremekun; Adeleke_Adeeko Adeeko; tolu...@gmail.com; Yusuf Adedayo
> Hauwau Evelyn; Vik Bahl; kpda...@yahoo.com; MOLEFI K. ASANTE; Stephen
> Akintoye; muffy...@yahoo.com; kwame Essien; samade...@yahoo.co.uk;
> Victor Ekpuk; SamuelOloruntoba; lekan pearce; Afolabi, Omoniyi;
> tunde_b...@yahoo.com; olatunji oyeshile; Abidogun, Jamaine M; Pamela
> Smith; Michael Vickers; nimi; bimbola adelakun; Yemisi Obilade; Saine,
> Abdoulaye; dijiaina; olubo...@yahoo.com; Ogungbemi; samson ijaola;
> Akinjide OUNTOKUN; REGISTRAR REGISTRAR; Shennette Garrett-Scott; Wale
> Ghazal; akinlabi; M Insa Nolte; adje...@utexas.edu; Adeshina Afolayan;
> baba...@yahoo.com; Gaf Oye; Saheed Aderinto; Oluwole 2 Dasylva; Tade Akin
> Aina; tony agwuele; akan...@yahoo.com; babj...@yahoo.com; Olukoya Ogen
> (koya...@gmail.com); oreli...@yahoo.com; Bisola F; Adejumo, Christopher
> O; dele Ashiru
> Subject: Re: MOSES OCHONU: THE COMMA BEFORE THE PERIOD
>
> A very big congratulations, Moses, for this achievement. I rejoice with you
> and wish you all the best, as I look forward to you receiving more honors in
> future. Sati
>
> On Mar 24, 2017 11:40, "Toyin Falola"
> <toyin...@austin.utexas.edu<mailto:toyin...@austin.utexas.edu>>
> http://groups.google.com/group/yorubaaffairs
> http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
>
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> To post to this group, send email to yoruba...@googlegroups.com.
> Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/yorubaaffairs.
Pamela Smith
Dear Moses:
Though this CONGRATULATORY message comes from the heart, it pales beside Ojogbon Toyin’s brilliant, well-versed Nobel-like accolade (I hope you caught the “Nobel” hint in passing).
Nonetheless, I pray: K’ADE YI O PE L’ORI O (May this crowning glory sit, firmly placed on your head); KU ISE (well done)!
Ire ni o! (peace)
Assensoh, Akwasi B.
Dear Grammarians in our Midst:
I looked at Brother Zeleza's title under his posting: Vice Chancellor, United States International University-Africa! Of course, it is lofty and impressive!
However, when a female friend -- with a phlosophy (logic) degree -- was a Dean, she often ridiculed titles like "Vice Chancellor"; "Vice President", and "Vice Provost". To her, they meant "Chancellors with Vices"; "Presidents with Vices", and "Provosts with Vices". Therefore, when she was named a "Senior Vice-President and Provost", she always made sure that she inserted a "hypen" (-) between Vice and President, and she made a big deal about it, saying "I have no Vice, because I am a Vice-President, not a Vice President".
As my legendary mentor and admirere, Baba Ijebu of Yaba and Palmgrove (nigeria), would ask the Grammarians in our midst, "Na, which is better: Vice-Chacellor/Vice-President or Vice Chancellor/Vice President?" Seriously, I want to know the correct usage as a historian, with some training in Journalism and Law!
A.B. Assensoh.
