Moderator's Gratitude

[Toyin Falola]

Greetings to you all in the New Year! Silver and gold have I none…but words of affection are plenty, from me to you.

Today is also my birthday and if you are considering a gift, here is what I want:

1. Civility: do not insult anyone, either directly or indirectly. Supply your arguments, and let it rest there.
2. “Tribalism”: Create your own “tribal list” and do your insiders’ talk, even plan your wars if you want one, but there are some of us who think beyond this, who see all individuals as humans and citizens, who want everyone to live well and in peace. If you want only your “tribal fellow" to be the center of your life, generate your own list, leave this list, and respect some of us.
3. No private email to me: Due to declining energy, it has become difficult for me to be replying private notes. I receive almost 200 E-mail messages on a daily basis, and replying to them all, which I do, has taken a heavy toll on me. I am in good health, but there is no more high energy level to sustain many activities. I wont be replying to private email messages regarding the dialogue other than on subscription matters. No more such things as “why did you reject the post” or messages from me for you to re-write certain portions.
4. No anti-this or anti-that: There is no need to be anti -Islam, anti-Hutu, anti-Zuma, anti-this, anti-that. Give us ideas; tell us how to translate the ideas into practice; if you criticize Africa or a government, tell us how you will do things differently. 
5. Exaggerations: Caution is needed. I have declined posts that say 1000 Igbo were killed at Onitsha; 400 Hausa traders were killed at Aba. A reasonable person must not say something that is not correct and one that could let mobs organize to kill others. One time, I panicked over this kind of information, calling people all over the country to prevent conflict. It turns out that the postings are not correct. Exercise caution.
6. Armchair Diasporans: Many Africans abroad are now to be counted as among the enemies of Africa. You cannot be enjoying the comfort of your London or New York home and be talking about creating wars and conflicts in your places of birth, be abusing people who struggle to survive; traders who parade their wars; suffering poor, etc. If you cannot contribute to their lives and struggles in positive ways, just watch television in your private homes and let them live their lives in peace.

All best wishes for 2016.

Toyin Falola

Department of History

The University of Texas at Austin

104 Inner Campus Drive

Austin, TX 78712-0220

USA

512 475 7224

512 475 7222 (fax)

http://sites.utexas.edu/yoruba-studies-review/

http://www.toyinfalola.com 

http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa  

http://groups.google.com/group/yorubaaffairs 

http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue   

[Alinah Segobye]

Dear Prof,

Wishing you a very Happy Blessed birthday and an Happier New Year. 

Blessings for the forum and its contributors. I have gained lots of wisdom, research ideas and very useful reports from this platform and I am grateful to all who share abundantly their resources and ideas. 

Alinah K Segobye

--
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[Obadiah Mailafia]

Dear Moderator,

Thank you so much for these words of wisdom. This is to wish you Happy Birthday and may you and your loved ones -- and everyone on this Dialogue -- enjoy the effulgence of an overflowing stream of joy, peace, good health, wealth and abundance.

Happy Happy New Year to everyone.

Obadiah Mailafia

--

[Segun Ogungbemi]

Moderator,

Happy birthday and many glorious returns. Aase. 
Prof. Segun Ogungbemi. 
Sent from my iPhone 

--

[Ademola Dasylva]

‎Dear Moderator, thanks a heap for taking time to remind us of the long-established tradition on this Listserv, which we almost lost to exuberance and bigotry . It is my belief that your drawing our attention to these ethical issues, and our strict adherence to them shall benefit and enrich all members on this Listserv intellectually and morally, and  as one and united family. 

Let me also congratulate you on this occasion of your birthday. May your life and that of your lovely family be filled with several reasons for jubilation and thanksgiving to Baba God. May you experience peace and divine health that surpass all the previous years in 2016. I wish you a Happy Birthday, and a Happy New Year. 

Thank you for all your sincere efforts and laudable contributions to the course of humanity, and for managing so effectively, efficiently and maturedly this wonderful forum of intellectuals. You are truly an inspiration to all of us. You shall surely not miss your reward for  diligent service to humanity. As your days are so shall your strength be. Thank God for your life, and for everything He has done through you. Again, congratulations.

Cheers All!

Ademola O. Dasylva‎

Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone.

From: Toyin Falola Sent: Friday, 1 January 2016 14:35 To: dialogue Reply To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Moderator's Gratitude

--

[Uyilawa Usuanlele]

Happy & prosperous New Year and Happy Birthday to Oga Prof. Best wishes.

Uyilawa

---

Date: Fri, 1 Jan 2016 16:48:01 +0100
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Moderator's Gratitude
From: obmai...@gmail.com
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com

[Ashafa Abdullahi]

Thank you Moderator for this timely words of caution. Happy 2016 and birth day to you and all those who have taken your words seriously in this forum. I plead with all forumites to kindly use these as abiding articles of faith in the forum fr 206 and forever. May God bless Nigeria and Nigerians.

[dijiaina]

Happy birthday sir. We appreciate your sacrifices to sustain decency on this platform.

