Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Digest for usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com - 15 updates in 5 topics

13 views
Skip to first unread message

Osakue Omoera

unread,
Jan 6, 2023, 2:58:04 PM1/6/23
to usaafric...@googlegroups.com
The passing of Prof Ayo Olukotun is a big loss to the global intellectual community. May his soul rest in peace. Condolences!
Osakue S. Omoera, Ph.D., FIMIM, M.Sonta
Department of English and Communication Studies
Faculty of Humanities, Federal University Otuoke, Bayelsa State, Nigeria
Founding Editor, Otukpa: A Journal of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Federal University Otuoke



On Thu, Jan 5, 2023 at 11:46 PM <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
Olasupo Laosebikan <olao...@csu.edu>: Jan 04 03:46PM -0600

What a shocker
 
 
Tunji Olaopa <tolao...@gmail.com>: Jan 04 08:45PM +0100

Heartfelt condolences on the death of our dear friend and colleague, Ayo
Olukotun. May the good Lord grant his soul rest; grant required grace in
support of all that he left behind; and may He console us all.
 
Michael Afolayan <mafo...@yahoo.com>: Jan 04 10:01PM

Depressing!Another big fish has exited our receding ocean. In thoughts and deeds, this was a giant. Nigeria has lost a true son. Goodnight to a noble man. I am short of words. May we all be comforted!
 
Michael O. Afolayan
 
 
 
 

 
On Wednesday, January 4, 2023 at 03:36:28 PM GMT, Toyin Falola <toyin...@austin.utexas.edu> wrote:

<!--#yiv4609010341 filtered {}#yiv4609010341 filtered {}#yiv4609010341 p.yiv4609010341MsoNormal, #yiv4609010341 li.yiv4609010341MsoNormal, #yiv4609010341 div.yiv4609010341MsoNormal {margin:0in;font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri", sans-serif;}#yiv4609010341 span.yiv4609010341EmailStyle20 {font-family:"Calibri", sans-serif;color:windowtext;}#yiv4609010341 .yiv4609010341MsoChpDefault {font-size:10.0pt;}#yiv4609010341 filtered {}#yiv4609010341 div.yiv4609010341WordSection1 {}-->
We lost the great man a few minutes ago.

TF

 

 
--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfric...@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDial...@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 usaafricadialo...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/PH0PR06MB90048C070345D2029B636A0DF8F59%40PH0PR06MB9004.namprd06.prod.outlook.com.
Ayandiji Daniel Aina <diji...@yahoo.com>: Jan 04 09:13PM +0100

It is well. Shalom.
 
On 4 Jan 2023 18:58, wariz alli <all...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
 
So so sad! He was a great man, a great scholar. May hos soul rest in perfect peace.
 
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
 
On Wed, Jan 4, 2023 at 16:36, Toyin Falola
 
<toyin...@austin.utexas.edu> wrote:
 
We lost the great man a few minutes ago.
 
TF
"Femi Mimiko, mni" <femi....@gmail.com>: Jan 04 10:49PM +0100

Sad! Sad!! Sad!!! The professoriat has lost a gem!!! May the good Lord
grant Prof Ayo Olukotun's family the fortitude to bear this truly
irreparable loss.
 
On Wed, 4 Jan 2023, 16:36 Toyin Falola, <toyin...@austin.utexas.edu>
wrote:
 
segun...@gmail.com: Jan 04 04:38PM -0600

It is extremely sad.
May his soul rest in perfect peace with his Creator.
Segun Ogungbemi.
 
Sent from my iPhone
 
Pamela Smith <psmi...@unomaha.edu>: Jan 05 12:19AM

Yeeeeepa!
Igi da!!
May his great spirit live forever!
 
