Comments on naijablog: Its 2006 abroad, but 1956 in Nigeria

Late?! Wait until you read this. I read the blog w...

2007-01-12T04:27:00.000+01:00

Late?! Wait until you read this. I read the blog with utmost interesting. I must confess that I find it really entertaining. The plus is that I was able to improve my vocabulary as well. The lessons to be learn are:

* Overassumption can cause you trouble
* Becareful of choice of words (I might be committing the same crime now) especially sensitive words like "racism". I hear the word thrown around a lot in the US when the act doesn't exist. What do I care? You can do whatever pleases you. When I get bored, I will return to my country. The most cases I've seen the word used is to make excuse for someone's inadequacy. That's unfair!
* Men too need some liberation (from what?) From our so-called tradition/culture

I suppose I am a new generation man may be still a little bit backward in my thinking. The often quoted verse in the Bible about women submission clearly states what is expected of each person. The man is to love and the woman is to submit. So, what's the demonstration of love in beating your wife? I have had an occasion to throw a punch at a woman before after an undue provocation (you know, some women are that lousy). Normally, I would simply walk away from such but I guess the "african male ego" took me over. But alas, I felt really bad about it afterwards.

If every party takes his assigned duty of loving and submitting seriously, we would have a lot less problem. However, most Nigerian men will only support the part that favors them and ignore the other.

Surprisingly enough, some women have come to accept battery in good faith. They see it as the evil that they must endure for being married! Well, I won't be surprised if some even believe that being beaten by their husband is a show of love and affection, may be as a prelude to love making! (lol)

Excuse my "broken" English, it is not my language. I am just managing.

I know this comment is kinda late in the game but ...

2006-06-03T01:55:00.000+01:00

I know this comment is kinda late in the game but i just couldn't resist. I agree with evrything Jeremy said, it was an accurate and much needed critique of that interview. However, I'm not too keen on the title, because the implication is that submission doctrine does not exist in the developed world and we all know that isn't true. The domestic violence statistics for married couples in spain and the legislation and support they receive is shocking. This is a world wide problem

My goodness, a whole load of discussion this VM ha...

2006-03-14T15:38:00.000+01:00

My goodness, a whole load of discussion this VM has generated. Interesting. It is coming to Lagos and I cannot wait to see it.

I think bringing VM to Naija and giving proceeds to women's refuge is an excellent idea. And congrats to Hafsat.

I also read the article and was a bit suprised, but felt it was riddled with too many contradictions to merit any serious attention. I guess that's a failing on my part.

To Nick Costello. I don't think bringing VM to nigeria is more important than engaging in 'pure discourses' as you seems to be implying. Discourses are part and parcel of bringing about changes in any society.

The age old argument that people who are actually out doing something practical are helping to change things is true and undeniable. But many changes often starts at the discursive level. Like one of the commentators note, we need talkers, dreamers, doers, and all kinds of people. The doers must not be elevated over the talkers and the dreamers. They require each other.

Angela

I'm surprised how Jeremy's slipped up in his logic...

2006-03-11T12:16:00.000+01:00

I'm surprised how Jeremy's slipped up in his logic. He accuses hafsat of 'condoning wife-beating' whereas the very quotation that he cites says that physical violence by men against their wives is wrong, thus condemning not condoning wife-beating. And that makes it clear that hafsat's earlier observation that 'there is a general belief that many of our cultures condone wife-beating' is a simple statement of fact - that belief does exist and is pretty general - and not a statement of support for wife-beating. I think Jeremy got tempted by the enjoyable polemic of being able to say "... but killing women is going a little too far" and therefore ignored the logical point above which he's quite capable of understanding.

But I agree with Jeremy about submissive wives - as the husband in question I can assure you that neither of us is submissive! Or maybe both of us are. Same thing for correction, my recollection is that we correct each other. And maybe the sub-editor slipped up, I certainly never said "He said that now that I am his wife, I have to cook and do stuff like that", well, I may have said 'do HALF the cooking and stuff like that'!