Ayandiji.

--

[Nkolikae Obianyo]

Happy  Xmas and new year to you . This is the best new year gift to the members of this forum. We need peace in Nigeria and ideas to move Nigeria forward, not to show which ethnic group is superior. 

May God bless you and your family in the new year.

Nkolika Awka

Sent from my iPad

[tunde_b...@yahoo.com]

I am using this opportunity to wish the Moderator a very happy birthday and a most exciting and rewarding 2016. Our prayer is that God grants you a very long life to enable you affect more lives positively and impact more on humanity in general.

Tunde Babawale

Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone.

From: Toyin Falola Sent: Friday, 1 January 2016 2:47 PM

To: dialogue Reply To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com

Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Moderator's Gratitude

--

[Mobolaji Aluko]

Moderator TF:

First, congratulations on your birthday today!  You share the first day of your life with the first day of each year.

As to your birthday wish(es), I will try:

(1) not to insult, but if I do, it will  e with civility.  You know that there are some insults in which the target asks himself, "Did Aluko just insult me....or I did not quite understand his English?"

(2)  not to be "tribal", but I get accused of that all of the time.  What I will not allow is to be intimidated NOT to support a position SIMPLY because some people think it is BECAUSE I am of a6n ethnic group.  At that time, I try to re-emphasize that I know where my father comes from.

(3) to continue not to send you private email.  I always call you instead! :-)

(4) anti-this or anti-this.  Actually, I belong to everybody and am owned by nobody.

(5) to continue not to exaggerate.  In fact, I detest the exaggerations that characterize both our Nigerian press and those who press for certain privileges through exaggerated blackmail.  I do use a lot of facts and figures - and pledge to continue NOT to inflate them for an agenda.

(6) - and this is important - to continue to join you to call out those who live in the privilege of their far-away places in Florida and Massachusetts and Michigan and Illinois and Texas and California and Canada - their images swimming in my head now - to use English grammar to promote acrimony in Nigeria where I currently reside and have done continuously for  five years now.  Ironically, during the Abacha period, I was one of those "armchair Diasporans" - and I used to be angry when the pro-Abacha people in Nigeria used to so accuse us -  so they have their usefulness.  But please, we Nigerians at home do need a lot of cheer.

And there you have it.  Have a glorious and Happy New Year....and greetings to my sister your Ekiti wife - the only wife you have by the way, in case some people think that you have some other ethnic wife! :-)

Bolaji Aluko

On Fri, Jan 1, 2016 at 2:34 PM, Toyin Falola <toyin...@austin.utexas.edu> wrote:

--

[House-Soremekun, Bessie]

Dear Professor Falola:

Thank you so much for reminding us again that the purpose of this listserv and dialogue is to facilitate the development of constructive engagement rather than destructive engagement. It is a laudable goal in your ongoing and multifarious efforts to help us to maintain civility in our academic discourses. After all, we are all members of one human family.

I wish you a very happy birthday and many happy returns. May you live to be 100 and I hope that God will give you an additional 100 years for good measure. May your good name and wonderful deeds be lauded by future generations for thousands of years yet to come!

May 2016 be a great year for us all. I also extend best wishes to your family.

With best regards,

Bessie House-Soremekun

---

From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of 'Nkolikae Obianyo' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Friday, January 1, 2016 3:53 PM
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Moderator's Gratitude

 

[Abubakar Momoh]

Ojogbon Falola,

Touché !!! These are not just words of wisdom, but also of caution and moderation; suggestive that Africa is not a theatre neither is it  a zoo, and ALL its peoples must be treated with respect and dignity. Whatever we say or write,  must therefore be measured and responsible.

We may disagree, or be disagreeable without being sectarian, inflammatory and irresponsible in our remarks. We must accept the Rules of Engagement (RoE); the minimum standard for being a conversationalist and the rudiments and method of argument (rather than a shout) and expression of opinion. We must note that ours is and can only remain an opinion, a perspective, and an insight into an issue. And nobody is obliged to accept it neither can we force it on anybody. This is the basic minimum in scholarship of whatever persuasion: western, oriental, Confucius etc. 

The list serve should attract more participants than discourage participation and self-censorship, as some of us had done. Our language must pass minimum standards of engagement.

Since this is Ojogbon Falola's birthday wish, l strongly urge all of us to respect his person and accomplishments, and above all respect the objective and spirit for which he set up such a platform; by being civil in conduct or else such participants should politely delist. 

Wishing you the very best of 2016.

Abu 

Sent from my iPhone

--

[Awosika Itunu]

Happy new year to all Africans at home and in the Diasporas. May 2016
be blessed with abundant wisdom that would resonate in the solutions
to the problems facing our great continent.

I wish all members of the 'Africa Conference Family' (ACF) abundance
of sound health, God's grace and the fullness of joy in year 2016.