Sent: Friday, March 24, 2017 7:59 AM
To: Toyin Falola
Cc: dialogue; Yoruba Affairs; olubo...@yahoo.com; ololadeo...@gmail.com; Adeyemi...@yahoo.com; charles...@yahoo.com; muffy...@yahoo.com; bad...@yahoo.com; olupa...@gmail.com; kayodeon...@yahoo.co.uk; ralia...@yahoo.com; benson...@gmail.com; deity:; babj...@yahoo.com; tolu...@gmail.com; fortune...@gmail.com; julia....@wolfson.ox.ac.uk; josepha...@gmail.com; shegun...@gmail.com; ajigba...@gmail.com; M Insa Nolte; Olukoya Ogen (koya...@gmail.com); moyo.o...@utexas.edu; Afolabi, Omoniyi; Ademola Dasylva; Aribidesi Usman; Bukola Adeyemi Oyeniyi; Micheal Afolayan; PHILIP_OGUNDEJI OGUNDEJI; akinlabi; Segun Ojewuyi; tunde_b...@yahoo.com; Adenle, Adewale; Abayomi Ola; ogundimu; agbetuyi; Babatunde; Mosadomi, Tola; Akinloye A Ojo; Akinyemi,Akintunde; tadeg...@yahoo.com; ogun Ogundiran; dele....@miamioh.edu; mimikofemi; agwale Agwuele; arinpe adejumo; bimbola adelakun; dotuna...@utexas.edu; Adeleke_Adeeko Adeeko; aaa adesanya; AdeěleěkeĚ AdeěeĚňkoňě; Olasope Oyelaran; kolapo....@howard.edu; Adeshina Afolayan; SamuelOloruntoba; borgu; nimi; Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso; Oyeniyi, Bukola; Assensoh, Akwasi B.; samson ijaola; bayo; Victor Ekpuk; Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso; Ogungbemi; obasa; adeyemi_bukola_oyeniyi oyeniyi; samade...@yahoo.co.uk; REGISTRAR REGISTRAR; Bisola F; Gbenga Dasylva; Oluwole 2 Dasylva; Ropo Ewenla; kpda...@yahoo.com; Gbenga Akosile; oreli...@yahoo.com; ayo_olukotun-yahoo.com; M Buba; dele Ashiru; Akinjide OUNTOKUN; Wale Ghazal; Odugbemi Ibrahim; Ochayi Okpeh; sati Fwatshak; odey ODEY; Stephen Akintoye; Saheed Aderinto; kgi...@austin.rr.com; Emmanuel Babatunde; Vik Bahl; Tade Akin Aina; akan...@yahoo.com; dele jegede; Wale Adebanwi; aka; Caroline Tushabe; fallou ngom; DOYIN AGUORU; misschr...@utexas.edu; Chukwuemeka Agbo; ZALANGA SAMUEL; adigun...@yahoo.com; baba...@yahoo.com; bte...@umassd.edu; Oladele Balogun; Alexius Amtaika; Bode Ibironke; Ayobami Salami; Bamitale Omole; dijiaina; Ademola Araoye; Egodi Uchendu; Nasong'o_Shadrack; abo...@utexas.edu; Michael Vickers; Martin Shanguhyia; Kenneth Kalu; scot; Tunji Olaopa; Omowunmi Sadik; Nemata Blyden; kolawole adekola; Gaf Oye; Afolayan, Funso; Steiner Ifekwe; Carina Ray; Dawuni, Josephine; Tanure Ojaide; Odia Ofeimun; Uyilawa Usuanlele; Anene Ejikeme; Abimbola Asojo; Pamela Smith; Abdul Bangura; Felicia Ohwovoriole; Saine, Abdoulaye; Jimoh Oriyomi; lekan pearce; Babs Sobanjo; Mukhtar Bunza; Bessie House-Soremekun; Gloria Chuku; MOLEFI K. ASANTE; tunde jaiyeoba; Uzoma Osuala; Chap Kusimba; Philip Akpen; Admin; Abidogun, Jamaine M; Olufunke Adeboye; Chima Korieh; Femi_Osofisan Osofisan; tony agwuele; adje...@utexas.edu; Jalloh, Alusine; Adejumo, Christopher O; Ashafa Abdullahi; mario.j.azevedo; olatunji oyeshile; ebunoduwole2k2; nikeajayi_52; Abosede George; Yvette M Alex-Assensoh; bridy...@gmail.com; folahan...@gmail.com; Shennette Garrett-Scott; Vusi Gumede, Prof; Mickie Koster; Sifiso Ndlovu; Udogu; Yemisi Obilade; Yusuf Adedayo Hauwau Evelyn; Bello Maryam; Bolaji Akinyemi; kwame Essien; Osondu, Epaphras
Subject: Re: MOSES OCHONU: THE COMMA BEFORE THE PERIOD
Thank you for this beautiful tribute to Moses.
Moses, congratulations on your well deserved accolades! We are all proud of you, keep up the great work.
Best regards,
Paul Tiyambe Zeleza
Vice Chancellor
United States International University-Africa
P.O. Box 14684-00800, Nairobi, Kenya
+254 20 360-6411
www.usiu.ac.ke<http://www.usiu.ac.ke>
Latest Book Publication: The Transformation of Global Higher Education, 1945-2015 (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, August 2016) http://www.palgrave.com/gb/book/9781137578570
Okey Iheduru
Dear Grammarians in our Midst:
I looked at Brother Zeleza's title under his posting: Vice Chancellor, United States International University-Africa! Of course, it is lofty and impressive!
However, when a female friend -- with a phlosophy (logic) degree -- was a Dean, she often ridiculed titles like "Vice Chancellor"; "Vice President", and "Vice Provost". To her, they meant "Chancellors with Vices"; "Presidents with Vices", and "Provosts with Vices". Therefore, when she was named a "Senior Vice-President and Provost", she always made sure that she inserted a "hypen" (-) between Vice and President, and she made a big deal about it, saying "I have no Vice, because I am a Vice-President, not a Vice President".