From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Toyin Falola
Sent: Wednesday, January 4, 2023 9:36 AM
To: Lai Oso <lai...@ymail.com>; Isaac Albert <ioalbe...@yahoo.com>; Femi Mimiko, mni <femi....@gmail.com>; dhikru adewale yagboyaju <aswa...@yahoo.com>; Ayo Olukotun <ayo_ol...@yahoo.com>; Richard A. Joseph <richard...@gmail.com>; Adigun Agbaje <adigun...@yahoo.com>; Adetoun Adetona <adetoun...@googlemail.com>; Ashobanjo <asho...@aol.com>; Abiodun Raufu <abiodu...@yahoo.com>; Adebayo Williams <adeb...@hotmail.com>; David Atte <david...@yahoo.com>; Adebayo Olukoshi <oluk...@gmail.com>; Emmanuel Remi Aiyede <eai...@yahoo.com>; Niyi Akinnaso <niyi...@gmail.com>; Margaret Ayansola <mdaya...@gmail.com>; Oluwatobiloba Daniel ADEWUNMI <odaad...@gmail.com>; Idowu Olayinka <aiola...@yahoo.com>; Prof Bayo Adekanye <profbayo...@yahoo.com>; Prof. W.O. Alli <all...@yahoo.co.uk>; Akinjide Osuntokun <josun...@yahoo.com>; Ayo Banjo <profay...@yahoo.com>; Bolaji Akinyemi <rot...@gmail.com>; Mr. Kolade Mosuro <kmo...@aol.com>; Hafsat Abiola <hafsat...@hotmail.com>; Dr Wale Babalakin <bobab...@aol.com>; Wale A.Olaitan <anu...@yahoo.com>; Adele Jinadu <laji...@yahoo.com>; Wale Adebanwi <walead...@gmail.com>; Dr Akinwumi A. Adesina <adesi...@gmail.com>; Anthony Asiwaju <tonya...@gmail.com>; Prof. Ayo Dunmoye <ayodu...@yahoo.com>; Abubakar Rasheed <abubaka...@gmail.com>; Ademiluyi Wole <wolead...@gmail.com>; Adebayo Salami <adebayos...@gmail.com>; Emmanuel Adesola <eadeso...@yahoo.com>; Fola Arthur-Worrey <fol...@yahoo.com>; Femi Babatunde <ofemiba...@yahoo.com>; Esther Oluwaseun Idowu <bethe...@gmail.com>; Banji Oyeyinka <boye...@hotmail.com>; Jide Owoeye <babso...@gmail.com>; Bode Fasakin <bodef...@yahoo.co.uk>; Obadare Ebenezer Babatunde <oba...@ku.edu>; Bankole Omotoso <bankole...@gmail.com>; Fabian Benjamin <fabbe...@gmail.com>; Bunmi Makinwa <bunmim...@hotmail.com>; Olatunde Babawale <tunde_b...@yahoo.com>; Biodun Jeyifo <bje...@fas.harvard.edu>; Bolaji Ogunseye <eri...@yahoo.com>; Fallou Ngom <fn...@bu.edu>; Stephen Bolaji <stephen...@cdu.edu.au>; Bukky Dada <bukk...@hotmail.com>; M. Insa Nolte <m.i....@bham.ac.uk>; Prof Olufemi VAUGHAN <ovau...@bowdoin.edu>; busayo...@gmail.com; boyoka...@gmail.com; Banji Oyeyinka <banjio...@gmail.com>; Bamitale Omole <tale...@yahoo.com>; Olufemi Bamiro <oaba...@yahoo.com>; Adebayo Ninalowo <bayoni...@yahoo.co.uk>; Tunde Bewaji <tunde....@gmail.com>; Cyril Obi <cyri...@hotmail.com>; Chibuzo Nwoke <chibuz...@yahoo.com>; Christian Ogbondah <chris.o...@uni.edu>; Sheriff Folarin <sheriff...@covenantuniversity.edu.ng>; Charles Akinola <akindij...@gmail.com>; dijiaina@yahoo com <diji...@yahoo.com>; Cynthia Samuel-Olonjuwon <cynthi...@gmail.com>; Christina Olaoluwa <tina...@yahoo.com>; Charles Ayo <charl...@trinityuniversity.edu.ng>; abati1990@yahoo com <abat...@yahoo.com>; Orogun Olanike <dam...@yahoo.com>; Dialogue <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>; Dr John Nnia Nwodo <ija...