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Title: The Open Sore of a Continent: A Personal Narrative of the Nigerian Crisis (The W.E.B. Dubois Institute Series) by Wole Soyinka ISBN: 0-19-511921-5 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: September, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $11.58 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (5 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Thought Provoking
Comment: I read the book with the goal of learning more about Nigeria and its people. Obviously this book is from a very biased source, however, in reading of the horrors in his native land his bias is understandble and only logical. There is a lot of pathos, intense emotions in his description of the crisis in Nigeria. As a scholar/journalist I like to hear all sides of a complex issue so I feel like I've heard one perspective from a first-hand witness after having read this book.
As some of the other reviewers have pointed out, unless one is familiar with the key players in Nigerian politics it is difficult to grasp totally what is being discussed. Also, since the book is composed of various presentations given elsewhere it lacks a certain amount of cohesion.
With that aside, I feel like I know a little more about the country after having read it. The book isn't long. As I read more I hope to understand more of what is taking place in that country. I want to be part of an informed public that can help do something about the plight of victims of dictators.
Rating: 5
Summary: Appropriately disturbing and illuminating
Comment: Soyinka wastes no words. In this book, based on a series of lectures, he argues that the ruthlessness of the military dictatorships that have ruled Nigeria for the past twenty years have deprived her of her very nationhood. At the very beginning, Soyinka asks the key question: "When is a nation?" He argues that Nigeria may be "a nation on the verge of extinction" - or rather a nation that was serverly stabbed with the annulment of the June 12 presidential elections, and is now slowly bleeding to death. This annulment by Babangida, dictator from 1985 - 1993, is the focal point for Soyinka's rage. Soyinka is a very strong proponent of democracy in Africa - especially in Nigeria, which he still believes could be a leader of the continent - and he views this annulment as a profound betrayal of national trust and of Nigeria's future. However, despite his anger and his bitterness at the injustices that have been Nigeria's fate since independence, Soyinka retains hope and faith in the people of Nigeria. He believes that repression and corruption cannot last forever - democracy and true nationhood, while difficult to attain, have not been forever lost to history.
While I found this book excellent, I would not recommend it to someone who was not already somewhat familiar with Nigerian political and cultural history over the last thirty years. Also, it is helpful if the reader is familiar either with Soyinka's work or with somewhat convoluted writing. Soyinka's ideas are well worth reading and stem from remarkable personal experiences, but, from point A to point B - he will not usually choose to draw a straight line. Reflective of Nigerian politics, and Nigeria as a whole, nothing is simple!
I hope other readers will learn as much from this book as I have. It has opened my eyes to what the newspaper articles simply leave out and has given me both more to be concerned and more to be hopeful about Nigeria.
Rating: 3
Summary: The Sore of a Continent as rippled by an Individual
Comment: Wole Soyinka is one of the foremost African literary giant of modern times. He has an intellectual stature that seems to diminish his critiques. To Wole's credit this book ranks among one of his best work- this is simply because it is readable. The reduction of noisy elements by its simplicity of expression makes it one of his finest piece to date, at least I was spared the pain of reading the Kongi King without a dictionary by my side. The book- understandably like his later work to date- The Burden of Memory, The Muse of Forgiveness- is the prooduct of lectures put together, hence one can forgive its lack of structural cohesion. Nonetheless, Soyinka brings to the fore the African crises of leadership and the dearth of critical appraisal of existential situation by African leaders. In as much as the text depicts examples it preoccupied itself with the Nigerian situation. Unfortunately, therefore, Soyinka risks tying the African destiny with the Nigerian fate- the totality of the African situation is much more multilateral than the unilateral reference to a singular polity Nigeria. As if this is a a new pattern for the Kongi King he keeps limiting himself to the extent that even the Nigerian situation was tied to the fate of his Yoruba nationality- ethnic group. This is not surprising since the Kongi Warrior has been sliding narrower from that of being an international figure to one preoccupied with being a national hero( a national road safety marshall) and now a nationality figurine. Our marshall therefore has taken a course that simplistically narrows the whole issues that affects Africa to particular issues that affects him. Unfortunately, the Kongi hero is still speaking and relating factual mattter, and so should not be taken lightly. The problem with Africa is one of political and economic leadership-a bedevilled breed of satanic monster that do not want to see smiles on the face of the citizenry. It is in this domain that the Kongi Chief should be better understood. Yes! His limitation of African issues to Nigerian examples and ordered toward his Yoruba nationality cause is also theatrical. As a dramaturgist he understands that the whole world can be a theatre but that an effective drama has to be limited to a spatial confine to produce impact. It is on such note that the Kongi chief points to the negative imagery of defective political machinery in Africa as gross and in critical need of resolution. It is this fact that makes this work- The Open Sore of a Continent- very fascinating for herein Soyinka combines facts with his dramatic humour for the sake of effect. While one may not totally agree with some of Soyinka's reasoning or conclusions one cannot but wave his thoughts aside.His vision is deep and profound. This work is a must for all who want to understand the critical dearth of development- political, economic and social- that affects and afflicts the soul of most- if not all- African nations today. It is a must to read this book, yet the judgement remains with the reader. But we must see how much we can pull out from the mustache of this singular revolutionary- the Poetic and dramatic democratic soldier. Happy Reading!
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Title: The Trouble with Nigeria by Chinua Achebe ISBN: 0435906984 Publisher: Heinemann Pub. Date: 22 August, 1984 List Price(USD): $8.50 |
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Title: Ake : The Years of Childhood by Wole Soyinka ISBN: 0679725407 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 23 October, 1989 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Myth, Literature and the African World by Wole Soyinka ISBN: 0521398347 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 13 September, 1990 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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Title: This House Has Fallen: Nigeria in Crisis by Karl Maier ISBN: 0813340454 Publisher: Westview Press Pub. Date: 07 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title: Crippled Giant: Nigeria Since Independence by Eghosa E. Osaghae ISBN: 0253211972 Publisher: Indiana University Press Pub. Date: October, 1998 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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