As my legendary mentor and admirere, Baba Ijebu of Yaba and Palmgrove (nigeria), would ask the Grammarians in our midst, "Na, which is better: Vice-Chacellor/Vice-President or Vice Chancellor/Vice President?" Seriously, I want to know the correct usage as a historian, with some training in Journalism and Law!
A.B. Assensoh.
From: Paul T. Zeleza <pze...@usiu.ac.ke>
Sent: Friday, March 24, 2017 7:59 AM
To: Toyin Falola
Cc: dialogue; Yoruba Affairs; olubo...@yahoo.com; ololadeo...@gmail.com; Adeyemi...@yahoo.com; charles...@yahoo.com; muffy...@yahoo.com; bad...@yahoo.com; olupa...@gmail.com; kayodeon...@yahoo.co.uk; ralia...@yahoo.com; benson...@gmail.com; deity:; babj...@yahoo.com; tolu...@gmail.com; fortune...@gmail.com; julia....@wolfson.ox.ac.uk; josepha...@gmail.com; shegun...@gmail.com; ajigba...@gmail.com; M Insa Nolte; Olukoya Ogen (koya...@gmail.com); moyo.o...@utexas.edu; Afolabi, Omoniyi; Ademola Dasylva; Aribidesi Usman; Bukola Adeyemi Oyeniyi; Micheal Afolayan; PHILIP_OGUNDEJI OGUNDEJI; akinlabi; Segun Ojewuyi; tunde_b...@yahoo.com; Adenle, Adewale; Abayomi Ola; ogundimu; agbetuyi; Babatunde; Mosadomi, Tola; Akinloye A Ojo; Akinyemi,Akintunde; tadeg...@yahoo.com; ogun Ogundiran; dele....@miamioh.edu; mimikofemi; agwale Agwuele; arinpe adejumo; bimbola adelakun; dotuna...@utexas.edu; Adeleke_Adeeko Adeeko; aaa adesanya; AdeěleěkeĚ AdeěeĚňkoňě; Olasope Oyelaran; kolapo....@howard.edu; Adeshina Afolayan; SamuelOloruntoba; borgu; nimi; Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso; Oyeniyi, Bukola; Assensoh, Akwasi B.; samson ijaola; bayo; Victor Ekpuk; Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso; Ogungbemi; obasa; adeyemi_bukola_oyeniyi oyeniyi; samade...@yahoo.co.uk; REGISTRAR REGISTRAR; Bisola F; Gbenga Dasylva; Oluwole 2 Dasylva; Ropo Ewenla; kpda...@yahoo.com; Gbenga Akosile; oreli...@yahoo.com; ayo_olukotun-yahoo.com; M Buba; dele Ashiru; Akinjide OUNTOKUN; Wale Ghazal; Odugbemi Ibrahim; Ochayi Okpeh; sati Fwatshak; odey ODEY; Stephen Akintoye; Saheed Aderinto; kgi...@austin.rr.com; Emmanuel Babatunde; Vik Bahl; Tade Akin Aina; akan...@yahoo.com; dele jegede; Wale Adebanwi; aka; Caroline Tushabe; fallou ngom; DOYIN AGUORU; misschr...@utexas.edu; Chukwuemeka Agbo; ZALANGA SAMUEL; adigun...@yahoo.com; baba...@yahoo.com; bte...@umassd.edu; Oladele Balogun; Alexius Amtaika; Bode Ibironke; Ayobami Salami; Bamitale Omole; dijiaina; Ademola Araoye; Egodi Uchendu; Nasong'o_Shadrack; abo...@utexas.edu; Michael Vickers; Martin Shanguhyia; Kenneth Kalu; scot; Tunji Olaopa; Omowunmi Sadik; Nemata Blyden; kolawole adekola; Gaf Oye; Afolayan, Funso; Steiner Ifekwe; Carina Ray; Dawuni, Josephine; Tanure Ojaide; Odia Ofeimun; Uyilawa Usuanlele; Anene Ejikeme; Abimbola Asojo; Pamela Smith; Abdul Bangura; Felicia Ohwovoriole; Saine, Abdoulaye; Jimoh Oriyomi; lekan pearce; Babs Sobanjo; Mukhtar Bunza; Bessie House-Soremekun; Gloria Chuku; MOLEFI K. ASANTE; tunde jaiyeoba; Uzoma Osuala; Chap Kusimba; Philip Akpen; Admin; Abidogun, Jamaine M; Olufunke Adeboye; Chima Korieh; Femi_Osofisan Osofisan; tony agwuele; adje...@utexas.edu; Jalloh, Alusine; Adejumo, Christopher O; Ashafa Abdullahi; mario.j.azevedo; olatunji oyeshile; ebunoduwole2k2; nikeajayi_52; Abosede George; Yvette M Alex-Assensoh; bridy...@gmail.com; folahan...@gmail.com; Shennette Garrett-Scott; Vusi Gumede, Prof; Mickie Koster; Sifiso Ndlovu; Udogu; Yemisi Obilade; Yusuf Adedayo Hauwau Evelyn; Bello Maryam; Bolaji Akinyemi; kwame Essien; Osondu, Epaphras
Subject: Re: MOSES OCHONU: THE COMMA BEFORE THE PERIOD
Toyon,
Thank you for this beautiful tribute to Moses.
