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| Soyinka |
The Harvard
University Hutchins Centre for African and American Research in the United States
has said that it will release the video of the lecture delivered by Nobel
Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, within a week.
This was contained in an email reply to one of our
correspondents on Soyinka’s alleged comments that he labelled Igbo as people
who voted in the last general elections based on their “stomach.”
Some online media had quoted Soyinka as saying Igbo
were politically naive while delivering a lecture titled, “‘Predicting Nigeria,
Electoral Ironies,” at the institution.
The Punch report continues:
Soyinka was quoted as saying “The Igbo are probably the
only group of Nigerians that you can predict with great accuracy whom they will
vote for in an election, because they tend to put their votes where their
stomachs take them; suffering as it were, from incurable money-mindedness, as
they would stop at nothing in their quest for personal financial gain.”
However, Soyinka said in a statement on Tuesday that
it was unfortunate that people could tell lies against him.
The playwright described those who believe the report as
morons.
He said the entire lecture was recorded on video and
anyone who was interested could access it on the Internet.
He said, “I have just read a statement attributed to
me on a news outlet, evidently one of the Internet infestations. My lecture at
the Hutchins Centre, Harvard University, was video recorded. Anyone who
believes what I am alleged to have said must be a moron – repeat, a moron.
“It is demeaning, sickening and boring to have to deal
with these cowards who cannot fight their own battles but must fasten their
imbecilic pronouncements on others. Only the mentally retarded will credit this
comment attributed to me regarding the Ndigbo voting pattern in the last
elections.
“I strongly suspect the author of this despicable
concoction, and may make a further statement, once the source is verified.”
The Harvard centre, has however, stated that it will
post the video online. The institution, however, said it would not release
transcripts of Soyinka’s lecture.
The
email read, “We expect the recent Wole Soyinka talk to be posted via video on
the Hutchins Centre website within a week. However, transcripts of the talk
will not be provided. Thank you for contacting the Hutchins Centre.”
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