I am particularly wishing our own 'Global Citizen' Prof Toyin Falola
happy birthday, long life in sound health, unending joy, greater glory
and more of God's blessings upon him and his household. We will
continue to express the pride we have in you as the great fulcrum upon
which thousands of Africans and people from other parts of the globe
rest and from which we tap. Your life is a great challenge to those
who do not care and cannot be bothered about what happens to
others....as long as 'they' are okay.We cannot thank you enough for
the lifestyle you have chosen to live. God WILL continue to bless you
and your wonderful family. Happy Birthday to the one and only
'OLOGBOJO, BABA EEGUN'. 'IGBA ODUN, ODUN KAN NI O.


On 1/1/16, Toyin Falola <toyin...@austin.utexas.edu> wrote:
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['Dele Ashiru]

Happy Birthday Prof. Aseyi samofun Ire loju owo ri Ire la ma ri lodun tuntun ati ni gbogbo ojo aiye waa Ase Waaaa

On 1 Jan 2016 10:42 pm, tunde_babawale via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

I am using this opportunity to wish the Moderator a very happy birthday and a most exciting and rewarding 2016. Our prayer is that God grants you a very long life to enable you affect more lives positively and impact more on humanity in general.

Tunde Babawale

Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone.

From: Toyin Falola Sent: Friday, 1 January 2016 2:47 PM To: dialogue Reply To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com

Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Moderator's Gratitude

[DOYIN AGUORU]

I found this on Facebook... Couldn't help sharing!

The snail has three shells
The snail has three wives
The snail has three children;
One is in the brass market
One is in the bead market
The third is Toyin Falola, descendant of Agbo
They asked what trade would he do for living
He said he would do the trade of history

Falola, the wealth of Ibadan increases
The enraged should get hanged!
You have grown up this year
You will grow up the more
In wealth and fecundity
In immortality that dwells in the house of Iwalofa

Odoodun ni sako n ruwe
Odoodun le'ruwa n wa
Odoodun l'agbado n yo irukere l'oko Odoodun le o ma be

Many joyous returns.
Ibrahim Odugbemi

--

[ugwuanyi Lawrence]

Happy birthday to the Son of a Tailor who have become an intellectual Iroko.Here and There you have made your mark.When two months ago I came across your Ph.D product at a conference in Ghana who was white and western but after "six years of tutelage"(as she said) was happy to refer to himself as half-Yoruba, I imagined the positive impact you would have made on her and of course to many others.

Eku see!

Lawrence Ogbo Ugwuanyi,Ph.D
Department of Philosophy and Religions
UNIABUJA.



--- On Sat, 1/2/16, DOYIN AGUORU <doyina...@gmail.com> wrote:

> list, and respect some of us.No private email to

> me: Due to declining energy, it has become difficult for
> me to be replying private notes. I receive almost 200 E-mail
> messages on a daily basis, and replying to them all, which I
> do, has taken a heavy toll on me. I am in good
> health, but there is no more high energy level to sustain
> many activities. I wont be replying to private email
> messages regarding the dialogue other than on subscription
> matters. No more such things as “why did you reject the
> post” or messages from me for

> you to re-write certain portions.No anti-this

[Abolaji Adekeye]

Dear Moderator, Tarry still. Happy Birthday. Accept this token, hastily crafted.

ALOYINLOHUN

When all wanes
Not your mind

When all fades
Remain limpid

Wax stronger
Ogun has forged

You an armour
Against winter

Aloyinlohun!

Your guttations
Feed parched throats

Many springs await
Your songs still

Summer dews pine
Yet for your breath

As sure as the knife
Slices the yam, so

The soles of your feet
Shall yet carve more paths.

>> *From: *Toyin Falola
>> *Sent: *Friday, 1 January 2016 2:47 PM
>> *To: *dialogue
>> *Reply To: *usaafric...@googlegroups.com
>> *Subject: *USA Africa Dialogue Series - Moderator's Gratitude

>>
>> Greetings to you all in the New Year! Silver and gold have I none…but
>> words of affection are plenty, from me to you.
>> Today is also my birthday and if you are considering a gift, here is what
>> I want:
>>
>>

>> 1. *Civility: do not insult anyone*, either directly or indirectly.

>> Supply your arguments, and let it rest there.

>> 2. *“Tribalism”*: Create your own “tribal list” and do your insiders’

>> talk, even plan your wars if you want one, but there are some of us
>> who
>> think beyond this, who see all individuals as humans and citizens, who
>> want
>> everyone to live well and in peace. If you want only your “tribal
>> fellow"
>> to be the center of your life, generate your own list, leave this list,
>> and
>> respect some of us.

>> 3. *No private email to me*: Due to declining energy, it has become

>> difficult for me to be replying private notes. I receive almost 200
>> E-mail
>> messages on a daily basis, and replying to them all, which I do, has
>> taken
>> a heavy toll on me. I am in good health, but there is no more high
>> energy
>> level to sustain many activities. I wont be replying to private email
>> messages regarding the dialogue other than on subscription matters. No
>> more
>> such things as “why did you reject the post” or messages from me for
>> you to
>> re-write certain portions.

>> 4. *No anti-this or anti-that*: There is no need to be anti -I