I think hafsat's right though to try to present the arguments in a way that people will hear and listen to, I'm sure that her getting vagina monologues staged in Nigeria (and getting the proceeds to go to a refuge for battered women) does more to help prevent (and cope with) violence against women than any number of pure discourses that set out to be as clear as possible and trash prevailing attitudes rather than helping people move on.

Nick Costello

But grace, for many of these men (and women), wome...

2006-02-27T09:11:00.000+01:00

But grace, for many of these men (and women), women are indeed children. They are part of their chattel. The irony of this is that many of these people claim to be anti-colonialist and anti-slavery, yet the fundamental tenet of slavery/colonialism is that Africans are savages, children, property, animals you can do as you wish with and they subscribe to it. They don't see the interconnection between slavery/colonialism and patriarchy and homophobia. Even what they consider as culture or tradition are themselves unstable and open to manipulation. They don't see the root of violence and power in submission. If we don't wipe out the will to submit, we will never eradicate violence against women, animals, different race, ethnic or religious groupings.

I am in early 20s, a Nigerian woman and I totally find Hafsat's statement deeply problematic and offensive as many of my friends here on campus. But there is no outlet for us to express this and public denounce such statement. A few of us wrote to the offending newspaper last week and nothing was published this week. Thats the way life goes. people with connection get to speak for the rest of us.

Hafsat case is not unique, here at my uni, we have a female lecturer who teaches us about feminism and open us to issues of patriarchy, male sexism and violence, yet she also tells that we must submit to our husband. I use to really respect her but not anymore. how can she. She is giving out missed messages. She is always doing all this consultancy work on violence against women yet she thinks women should submit to their husband.

Success

Laspapi, then what do you say to nigerian women wh...

2006-02-26T22:54:00.000+01:00

Laspapi, then what do you say to nigerian women who believe the submission doctrine subordinates women to men, is sexist and condescending? It is easy to go after a foreigner criticizing men "correcting" their wives, okay so how about a Nigerian woman now? Nigerian men (and women who subscribe to patriachal thinking) have no business hiding behind "culture" (what you mean is tradition). "Culture" once dictated in certain tribes that twin babies should be abandoned in the forest. I hope you are not a twin.

If you really think men have authority over their wives enough to correct them (to the point where someone has to caution them not to use violence in their discipline) and not vice versa, what you are also saying is that all men are wiser, smarter and more knowledgeable than all women, hence husbands should keep their wives in line. I wonder how patriachal men can ever have a reciprocal loving relationship with a woman, with all that domination-submission nonsense. A woman is not a child!

DUDUYEMI THANK YOU FOR BREAKING IT DOWN!!!. All th...

2006-02-26T18:02:00.000+01:00

DUDUYEMI THANK YOU FOR BREAKING IT DOWN!!!. All these men coming up in here and defending hafsat, and criticising jeremy for not agreeing that women should be submissive. IT IS STILL 1956 in NIGERIA. HELL, IT IS STILL THE MIDDLE AGES!! WHEN WILL NIGERIAN MEN STOP SUPPORTING SUBMISSION AND OPPRESSION OF WOMEN!!!

correct his wife...yet if she says a word to him a...

2006-02-26T17:42:00.000+01:00

correct his wife...yet if she says a word to him about his habits, then she'll 1. be a bad wife 2. be a bad wife who forces her husband to cheat because she doesn't worship the ground he works on c. be beaten, but hey at least she doesn't get killed. what a relief-

Respect to the Hybrid.Wandered onto your blog when...

2006-02-26T09:43:00.000+01:00

Respect to the Hybrid.

Wandered onto your blog when I came across a link to the interesting title, "...1956 in Nigeria".

Firstly, I'm Nigerian, male,I live here, and I write/produce stage plays.
It helps with interpretation.

