2 days Ago By Ayo Yusuf
Kemi got the desired flogging, but they got it wrong with Chimamanda’s new book, reckons JOSHUA J.OMOJUWA Vulture published an attempt at reviewing Chief Chimamanda Adichie’s new book, Dream Count that ended up being anything but. In an unrelated event, the United Kingdom Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, launched a brutal takedown of Kemi Badenoch during a parliamentary session in the UK, via what in football terms would be a counterattack.
Nigerians engaged both issues passionately, albeit, from opposing ends. The Vulture review, if we insist on calling it that, was an attempt to burn Chimamanda and her book at the stake, but it instead ignited a renewed demand for the book. As it should.
It was a not-so-subtle call on the herd to cancel the Nigerian author afresh. However, people are learning to read between the lines. What was advertised as a book review got delivered like a “refresh cancellation” hit piece.
I was hoping to see a writer’s take on the book, instead half the piece was a direct attack on the author. Intellectualism used to be an avenue to debate, without the danger of death for opposing or unpopular views. Now, it is about falling in line with ideas pushed by certain privileged people – often gatekeepers, without daring to test them against rationality.
It is like 1984, but with the force and power of social media’s ubiquity. This is the problem with these holier-than-thou moralists. They want you to suffer for not toeing their line, to bear the burden 24/7/12 for breaking the line.
They want your head on a platter, every now and then. They deliver that sense of justice from what they believe is the ultimate altar of morality — their laptops. Clearly, Chimamanda has had to pay for her views, that transwomen are not women.
That has been obvious enough through these years. So, this Vulture piece was not another attempt to make her to just pay again, it was something even more sinister. They sought to delegitimise her.
The intent was to suck out every juice from her image as a legitimate and an exceptional writer. This Vulture reviewer called Chimamanda a bad writer. They can say anything about J.
K. Rowling, they’d never call her a bad writer. And getting a person of colour to deliver the message doesn’t hide the owners of the voice and their intentions.
You know their voice when you hear it, irrespective of what skin they come in. How can a civilian who has never written anything worthy of note say Chimamanda is a bad writer? Okay, they probably have written something of note to their fans, but they aren’t worthy of such a call on Chief Adichie’s talents. You can say you don’t like her writings.
There are people who don’t like Beethoven’s compositions. You can say you find her book boring or too much for you. No art in this world enjoys universal love.
You can’t say she is a bad writer. Everyone has a right to their opinions, and their delusions, I guess. But don’t pass them off as some elevated truth.
There is a myriad of adjectives you can call CNA, a bad writer? Even in your dream, that won’t count. Do you know the thing with people who are great at their craft? They can disagree with you. They can even admit their hatred of you, declaring their bias without fear or regret.
What they will never do is deny your greatness or talent. Because they are incapable of calling a phenomenon what it isn’t, just so they can fall in line with the morality mob! They know where to separate science – that is, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, etc ., – from bare desires and delusions.
Here, I refer to the science of declaring one’s bias against an author before setting out to review their work. I guess, other universal scientific truths apply too. Nigerians may not agree on the person that is Chief Chimamanda Adichie, Vulture found out that they share a consensus when it comes to anyone looking to diminish her; we no go gree! Not Kemi though.
Kemi Badenoch got whipped by the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer. It was celebrated by Nigerians on social media. You should watch the video.
He called her “Defender of the Western Civilisation”, a brutal but apt representation of Kemi’s obsession with being seen as the strongest voice on immigration, often times doing so whilst attempting to ridicule Nigeria. In case you are wondering, you shouldn’t, I don’t like Kemi Badenoch. Nigeria and Africa’s challenges are apparent enough.
Matter of fact, if I were a politician in the UK today, I’d likely be seated on her side of the hall. I believe immigration needs to be managed. I think developed countries must be strategic when it comes to who they admit, especially on a long-term basis, to their countries.
I understand. Kemi is a politician clearly focused on becoming the first Black female British PM. Even if she ends up achieving this dream, it’d be hollow and pyrrhic.
It will be without the support of her own people and when the time comes, the very people she insists on forcing herself into becoming, they will remind her, subtly or overtly, “Saviour of the Western Civilisation” a mockery of her desperation to be who she can never be. Ever. I am allies with some Conservatives abroad.
Often, I am the only Black person in the room. But guess what, no matter how much our views intersect, no matter how often and how long I stay in those rooms, even if I bleach my skin, I will always be a Black person. In fact, I am in those rooms because someone needs to see things from an angle only being Black can make one see it.
To get into those rooms and to denigrate and disrespect my origin is to be Kemi Badenoch. I hope I spelt her name right. Relevant Kemi.
Saviour of the West. 1st of her name. Someone called her Temu Margaret Thatcher.
I don’t know what this means, seriously, but whatever it means, it does appear fitting. Omojuwa is chief strategist, Alpha Reach/BGX Publishing.