@yahoo.com>; Ganiyu Go <dr_g...@yahoo.com>; Larry Diamond <ldia...@stanford.edu>; Delelayiwola <delela...@yahoo.com>; Koyekenya <die...@gmail.com>; Dr. Sharon Omotoso <sharon...@gmail.com>; Dr Yemi Dipeolu <dipe...@statehouse.gov.ng>; Ebunoluwa Oduwole <ebunodu...@yahoo.com>; Prof Eghosa E. OSAGHAE <osagha...@yahoo.co.uk>; Ekaette Umanah Ekong <ekaetteum...@yahoo.co.uk>; Grace Edema <gmso2...@gmail.com>; OluYinka Esan <oluyin...@gmail.com>; Francis Egbokhare <foegb...@yahoo.com>; eyitay...@yahoo.com; Femi_Osofisan Osofisan <okinba...@yahoo.com>; Fred Goke <fred...@gmail.com>; Femi Otubanjo <ma...@service.com>; F&C Securities Limited <f...@hyperia.com>; Folashade Soneye <folasha...@gmail.com>; Friday Okonofua <feoko...@yahoo.co.uk>; Fola Oyeyinka <fola.o...@gmail.com>; Francis Onaiyekan <fonai...@yahoo.com>; Anike-Ade Funke Treasure <sharingwi...@gmail.com>; Olayemi Foline Folorunsho <offlin...@gmail.com>; Dele Seteolu <fola...@yahoo.com>; Prof Ogunmola Ogunmola <gbogu...@gmail.com>; Tunji Olaopa <tolao...@gmail.com>; Glory Ukwenga <gloryu...@gmail.com>; Ola Jumoke <jum...@gmail.com>; Royal Gardens <royalga...@gmail.com>; Prof. Hassan Saliu <hassans...@gmail.com>; Mohammed Haruna <ndaj...@gmail.com>; Koyinsola Owoeye <stik...@hotmail.com>; Olukayode Somoye <olukayo...@hotmail.com>; Henry Lovejoy <henlo...@gmail.com>; Victor Isumonah <isum...@yahoo.com>; Kehinde Isinkaye <kehinde...@yahoo.com>; Lanre Idowu <lanre...@gmail.com>; Is-haq Oloyede <iolo...@yahoo.co.uk>; Jide Ibietan <jide...@gmail.com>; Shadrach Ijagbemi <ojot...@gmail.com>; Ibiwumi Saliu <saliui...@yahoo.com>; Aladeniji Theo <itsblack...@yahoo.com>; Jadesany <jade...@yahoo.co.uk>; Jones O. Moody <lanm...@yahoo.com>; Najim Jimoh <najim...@yahoo.com>; Attahiru Jega <attahi...@yahoo.com>; Tunde Jaiyeoba <tundej...@yahoo.co.uk>; Kayode Soremekun <paddyk...@yahoo.com>; Mary Kolawole <memko...@yahoo.com>; OLAYODE OLUSOLA <kenn...@yahoo.com>; AbdulRasheed Na'Allah <abdulrashe...@kwasu.edu.ng>; Mojúbàolú Olúfúnké Okome <moju...@gmail.com>; Moshood Omotosho <mashom...@yahoo.com>; Michael Vickers <mvic...@mvickers.plus.com>; Mayor Tope <may...@yahoo.com>; Ngozi <mediawo...@yahoo.com>; Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa <samohu...@gmail.com>; Abiodun Salawu <abiodun...@nwu.ac.za>; Nduka Otiono <nduka....@carleton.ca>; Gaf Oye <gaf...@gmail.com>; Stella Olukotun <stel...@yahoo.com>; Lai Olurode <olu...@yahoo.com>; Oluwaniyi Osundare <oosu...@uno.edu>; Peter Ozo-Eson <ozoe...@yahoo.com>; Remi Sonaiya <remis...@yahoo.com>; adebajopr...@gmail.com; emo...@channelstv.com; Adeshina Afolayan <shina7...@yahoo.com>; Awolowo Foundation <awolowof...@yahoo.com>; Ololade Bamidele <omol...@yahoo.co.uk>; dasyl...@gmail.com; Olusegun Olopade <bcma...@toyinfalolanetwork.org>; samson ijaola <topei...@yahoo.com>; yem...@yahoo.com; dele Ashiru <ashir...@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Ayo Olukotun is Dead
 