I agree with Olawunmi's opinion that your interpretation of Hafsat's comments, was far too narrow and constricting. I do not think you can surmise from Hafsat's words that she undermines her work by holding the view that women should be submissive to their husbands or that it can be inferred that those words support domestic violence in any sort of way.

You seem to have a problem with the view that women should be corrected by their husbands- Regardless of my personal opinion on that issue, I should let you know, it is a cultural thing, and it is apparent that is the reason you don't get it.

For a long time, I used to wonder why the leading actor in Hollywood productions never tried to physically stop his wife/lover who had caught him cheating and who was bent on leaving. No matter how much he begged her as she packed her bags, he would never try to restrain her by holding her hand. He would almost always, stand sadly to one side and watch her go. Over there, holding her hand even as you begged could be considered false imprisonment as well as criminal assault (I'm a lawyer too), here you'd just be seen as "begging". I didn't get it for a long while because it was a cultural thing.

The reason homosexuals don't kiss themselves openly on Nigerian streets as can be found in "developed nations", is because the culture here doesn't permit it. (Not that it permits heterosexuals to do it)

Now the reason you and I don't get some things on either side is because the fact that the butterfly has wings doesn't make it a bird.

The fact that you frown on the notion of women being corrected by men, does not make it wrong.
Men correct women and vice versa but still, even here, the hand that rocks the cradle rules...Women have their ways.

Val found the title derogatory. I've seen worse things on TV, Britons talking about Britain, Americans about America, so let it stand.

Emmanuel Bensah. I did not respond to your comment...

2006-02-24T19:38:00.000+01:00

Emmanuel Bensah. I did not respond to your comment on my blog because I only read it 10 minutes ago. My God I cannot believe this - "you dont want this to be a witch hunt"! Look no one has to read my blog - its not by force as they say. What has this got to do with interviews on the BBC or elsewhere? It seems to me that there are a lot of people out there who have a problem with me working for Global Voices - sad. Believe me if it wasnt for that job I would not even be visiting half the blogs I write about.

Hi Duduyemi. I think you made a good suggestion -...

2006-02-24T11:19:00.000+01:00

Hi Duduyemi. I think you made a good suggestion - replacing 'woman' with 'black' in the offending passage from the interview - it highlights what I found most problematic in the affirmation of submission doctrine:

"There are many ways that blacks can be submissive to whites but not by getting beaten. There is a publication that talks about violence against blacks. It shows how many blacks have been killed by whites and in some cases by their children. While there is a general belief that many of our cultures condone black-beating, I doubt if there is any culture that condones the killing of a black. Even from my religious understanding, a black’s life is from God and you don’t have the right to take his life. But many whites, all in the name of correcting their blacks, end up causing them harm."

When switched to a discussion about race, we start to see more clearly that submission doctrine is about ownership and power of men over women. Before any actual violence against women, there is the belief that women can be violated. For the belief that women can be violated by men to exist, there has to be an underlying agreement that men have the RIGHT to violate women. This sense of entitlement comes from the submission doctrine propagated by the mushroom evangelical churches ('the woman should submit to the man as Jesus submits to the Church' blah blah- in essence, a statement that men have dominion and complete control over women - the wife is 'chattel' to the man. The symbolic violence of submission doctrine directly leads to violence against women. Now that is what was so contradictory and problematic about what was said in the interview. It is interesting in this respect to examine different attitudes to submission doctrine between muslim and christian women..

My name is Duduyemi and I am a Nigerian. I have re...

2006-02-24T05:14:00.000+01:00

My name is Duduyemi and I am a Nigerian. I have read so much nonsense here that I simply have to weigh in. I live in Nigeria, and I thank God for this blog.

"Respect" has no place in discussions about social improvements.

I criticize America all the time, and I don't show much respect when I do it. I just call it like I see it.

I don't go for this self-described "underdog" bull. Jeremy is the very opposite of a racist. He does not make special dispensations, either positive or negative, on account of anybody's race.

