Falola @ 60 Conference and Book Presentation: Professor Afolayan bares his mind on Toyin Falola
adeyemi bukola oyeniyi
Dear all,
As the Falola @ 60 Conference and Book Presentation approaches, eminent scholars and men and women of note across the globe are pouring out their hearts in salute and admiration of this legendary figure, Professor Toyin Falola who, as Professor Michael Afolayan puts it, clocks just “Sixty péré (Only 60)”. As this eminent and noble scholar noted below, Professor Falola’s achievements within the space of 60 years are feats that, ordinarily, take about 600 or more years to materialize. Little wonder then that Professors Lovejoy, Michael Vickers, Bangura and others likened Professor Falola to a Yemoja, an Esu, an Emere, an Egyptian sage, etc.
No one says it as well as Professor Afolayan … Read on…
Iroko, The True King of The Forest: Greetings . . .
By
Professor Michael O. Afolayan
Professor Falola:
My wife and I would like to join the host of admirers to wish you a Happy Diamond Year! We had both planned to attend this important occasion when suddenly we realized we had a clash of two monumental events; a major family affair we could not excuse ourselves from would take place right inside our home on the same weekend! It was like breaking the proverbial wind into one’s mouth and adding honey into it – you can’t swallow the smelly gas, and you cannot spit out the sweet honey. Or, better still, for us, it became the quintessential case of “idunnu-subu-l’ayo” (a convergence of joy and elation; a meeting point of double blessing) as we will witness the jubilation of our child and the celebration of our friend. To this, we say, Gloria Semper Deo (to God be the glory)!
“Falola at 60?” Many would ask. Is this the same Falola, the indefatigable factory of intellectual productivity? Sixty péré? (Only 60)? One could have thought you to be 70, 80, 90, or 100. In fact, even if you were to be 600 or 6000 years of age, your record of relentless pursuit of intellectual finesse would still call to question the possibility and plausibility of such monumental achievements. Yet, they are real. How many in modern or ancient history would match the record of your unstoppable penmanship? They would be few, if any. But, as the cliché goes, “the age of Methuselah has nothing to do with the Wisdom of Solomon.”
Professor Falola, you are a man of wisdom and unparalleled gifts, an enigma of the highest order. You are the revered Iroko Tree, which if it survived the weeder’s knife and not chopped off at infancy would grow to become the true king of the forest, growing tall and strong, unstoppable in all its ways and shoulder higher than all its competitors in the jungle. The lion can roar; the elephant can trumpet; they are heard and they are gone, but it is the Iroko Tree whose stumps and branches would build palaces and bridges, home and abroad, far and wide, long after the bones of lions and the tusks of elephants are mere collector items. We dove our hats in your honor.
Needless to say, momentous as your contributions to the world of intellect are, they pale in comparison to your contributions to the lives of people who truly know you – inside and outside the intellectual world. You are endowed with a humble and generous heart. For that, our own hearts rejoice and are humbled to have you as friend. We pray as you take time to care for others, that the Power beyond may take care of you.
Congratulations to you and your wife on your 60th Birthday and on this occasion of another festschrift added to your multiple ones. For you, it’s like “the eye that has seen the Gelede dance,” which is said to have “witnessed the peak of spectacles.” You’ve seen waves of the ocean and no longer can you be intimidated by the flow of the lagoon. In essence, being honored is not new to you. In fact, like work, it has become your second nature. You’ve been chieftained, elevated and celebrated. Say it, you’ve seen it. This is just an icing on your cake, an occasion to put on your brows another wreath of victory. Yet, this is as serious and more unique as any honor bestowed on you in the past, for this is one diamond path you would never tread again. You can only pass this road but once. Congratulations for treading it with grace and style!
Ifa, the god of your ancestors, once said, “keesekeese le ti n ri, kààsàkààsà n bo lehin; kààsàkààsà babaa keesekeese,” meaning, in poor man’s street language, “you ain’t seen nothing yet!” Professor Falola, “O tun ku” (more to come) is the sound that comes from the barrel of the gun, and so I say, your best is yet to come – sounds laughable, but very true - mark my words! Best of luck! You are a good man and you deserve the very best, and where there is a best, better is not good enough.
Be well!
Chidi Anthony Opara
Emeagwali, Gloria (History)
eminent scholar- and meeting some of our USAafricadialogue diehards, too.
GE
Professor Gloria Emeagwali
Prof. of History & African Studies
History Department
Central Connecticut State University
New Britain
CT 06050
africahistory.net
vimeo.com/user5946750/videos
Documentaries on Africa and the African Diaspora
________________________________
From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com [usaafric...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of adeyemi bukola oyeniyi [oyen...@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, October 06, 2013 12:13 PM
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com; Yoruba Affairs; Saheed Aderinto; S.Ademola Ajayi; OGBOGBO CHRIS; Dr. Osaro Edo; Rasheed Olaniyi; Paul Kehinde Ogbuajah; Isaac Albert
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Falola @ 60 Conference and Book Presentation: Professor Afolayan bares his mind on Toyin Falola
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