Non-NU Email
________________________________
We lost the great man a few minutes ago.
TF
 
--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfric...@googlegroups.com<mailto:USAAfric...@googlegroups.com>
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDial...@googlegroups.com<mailto:USAAfricaDial...@googlegroups.com>
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue__;!!PvXuogZ4sRB2p-tU!EZvKQkbilWBYeTwjfdNj79L2b3JKsD5yXDNgWy3M4shn55QLvnX6_Y7pgObNa4ByUAiCW-CO8echzZ1-Vkl6hgRNMU9_HiDh3w$>
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html__;!!PvXuogZ4sRB2p-tU!EZvKQkbilWBYeTwjfdNj79L2b3JKsD5yXDNgWy3M4shn55QLvnX6_Y7pgObNa4ByUAiCW-CO8echzZ1-Vkl6hgRNMU-cGGsDHQ$>
---
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 usaafricadialo...@googlegroups.com<mailto:usaafricadialo...@googlegroups.com>.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/PH0PR06MB90048C070345D2029B636A0DF8F59%40PH0PR06MB9004.namprd06.prod.outlook.com<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/PH0PR06MB90048C070345D2029B636A0DF8F59*40PH0PR06MB9004.namprd06.prod.outlook.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer__;JQ!!PvXuogZ4sRB2p-tU!EZvKQkbilWBYeTwjfdNj79L2b3JKsD5yXDNgWy3M4shn55QLvnX6_Y7pgObNa4ByUAiCW-CO8echzZ1-Vkl6hgRNMU8kxdMfZQ$>.
Uyilawa Usuanlele <big...@hotmail.com>: Jan 04 10:38PM

Sad news. May his soul find peace with his maker. Amen.
Uyi
________________________________
From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Akin Alao <akin...@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 4, 2023 12:42 PM
To: olakassimmd via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: Ayo Olukotun is Dead
 
Oh no, not again now. We have just lost another brilliant mind and a great leader. May his soul find peace and his family, friends, and associates be comforted in their grief.
 
On Wed, Jan 4, 2023, 5:10 PM 'Olatunde Babawale' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafric...@googlegroups.com<mailto:usaafric...@googlegroups.com>> wrote:
This is a most devastating news. May the Lord grant. his soul eternal rest and comfort his family and loved ones.
 
Tunde Babawale
University of Lagos
Lagos
Nigeria
 
 
Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Foverview.mail.yahoo.com%2F%3F.src%3DiOS&data=05%7C01%7C%7Cc3e4d57bb6f64d0c194208daee7b92a7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638084511769473384%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=MOEjp9AkEt7IUjEeZ37ElMOko80AAMR%2F1jL%2FFiaX6IM%3D&reserved=0>
 
 
On Wednesday, January 4, 2023, 4:36 PM, Toyin Falola <toyin...@austin.utexas.edu<mailto:toyin...@austin.utexas.edu>> wrote:
 
We lost the great man a few minutes ago.
 
TF
 
--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfric...@googlegroups.com<mailto:USAAfric...@googlegroups.com>
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDial...@googlegroups.com<mailto:USAAfricaDialogue%2Bsub...@googlegroups.com>
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgroups.google.com%2Fgroup%2FUSAAfricaDialogue&data=05%7C01%7C%7Cc3e4d57bb6f64d0c194208daee7b92a7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638084511769629613%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=hfkgHGrGKreo9KUtmzc0obfJthLVXZFgjHuprI5X9mw%3D&reserved=0>
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.utexas.edu%2Fconferences%2Fafrica%2Fads%2Findex.html&data=05%7C01%7C%7Cc3e4d57bb6f64d0c194208daee7b92a7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638084511769629613%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=RVoMXqEjPFG2Wf8KTtcSzia8gK%2FfY59uLyzsR1w6AXA%3D&reserved=0>
---
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 usaafricadialo...@googlegroups.com<mailto:usaafricadialo...@googlegroups.com>.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/543852494.5900651.1672847155619%40mail.yahoo.com<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroups.google.com%2Fd%2Fmsgid%2Fusaafricadialogue%2F543852494.5900651.1672847155619%2540mail.yahoo.com%3Futm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dfooter&data=05%7C01%7C%7Cc3e4d57bb6f64d0c194208daee7b92a7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638084511769629613%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=e7%2FyyOX%2Fp0%2F6q5%2Fpcws9WDMcuIHBpeGSe%2B2D ZAQP5H0%3D&reserved=0>.
 