It is puerile and disgusting to try to tar him with that brush. It brings shame on the person who says it, actually. Read the archives of this blog, and I dare you to show me a more honest, ethical and enlightened writer on life in Nigeria. There are others that might be his equal, but I have seen none that are better. To even mention the word "colonialism" is a stinky shame to the one who brought it up.

Nigerians are very good at silencing critics, especially critics who are right. Nigerians silenced Soyinka, they silenced Gani, they silenced Fela. All those people were "celebrated", sure, but the attitude was always that they were too extreme, that we should just manage with things as they were.

I believe in respect towards individuals, but not respect if we are talking frankly about the structures of societies. We are not children. If there's anyone who doesn't want to play by the rules of enlightened discourse, pick up your damn toys and GO HOME. We don't need your kind around here anymore.

Onward Naija!

Duduyemi

(p.s. Props to Hafsat for many years of wonderful work, and for many more years to come. But for her to suggest that women should be submissive to men- dat one na total no no. I would have the same reaction if someone said something like, "Whites should beat or lynch blacks, but the blacks should be submissive. It's the natural order of things." Hell no.)

Visited Nneka's World. Hmmm some spicey stuff ther...

2006-02-23T18:10:00.000+01:00

Visited Nneka's World. Hmmm some spicey stuff there bordering on racism (amongst the comments) and in some cases crossing the line.

Lots of 'us' and 'them' stuff. Liked the 'we' are smarter than 'them' stuff - that's so true - look at the difference. Nigeria is paradise compared to 'their' place. Never mind that 'we' are suffering out 'there' whilst our mates are enjoying our great democratic paradise of Naija!

Sorry to drag this onto your blog J but good to spread things aroun a bit.

I do wonder sometimes...

Devil's Advocate

Sense of humour also seems to be lacking in many c...

2006-02-23T17:01:00.000+01:00

Sense of humour also seems to be lacking in many cases...

Devil's Advocate

I notice that all of those who have accused Jeremy...

2006-02-23T16:28:00.000+01:00

I notice that all of those who have accused Jeremy of some kind of racism have failed to point out exactly what he said that was racist.

I don't think it is a co-incidence that they are all men and write the longest and most incoherent comements.

There are too many people who cannot handle criticism from
1)Other races
2)Other genders.

You need to grow up and debate intelligently.

Jeremy, I want to thank you for the very subtle an...

2006-02-23T16:00:00.000+01:00

Jeremy, I want to thank you for the very subtle and respectful manner in which you have responded to the criticism, which MANY would have riposted rather wildly.

I agree that it is tired hat accusing Westerners of racism, just because they are white--and have an opinion. FGM should not go un-talked about because it might touch nerves; you are very right.

The point I guess I wanted to make was about respect, but I think the point you raise answers that. We are in a globalised village, exposed to a number of issues and ideas that we never thought we would be.

Even black "Westerners" have attitudes which one could construe as racist, so for you to be as audacious as this and write so explicitly about Nigerian idiosyncracies is...rather refreshing.

Alll I was saying is just to remember that at times, you might offend, so to be careful--NOT to stifle your debate on any issues you have.

I have a problem where even those of my colleagues who are as "well-educated" as I am may not understand the quirks that I "learnt" from the West, such as eating salad when I should be eating my own home food of gari, whatever:-) It's that astounding, I tell you!!!:-)

More seriously, thank you for this blog, and I do hope that you manage to accept criticism well when it comes your way, but prepare for some volatilities, as it were:-) from my hot-blooded West African neighbours...and then some:-)

That you have 56 comments here speaks volumes about the interest that one small article has generated, and I think that is a feather in the cap of your contribution to the blogosphere.

Have a good day!!

I would like to reply to anonymous but I don't kno...

2006-02-23T15:32:00.000+01:00

I would like to reply to anonymous but I don't know if he/she/it/them/you are all the same person or not.

If you want to be anonymous then please add somekind of fake and cowardly ID at the bottom of your comment - like I do.