Moses, congratulations on your well deserved accolades! We are all proud of you, keep up the great work.
Best regards,
Paul Tiyambe Zeleza
Vice Chancellor
United States International University-Africa
P.O. Box 14684-00800, Nairobi, Kenya
+254 20 360-6411
www.usiu.ac.ke<http://www.usiu.ac.ke>
Latest Book Publication: The Transformation of Global Higher Education, 1945-2015 (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, August 2016) http://www.palgrave.com/gb/book/9781137578570
DISCLAIMER: All the information contained in this email message is strictly confidential and may be legally privileged. Such information is intended exclusively for the use of the designated recipient(s). Any disclosure, copying or distribution of all or part of the information contained herein or other use of or the taking of any action in reliance upon this information by third parties is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this email message in error please delete it immediately and notify the university through email at u...@usiu.ac.ke<mailto:ulc@usiu.ac.ke>
--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
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.
Cornelius Hamelberg
English-style plurals now officially OK in written Swedish
Wofa Akwasi,
Let's hear what they have to say.
It's a feeling for the language. We have exactly the same question for the Super-grammarians, especially the gringos among them ("uncountable nouns" etc.) Whatever next! We should start counting our fingers and our toes also? Yours truly of course does not need to consult any grammar books or dictionaries to let fast bullets fly...
For decades now I have been thinking cynically along those lines, that an unhyphenated vice-president is nothing short of being a president of vice - (with the emphasis on the sexual) and as far as some vice presidents go, capped by corruption, lots - tons of it. Unless of course the hyphen is an unintentional omission - in which case the sorry journalist - if he is indeed brave enough and unrepentant could dismiss the "mistake" with a shrug of his shoulder and make it an intentional accusation by saying in a cheeky, off hand sort of way, give the son of Satan the benefit of the doubt with a "if the cap fits, wear it."
However, in a real African dictatorship where strong arm politics is the order of the day, the vice president orders his special security to fetch him the journalist who was making fun of him , insinuating that he was a vice president and not a vice-president. The special security thugs capture their man in some local drinking parlour , throw him into the back of their truck , transport him to his date with fate - throw him at the feet of the VP (the viper) and there he remains in a huddle, not daring to make the slightest movement until he hears the Oga's voice asking him rhetorically, "What was that nonsense you wrote about me in that your rag ?" The accused doesn't dare make any attempt to reply., to defend himself or to offer an explanation or apology. He knows that the Oga is angry and that not only his future but his very life is at stake and at that point he doesn't even know if the Oga don ask the question finish. The accused still on the floor in a heap is patient - he still doesn't move and he still doesn't say a word. The VP/deputy strong man continues with his tirade and suddenly asks, "What do you have to say for yourself before I throw your sorry ass to the crocodiles?" AT which point the accused starts moving a little, imperceptibly his body starts shaking, he begins to cry, sob sob, ( the effect of the beer) and his timing his perfect , " Sir", he moans, "Sir, I was drunk when I wrote that piece" That’s right, he now wants to blame it all on the haram al-cohol. "Sir do ya I take God beg you, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, forgive me Sir." And now in a kneeling position like President Jonathan here , but looking infinitely more subservient, and totally dejected he repeats himself in utterly sincere humility, :
"Ai beg Sah !"
DISCLAIMER: All the information contained in this email message is strictly confidential and may be legally privileged. Such information is intended exclusively for the use of the designated recipient(s). Any disclosure, copying or distribution of all or part of the information contained herein or other use of or the taking of any action in reliance upon this information by third parties is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this email message in error please delete it immediately and notify the university through email at u...@usiu.ac.ke<mailt...@usiu.ac.ke>