--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfric...@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDial...@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgroups.google.com%2Fgroup%2FUSAAfricaDialogue&data=05%7C01%7C%7Cc3e4d57bb6f64d0c194208daee7b92a7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638084511769629613%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=hfkgHGrGKreo9KUtmzc0obfJthLVXZFgjHuprI5X9mw%3D&reserved=0>
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.utexas.edu%2Fconferences%2Fafrica%2Fads%2Findex.html&data=05%7C01%7C%7Cc3e4d57bb6f64d0c194208daee7b92a7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638084511769629613%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=RVoMXqEjPFG2Wf8KTtcSzia8gK%2FfY59uLyzsR1w6AXA%3D&reserved=0>
---
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 usaafricadialo...@googlegroups.com<mailto:usaafricadialo...@googlegroups.com>.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/CAG8YEJmk6tWF%3D4hQeOk2Q2R7V1b1pq4CEF%2BOTf6bus7-fyfQkw%40mail.gmail.com<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroups.google.com%2Fd%2Fmsgid%2Fusaafricadialogue%2FCAG8YEJmk6tWF%253D4hQeOk2Q2R7V1b1pq4CEF%252BOTf6bus7-fyfQkw%2540mail.gmail.com%3Futm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dfooter&data=05%7C01%7C%7Cc3e4d57bb6f64d0c194208daee7b92a7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638084511769629613%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C& sdata=h%2BJLjZ83pu7LkCxOPwH8QPc%2BALVwlaMCbV%2FLDo3rqHE%3D&reserved=0>.
"Aanuoluwapo F. SUNDAY" <fif...@gmail.com>: Jan 05 09:52PM +0100

May his soul find eternal rest.
 
 
Aanuoluwapo.
 
 
Oluwatoyin Adepoju <ovde...@gmail.com>: Jan 05 09:22PM +0100

*The
Migration of the Iroko*
 
* Ayo Olukotun
Returns Home*
 
 
 
[image:
Prof-Ayo-Olukotun.jpg]
 
 
Ayo Olukotun
 
 
Image from Intervention <https://intervention.ng/27743/>
 
Oluwatoyin
Vincent Adepoju
 
 
''Gracefully, does the mask regain its grove at the end of day
gracefully...''
 
from Wole Soyinka's *Death and the King's Horseman*
 
Some hours before Toyin Falola announced on the USAAfrica Dialogues Series
Google group where Ayo Olukotun had often electrified people with his
superb writings on the Nigerian condition, that the great writer had died a
few minutes before the announcement, it occured to me that Olukotun could
be in danger of not surviving after the very sensitive operation he had
recently successfully undergone.
 
Why did I think that, even though I knew little about the operation and
about his condition?
 
Knowledge of his age and the challenges of health that come with age, the
potential brittleness of the body as certain negative accelerations emerge
once one enters into the world and gather further momentum when certain
biological thresholds are crossed, developments that can only be delayed
but not arrested?
 
The cells that make up the body are dividing and recombining every minute,
but each time they do so they become a fraction less effective than before,
if I recall correctly what a health specialist once told me.
 
In a colony of rabbits run by a farmer whom the rabbits never see, a rabbit
disappears from time to time, a situation inexplicable to the rabbits since
they have no idea why that should happen, their universe and field of
perception not extending beyond the pen where they live.
 
In order to cope with this inevitability of tragedy, of recurrent loss of
loved ones which may occur at any time, philosophers and artists among the
rabbits composed reflections and expressions meant to help this race of
beings manage this shadow ever looming over their lives, from what I recall
of English writer Richard Adams' novel *Watership Down.*
 
A man visits Death and asks, ''what is the secret of eternal life?''
 
Death is adamant. ''Ask me for anything else'', he urges. ''Women, wealth,
long life, children, I will give you, but please spare me from having to
answer that question'', he pleads.
 
The man insists, arguing that all those aspects of existence will pass
away. ''What is undying?'' he demands to know, as this story goes in the
Indian classic the ''Katha Upanishad.''
 
On a fateful day, the Reaper of Men arrived at the door of Everyman. ''Get
ready, brother, tomorrow you go with me to where all go when their time is
up.''
 
Everyman was frantic. The summons was unrepealable, no appeal would have
any value to the messenger. Who could follow him on this terrible journey,
he desperately wondered.
 
He cast around frantically, seeking companionship on the journey from
intimate family, to no avail. Close friends, of no use. Everyone was too
busy, had something urgent to do that could not be postponed, or simply
pointed out to him that they could not go with him beyond a particular
point, since those who were not summoned are not allowed beyond such a
spot, as legend claimed about such a situation as the one in which he now
found himself.
 