Thanks

That aside. Yeah, anonymous, maybe we are getting a little out of control but you have to look at where that thread started. Godfrey Daniel made a statement that 'Recognising that homophobia is a perversion is not homophobia.' I am not sure about that yet, depends how far you take it. 'He/she is a pervert lets kill him' or 'He/she is a pervert let him get on with it in the privacy of his own home.' Big difference here...

Of course I am a bit mischievious and yabbed him about it and here we are now.

I looked at his comment again whilst researcing to reply to your comment and am still convinced that there is a teeny weeny touch of racism there. Certainly more than I have seen from Jeremy and I have read a lot more of his stuff than Mr Daniel's. I might be wrong though...I have already apologised though and the apology stands - for now.He still hasn't explained himself - although he ain't obliged to!

As for Nollywood there are some female producers around (Bukky Wright, Rosemary Ingbi (spelling?) etc.). Maybe I will have a chat with them and and see what we can come up with. But does anyone have the cash?

I think it might be more appropriate and fitting than this:

"The buffoonish hooting and hollering incited by Ensler's supposedly naughty play is really the hysterical desperation of aging women who have never come to terms with the cruel realities of nature and who cannot face the humiliating fact that, despite their accomplishments, they will always be culturally swept away by the young and beautiful. That in the year 2001 the group chanting of crude four-letter words for female genitalia is viewed as some sort of radical liberation implies that the real issue in the "Vagina Monologues" isn't male oppression but bourgeois repression -- the malady of the dainty, decorous professional class that was created in the first century after the Industrial Revolution" An extract from a critical view of VM.

Devil's Avocate

i don't see what all the shouting is about. person...

2006-02-23T15:15:00.000+01:00

i don't see what all the shouting is about. personally i think jeremy's interpretation of Hafsat's comments was far too narrow and constricting. she could not have condoned wife-beating if she clearly stated that "There are many ways that women can be submissive to their husbands but not by getting beaten..."

that sounds like a clear condemnation of wife beating to me.

but why are people so keen to jump on jeremy's exercise of his right to speak freely? surely there are ways to point out an error without resorting to personal attacks and petty insults?

one would hope that as adults we would be able to disagree without becoming enemies... jeremy might have got this wrong, but he still deserves to be treated with respect.

Hi Emmanuel, You touched a nerve that about Jeremy...

2006-02-23T12:53:00.000+01:00

Hi Emmanuel,

You touched a nerve that about Jeremy's tacit racism. I have been reading his blog for a while. Most of the time I agree with his insights and i have noticed that those I disagree with, I am quick to accuse him of unconscious racism. He grates at me because he dare expose us and then I dismissing him in my head by calling him a racist. Yet, when I revisit his texts I can't truly see where his racism gets displayed. I know that I am always searching for it so that I can throw it back at him. I know that for people like jeremy accusation of racism can hurt them because they are trying to unlearn their racism. So in my moments of annoyance with him I want to lash at him.

I guess, I living in the West, I see all white people, even asians as racists before they even display it. The other day I was having an argument with a really close of mine who is white and he said something that I thought was off the limit and I instantly accused him of racism (in public) in the presence of other black people. Everyone looked at me, but no one said anything. My friend continued his argument undetered. Two of the black people (one of them is a race relations type officer) called me aside and really told me off for mis-using and mis-naming racism. They told me that they were sick of black people like who go around accusing all white people of racism when it is not even there. They told me that people like me actually demage all their anti-racist work throwing accusation of racism. I was reminded that the battle against racism has been fought by both white and black, Indians and Chinese and I should be careful not to mis-name all white people's critique as examples of racism, even as racism is a reality for all black people.

