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Josh Arinze's letter on Abati (by Tunde Aboyade-Cole)

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Ismail...@aol.com

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Jan 29, 2002, 7:40:56 AM1/29/02
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Josh Arinze

The reason for your anger directed at Mr Reuben Abati for his xenophobic writeups is easy to understand. Abati should be reprimanded by his employers if they have not already done so.
However what baffles me and probably others is your remarkable silence about the published opinions of one Mr Daniel Okonkwo. If you find it so easy to condemn Abati's Igbophobia, why haven't you with the same degree of eloquence and veracity condemned or even cautioned Mr Okonkwo who is probably indirectly doing more damage to your people than Reuben Abati could ever conjure up in his lifetime.
A man who is wicked enough to rejoice at the misfortunae of others deserves a word or two or caution from his brothers and sisters. How can we be sure about the ethnicities of the victims of the unfortunate accidental fire in Lagos? What about the survivors who are now homeless? Is it not possible that some of the dead or homeless could be from Okonkwo's village, yours or mine.? Or as Lagos ceased to be a multi-ethnic city?

Apart from a few much welcomed and important voices from okorie and asame, people like you with journalistic credentials have remainded deafeningly silent. I hate to think that your silence a sign of affirmation of Okonkwo's terrible viewpoints Your protests against Mr Abati will be even more credible if leaders like you could show that you can rise above partisan interests not on when you are on the receiving end of ethnic hatred but even when you are not being negatively impacted.
Those who remain silent in the face of tyranny may just be guilty as the perpetrators.

Good day to you, Sir.

I . Siddiq




Subj: Re: Josh Arinze's letter on Abati (by Tunde Aboyade-Cole)
Date: 1/29/02 4:23:18 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: j_ar...@yahoo.com
To: oha...@ohaneze.org
Sent from the Internet (Details)


Mr. Aboyade-Cole,

I have read your comments on nigeriaworld.com
(reproduced below) regarding my response to Reuben
Abati.  Too bad you didn't get to read the three-part
series that sparked the controversy.  I'd have been
happy to send all three parts to you if you'd bothered
to ask.  We'll, ask or not, I'm sending them to your
mailbox. 

I'm glad to learn you're concerned about "the
possibility of mutual understanding between the
various peoples that make up Nigeria."  That's great.
But talk is cheap.  What have you been doing about
people like Abati, who have been propagating hatred
against the Igbo for many years? 

How many times have you bothered to criticize such
people for their actions?  If you've been speaking out
against people like that, I'd be glad know.  If you
haven't, well.....

Let me quote you: "Arinze's contribution appear worse
in its use of gutter and inflammatory language, its
deliberate distortion of facts and wholesale abuse of
ethnic groups and leaders."

You know what?  That's nonsense.  If you haven't read
Abati's entire series, how can you compare his
write-up and mine?  That proves one of the points I
was making to Abati: research before you write.  You
too, can use that advice.

You claim I was distorting facts.  No, I wasn't; Abati
was, and I proved it in my response to him.  If you
can point to anything I said in my response that can
qualify as a "deliberate distortion of facts," show
it, or hold your peace.

You claim I was abusing ethnic groups and leaders, yet
in your own letter, you accuse me (and my "friend"
Abati) of "lunacy."  I never even went as far as
calling the guy crazy.  And this, despite the fact
that I said from the outset that I was going to try to
speak to him in the language he can understand. (I bet
I did).  For a man posturing as an apostle of
politeness, your own language is pretty rough, Mr.
Aboyade-Cole.

Twice, you describe me and my "friend" Abati as "young
men."  I'm flattered to be included in that
description.  But I'm not too young to see through the
trick you're playing here; pulling out the age card to
give more oomph to the hot air you're blowing.  But
this is not a discussion about age.  Stick to the real
issue, please. 

You describe yourself as "a person ... who believes
that only mutual respect and understanding between our
various peoples - particularly Yoruba and Ibo - can
lead to peace and progress in Nigeria."  I'm
impressed.  But I've heard that before. 

If you want to promote mutual understanding between
Nigeria's ethnic groups, start speaking out against
the Igbophobia propagated by people like Abati.  And
please practice what you preach, so that "young men"
like me can learn from your example.

If however, you decide to write angry responses
complaining about angry responses, just keep in mind
the old saying: Those who don't like heat should stay
out of the kitchen.  Happy new year.

Josh Arinze
====================================================
Tunde Aboyade-Cole
New York, NY, USA

Josh Arinze's letter on Abati

Josh Arinze's letter on Abati represents another
instance of the attitude and blind bigotry which have
fueled the fear of many of us about the possibility of
mutual understanding between the various peoples that
make up Nigeria. Arinze wrote about a three-piece
article by Reuben Abati of The Guardian which he
disagreed with.

The article, which unfortunately I did not read,
appear to contain some very sad insinuations and
bigotry going by Arinze's extracts and another
commentary on the same article by one Arowolaju.

Arinze's contribution appear worse in its use of
gutter and inflammatory language, its deliberate
distortion of facts and wholesale abuse of ethnic
groups and leaders.

It appears as if the two young men - Arinze and Abati
- are in a strange contest for who can best display
crude irresponsibility in the use of language,
demonstrate the worst bigotry and do the greatest
damage to history.

For a person like me who believes that only mutual
respect and understanding between our various peoples
- particularly Yoruba and Ibo - can lead to peace and
progress in Nigeria, the kind of lunacy displayed by
these ill-informed young men is exactly the kind of
poison our dear country can do without.





Josh Arinze

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Jan 29, 2002, 3:03:05 AM1/29/02
to
Mr. Aboyade-Cole,


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Josh Arinze

unread,
Jan 29, 2002, 4:24:19 PM1/29/02
to
Ismail Saddiq,

I don't need you to tell me who to respond to and what
to say. You have every right to respond to Dan
Okonkwo's comments, if you haven't done so already.
If I speak out in support of what he says, then of
course you can criticize me if you feel like it. As
far as I can recall, I have not done that.

When you say "I hate to think that your silence a sign
of affirmation of Okonkwo's terrible viewpoints," you
betray an inexcusable degree of foolishness. If you
were smarter, you would know that collective guilt is
a dangerous concept, a concept that has been
repeatedly used in Nigeria to make excuses mass
murder.

If you don't agree with my response to Abati, you are
within your rights to say so. But when you suggest I
must speak out against every comment you (or I, for
that matter) find offensive, just to please you, you
are being ridiculous. I'll leave it at that, for now.
Good day, sir.

Josh

__________________________________________________

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