Failing human companionship, what could he take with him to give him
comfort on the journey and at the destination to which the journey led? The
fateful day having arrived, he was informed by the messenger that no
possessions were allowed, as this story may be modified from the English
poem ''Everyman.''
 
''Who, among you deities, can follow his devotee on a distant journey?,''
Orunmila asked his fellow deities. The fierce Ogun, his tunic covered in
blood, the magnificent Oshun, magically beautiful mistress of arcane
powers, the dreadful Soponna, who resides in devastating diseases, master
of suffering, these and more of the deities insisted they could follow
their devotee on a distant journey, until they were asked what they would
do, if after travelling some distance, they were offered along the road the
delicacies most sumptuous to them, the most exquisite soups, the most
delicious foods?
 
''After eating my fill, I will return home joyfully,'' they each declared.
''You cannot follow your devotee on a distant journey,'' Orunmila
concludes, in Wande Abimbola's translations of Yoruba oral poetry,
*Sixteen Great
Poems of Ifa*.
 
Some Buddist and Hindu rituals operate on a principle akin to imagining
surrendering each part of one's body to the elements until nothing
physical remains. Frequenting of cemeteries and cremation grounds is
undergone by some schools in these spiritualities to remind one of the
inevitability of death and the need for urgency in seeking that meaning
that transcends birth and death.
 
''Everything is on fire'' the Buddha proclaimed, after reaching what he
describes as life's ultimate meaning. ''The eyes, the mouth, the nose, the
tongue, all are on fire with desire''. ''But everything they desire
passeses away. What may not pass away and how can it be found?'' he asked,
having been galvanized into these questions by the shock of observing old
age, illness and death.
 
All that Everyman is able to take with him on the final journey are his
good deeds, from my imperfect memory of that account. No other deity,
except the deity that is the Self, can follow his devotee on a distant
journey, Orummila eventually concludes. At the intersection of the
individual self and the Self at the heart of cosmos, immortality is found,
beyond the body, beyond time, Death finally responds in the *Upanishads*.
 
By the standards of the great sages across time and space represented by
the composers of those stories and spiritual disciplines referenced,
Olukotun has discharged himself admirably as a member of the human race,
empowered by consciousness and physical force but constrained by mortality,
penetrating beyond the Earth but unable to decisively answer the question,
''where are we coming from, if any, and where are we going to?''
 
What can such a creature do? Do his best with the time available to him,
time the scope of which is unknown to him.
 
Some claim, however, that the human being is a traveller from a region
unknown to most people, a wayfarer who has forgotten where his
journey began, a person who left home for the market only to lose his
memory, thinking that the market is the beginning and end of his life, but
the home keeps calling, and when the person finishes selling and buying in
the market, they return home, as this perspective from classical African
thought goes.
 
Even then, various efforts are made to prolong the time in the market as
long as possible. After all, this other fabled home exists for many only in
hope, not in knowledge, with the sights, sounds and relationships of the
market being what is most accessible to most.
 
If I had sent a prayer for Olukotun when that thought occurred to me, could
that have helped? Could powers responsible for mediating between life and
death have reached out for help through my thoughts without my
grasping what was going on?
 
The iroko tree is a traveller between dimensions, between the physical
universe and the zone of ultimate origins, the African belief goes, fed by
accounts of iroko trees described as disappearing from their known
locations only to reappear there after some time.
 
Seekers after the secrets of such interdimensional journeys would keep
vigil at the base of the iroko, hoping to be transported along with the
tree, hence the movement of a great achiever, of a bold journeyer in
worlds of enterprise,
from the physical world to the world beyond the material universe, came to
be known as the migration of the iroko, in this account of African thought
concocted by myself from the fame of the iroko as a superlatively powerful
entity existing uniquely at the crossroads of matter and spirit.
 
I saw Olukotun once, some years ago, bustling with life, genial and
venerable. His restlessly powerful intellect and compassionate wisdom came
alive for me in his writings, as this consummate patriot tried to make
sense of the social, economic and political forms of chaos threatening to
swallow his country Nigeria, perennially hopeful as he was even in the
midst of searing realities.
 
He has left us behind in the world of space and time but left us a gift-his
work, his vision, his palpitating creativity, his call to action to redeem
the humanity of his fellow countrymen.
 