Now that discussion really humbled me. I had to apologise to my friend at the end. But you know what he said: I understand. You were just lashing out. I know that as a white person I have unconscious racism as a white person. We are all affected by it in one way or another. The way you hold on tightly to your purse when you come and visit me in the Bronx. But I knew in that moment I was not a racist, you were just losing the argument.

emmanuel, I am not saying the same thing applies to you, I am just asking us not to mis-name our experience or what we see. If Jeremy appears to be racist, let him know so that he can check himself. If we throw accusations of racism on friends like him without telling him where he is going wrong we lose valuable friends. The African World certainly need more friends than enemies. Just like feminists need male friends to work among other men to push the cause.

Peace,

AL

Hi Emmanuel. Thanks for your post. While I am awa...

2006-02-23T12:14:00.000+01:00

Hi Emmanuel. Thanks for your post. While I am aware that even the most liberal, progressive person can have unconscious racism at work in their psyche, I fail to see how any of my posts exhibit racism. Having examined race as critically as I can from the time of my PhD on (ie for the past ten years), I think I'm relatively race aware. But being white, there are certain skin privileges that I cannot avoid, no matter what my views or what I write in my blog. Being white in an African country is a highly complex and problematic experience. One is over-celebrated AND over-criticised before one decides to speak.

So I would welcome your highlighting any aspects of unconscious racism in my blog. Criticism is hard to take, but necessary. We can all make mistakes in our writing, and I'm sure I make a few quite often.

On the other hand, I am also well aware of using racism/colonialism as a silencing strategy - and its a tired and weak form of argument I refuse to bow down to. The same goes for arguments based on respect for culture. Remember, the argument that a white foreigner has no right to speak on African issues is the exact equivalent of saying that Africans have no right to voice their experiences of living in the West. While I have a huge amount of respect for many Nigerians/other Africans I have been fortunate to meet here in Nigeria, this does not translate into respect for everything that goes on. There is a thin if not blurred line between respect for respect's sake and complicity in unethical practices. Should a westerner not speak out against FGM on the basis of cultural respect for instance? If Hafsat is right and violence against women IS the socio-cultural norm in certain spaces, should one respect it? I could mention many more examples but this would stray from the point.

It sounds like you had some unpleasant experiences in Belgium. I agree with you that racism is not going away quickly in the West - if anything, it is getting worse (we have only to think of New Orleans last year). But please do not project those experiences onto every white person. Just as there are all kinds of Africans, so too there are all kinds of Europeans. The struggle for decolonisation and development in Africa needs all the friends it can get (there are enough enemies out there).

Peace and solidarity..

I am a Ghanaian--born in Ghana, but spent a good t...

2006-02-23T11:45:00.000+01:00

I am a Ghanaian--born in Ghana, but spent a good twenty-plus years in Brussels, Belgium thanks to my Dad's work as an int'l civil servant. Have been back home in Ghana since August 2004, when I started working in one of the leading NGOs on the continent (int'l trade/mining/etc..)...

just a little background...

I think TRAE raises some interesting points about BlackLooks. I do not seek to make this a witch-hunt, but I don't get the impression that she is as respectful as she can be; I made an accusation about Global Voices some weeks back. She defended it. I explained--on her blog even, with an apology and clarification.

She DID NOT bother to send a rejoinder or reminder. What, she better than me, or what just because the BBC has interviewed her before??? She's living in Spain or something?? I donno. Whatever it is, my respect for her ALSO went down--as much as I appreciate the work she does for GV.

In any event, as far as I am concerned, it was an error of judgement. As for this post, which I uncovered thanks to Global Voices, I couldn't believe that a Westerner could be SO conversant with Nigerian quirks lke that; was rather impressive.

What did not impress me was the post. It DID sound condescending, and, frankly, I was annoyed. I am a West African after all, and working where I am, anad having been many times at the butt of Westerners taking the Michael, as the Brits would say, I was royally pissed.

I can see that Jeremey's view should definitely NOT be dissed, but neither do I think he should give himself too much carte blanche to operate what some might perceive as racisst comments for the sake of artistic license, as it were.

Does cultural relativism come to anyone's mind?

I have never met Jeremy, and I don't think I am coming to Nigeria any time soon, but I suspect -- based from this post -- that Jeremy might just harbour some furtive racist sentiments without being aware.

He is obviously well-educated, and I hasten to say that I have not read ALL his posts, but let's face it, if you are a Westerner living in a developing country, there are CERTAIN things you have to be cognisant of--and these things manifest themselves in what I like to think is respect for the indigens of those countries. That is not to say you don't criticise, or even offer constructive criticism, but couch certain things in a way that WILL NOT rub those who have welcomed you into ther country the wrong way.

I think it's just common sense.

Let me put it on record that if I had known about blogging all those years back in Brussels, I would have BLASTED to high-heaven the narrow-mindedness of the Belgians--not to mention their racism. However, I guess being a black man, whilst I might have been considered racist, I had many other people -- even Europeans -- who could have backed me up over the Belgian's subtle racism.

Regrettably, I chose to write them in college papers, instead.

To the point, in Belgium, I was the under-dog, so I could complain freely. But when a Westerner is in the putative, or so-called, under-dog's country, he just has to be a little more sensitive to his titles and his views!!!.

I will never believe that racism is receding -- you go to Russia as a black man and see! -- but I think if we all made efforts where
we create situations where the card is not pulled arbitrarily,
the better for all of us!!

I think using Nollywood is an excellent idea to ex...

2006-02-23T11:16:00.000+01:00

I think using Nollywood is an excellent idea to explore some of these issues. There are some Nollywood where you do see violence against women, but they are not explicitly about raising consciousness about the issue. But I think we need a variety of approaches - VM is one way, posters, ad campaigns is another.

"I am not bothered but as soon as they jump in my face and start shouting it then that's another thing". I too I am not bothered about Yorubas, so long as they don't live next to me carrying on with their owambe parties. DV, surely your statement, my counter-statement is wrong and deeply problematic. Don't you see it?

Using Nollywood to explore the theme of DV/SV is a...

2006-02-23T10:50:00.000+01:00

Using Nollywood to explore the theme of DV/SV is an excellent suggestion. Have you noticed that many Nollywood films portray men as weaklings? Its usually: oga-guy heads up office owned by wife's parents. Oga-guy has a baby with a girlfriend back in the village. Confrontation btw girlfriend and wife. Guy loses everything but ends up back with village woman. In other words, simple morality tales, aimed at a female audience.

Yeah, OK maybe interpreting references to 'colonia...

2006-02-23T09:05:00.000+01:00

Yeah, OK maybe interpreting references to 'colonialism' and 'insanity of Euro-American extremists' into 'racist' was going too far -sorry. So what did you mean then by 'colonialism, now this nonsense'?

As for homophobia where does that start and end? When you refuse to jump into bed with someone of the same sex? I am sure that statistically a number of my friends must be gay. I am not bothered but as soon as they jump in my face and start shouting it then that's another thing. I don't like it. I think it quite a natural reaction for most heterosexual men and gay men should understand that view of heterosexual men too. I had a friend in the past who became transexual. He was wierd because he changed from a male to a female then decided he was a lesbian?!?! He ended the friendship because I refused to go to a city centre bar for a drink with him and his girlfriend. I was ready to meet him at home but that wasn't enough for him. Anyway if you want to accuse me of being homophobic well I don't really agree (as I said depends where you draw the line)but I wouldn't take it as an insult. If you want to accuse me of being heterosexual - damn right!

I haven't previously commented on the Vagina Dialogues but more than a few feminist critics think they are retrograde and negative. From what I have read of the content of the play I think I would agree. Maybe a better approach would be to encourage Nollywood to address the issue. You can make a movie for N1.5-3.0m and reach far more people. Seems more cost effective and socially appropriate/relevant to me. They have made some excellent movies about negative traditional practices. They need to do more.

Devil's Advocate

racist, I don't see. homophobia or is it heteros...

2006-02-23T08:00:00.000+01:00

racist, I don't see. homophobia or is it heterosexism i see. Pls DV point us to the racism in G's text.

ta