 
Also published on
 
Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/oluwatoyinvincent.adepoju/posts/pfbid0WLToTMSyswDb43mmdJqRyzJZ9RLHueeE7QSut1PsEXQZfVY3jXL7XqhdUZaawRWHl?__cft__[0]=AZXEiYYYpFjROkl9FsFX35pNSTJ-OAPnHsrg22JHPvlw5kmbC3dvoSK3dH1TwiZpmWyOoH-mQmHpr7rI2Rld-P6SeDup-ebmftWs_CP7VeR0cmoJvsJ_rdhremGZBT0H65JSqFhn01o33qJF7NDrp2oVXQV1KTl0YIKSEtVuIzXf9w&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R>
*Cognitive Diary blog*
<https://ifastudent-cognitivediary.blogspot.com/2023/01/the-migration-of-iroko-ayo-olukotun.html>
Twitter
<https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fpulse%2Fmigration-iroko-ayo-olukotun-returns-home-oluwatoyin-vincent-adepoju&text=Check%20out%20my%20latest%20article%3A%20The%20Migration%20of%20the%20Iroko%3A%20Ayo%20Olukotun%20Returns%20Home&via=LinkedIn>
LinkedIn
<https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/migration-iroko-ayo-olukotun-returns-home-oluwatoyin-vincent-adepoju/?published=t>
Michael Vickers <mvic...@mvickers.plus.com>: Jan 05 01:51AM

> May his soul have rest and enduring peace. ŠWith profound condolences to Prof
> Olukotun¹s wife, family and close friends. ŠUntil we meet again, dear friend.
> ŠLove, Baba m
 
On 04/01/2023, 20:54, "Remi Sonaiya" <remis...@yahoo.com> wrote:
 
A great loss - to his family, friends, colleagues and the nation. May God
comfort all grieving hearts.
 
Thank you, dear Prof. Falola, for all your efforts. God bless you richly.
 
Remi Sonaiya
 
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
<https://go.onelink.me/107872968?pid=InProduct&c=Global_Internal_YGrowth_And
roidEmailSig__AndroidUsers&af_wl=ym&af_sub1=Internal&af_sub2=Global_YGrowth&
af_sub3=EmailSignature>


Dele Layiwola <delela...@gmail.com>: Jan 05 03:25AM +0100

What a life!
Another station
Another beckoning epoch
May his beloved, untiring soul re-emerge and blessed anew;
So long, dear, dear friend. DL
 
On Thu, 5 Jan 2023 at 02:51, Michael Vickers <mvic...@mvickers.plus.com>
wrote:
 
ogunlakaiye <ogunl...@hotmail.com>: Jan 05 07:52AM -0800

What a bad beginning of the new year for us!! The cruel hands of death
seizing a junior and leaving the seniors in sorrow.
 
On Thursday, January 5, 2023 at 11:12:14 AM UTC+1 delelayiwola wrote:
 
anthony ademiluyi <anthonyade...@gmail.com>: Jan 05 12:35AM -0800

https://thecradlelife.com/main-forum/gay-ideology-in-catholic-schools-is-tragic-sinful-catholic-bishop/
 
https://thecradlelife.com/culture/us-democrats-dont-care-about-christian-persecution-nigerian-bishop/
Cornelius Hamelberg <cornelius...@gmail.com>: Jan 05 12:00AM +0100

Glorious Gloria,
 
What a way to begin our happy new year together in this USA-Africa Dialogue
Series, you in Connecticut, USA, yours truly In Stockholm
<https://www.google.com/search?q=Stockholm>, Sweden, separated by a cold
gulf called the Atlantic Ocean, nostalgia, longing, hope, love tap-dancing
to and toasting the Africa
<https://www.google.com/search?q=Coltrane+%3A+Africa%2F+Brass> that we're
representing wherever we are, Babatunde Olatunji
<https://www.google.com/search?q=Babatunde+Olatunji++%3A+Drums>still
beating those Neo-HooDoo <https://www.google.com/search?q=Neo-HooDoo> drums
in our hearts, yours, mine, ours, all of us, even the miscreants.
<https://www.google.com/search?q=Black+Skin%2C+White+Masks>, the frogs
turned princes, the wannabe accepted & respected as a fully-fledged
“bi-racial” princess far from the ancestral plantation in the new world,
the fat Buckingham Palace rats who wanna be elevated to teaching the little
princes arithmetic, talking, reading and writing grandma's lingo to the
other members and non-members of the Commonwealth….
 
“And the princess and the prince discuss what's real and what is not
 
It doesn't matter inside the Gates of Eden
<https://www.google.com/search?q=Gates+of+Eden>,”
 
Comparing and contrasting as always, real and true, I like it when you're
being funny
<https://www.google.com/search?q=She%27s+funny+that+way+%28+lyrics>. As you
know, from experience, there are others near your calibre of high intellect
who have no sense of humour (huma) and of course, there are a few others,
of low, a really low intellect who nevertheless think they are great and
mighty; and of those few others there’s even one who wants to give his
Nigerian fans the impression that he’s the mightiest and the greatest even
though he can’t even crack an egg, talk less of cracking a joke and if you
don’t believe me check the words mostly made of the bile and calumny that
he has spilt in his columns, even if on one occasion, just one, he demurs
and feigns humility, conceding “intellectual inferiority” to Oga Buddha, the
intellectual Naija giant who is wide awake.
 
You say “the collected works of Shakespeare amount to one Book…one pretty
hefty tome of about 3000 pages.”
 
By the same token, I guess that’s what you'd say about the West's if not
the world’s most popular and most revered book the foundational Hebrew Bible
<https://www.google.com/search?q=The+Hebrew+Bible> whose canon closed with
Malachi, more than four hundred and thirty years before Jesus appeared and
was followed years later by the accretions now known as the “ New” which
was added to the Tanakh <https://www.google.com/search?q=The+Tanakh> and
included in what Christianity refers to as the Holy Bible which you
connect with the etymology of biblos
<https://www.google.com/search?q=etymology+of+biblos> and which I connect
with the Swedish word bibliotek which means library; I suppose we could say
that the Bible is a collection of books and therefore or thereby a library
<https://www.google.com/search?q=the+Bible+is+a+collection+of+books%2C++a+library>
 
BTW, I’m feeling some remorse for having been unhappy with Olusegun
Obasanjo - against my deeper and more trustworthy instincts, but how else
to understand Pastor Obasanjo who is still desperate to be of relevance -
this time as a kingmaker, even as he is gradually easing out of the scene.
He hopes to be around to celebrate a much Better Nigeria, the Nigeria of
his dreams, he says, by the time Ojogbon Falola is celebrating his 80th
Birthday.
 
BTW, I wish both of them ( Ojogbon Falola, and Olusegun Obasanjo and myself
the ripe old age of 120 - like Moses - and speaking of age, Pastor Obasanjo
must surely remember that Moses became a Prophet when he was 80 ( eighty)
years old and led the Children of Israel through their Golgotha wanderings
in the wilderness for the next 40 ( years) during which time for their
sustenance, the manna fell continuously from heaven and the soles of their
shoes did not wear out.
 
 
 
More sincerely, in the realm of word magic, even if not quite so realistic,
there’s nothing preventing us from wishing us all to live as long as it
takes or to live as long as Methuselah
<https://www.google.com/search?q=Methuselah> to witness the new Nigeria,
the new heaven and the new earth.
 
I have been mostly following what’s been going on in Merry England and
some reactions to what’s going on in our lovely Sweden, through the views
at
 
https://bernardjporter.com/
 
There’s hope yet.
 
Consider: “ The first human ruler mentioned in the Bible was Nimrod. And he
rebelled against Jehovah’s rulership. Ever since Nimrod’s day, powerful men
have abused their positions of authority. Some 3,000 years ago, King
Solomon wrote: “I saw the tears of the oppressed, and there was no one to
comfort them. And their oppressors had the power.”—Ecclesiastes 4:1
<https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/ecclesiastes/4/#v21004001>
.
 
Things are no different today. In 2009, a United Nations publication said
that bad rulership is increasingly being viewed as “one of the root causes
of all evil within our societies.” ( No.2. 2020
<https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/watchtower-no2-2020-may-jun/why-do-we-need-gods-kingdom/>
)
 
 
On Wed, 4 Jan 2023 at 00:39, Emeagwali, Gloria (History) <emea...@ccsu.edu>
wrote:
 
You received this digest because you're subscribed to updates for this group. You can change your settings on the group membership page.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it send an email to usaafricadialo...@googlegroups.com.
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages