Olaokun, eldest son of Wole Soyinka, Nobel
laureate and literary icon, says his father mistakenly sat on the flight seat
belonging to another passenger.
Soyinka took centre stage on
social media after a passenger asked him to vacate his (passenger’s) window
seat.
Tonye Cole, entrepreneur and
politician, who was aboard the aircraft, shared the experience via his
Instagram page.
Cole’s narrative had sparked a
controversy and generated heated arguments. Some tagged the young man as
“disrespectful” while other defended the man’s action, arguing that he was
within his right.
One of those who defended the
young man, nicknamed “Bobo Fine” by Cole, was Tosin Odunfa, who wrote a satire
chronicling what could have transpired between Wole Soyinka and the other
passenger.
Reacting via an appreciation
letter to Cole, Olaokun Soyinka said even if his father sat in the young man’s
seat deliberately, he did so to avoid causing”‘go-slow” as people would stop to
shake hands with him if he were seated close to the aisle.
“My dad travels a lot and at his
age, we, his offspring, have been advising him to cut down. I hope if l get to
his ripe old age I will still be as independent as he is, though he does have
the occasional mishap, I’m sure this is not the first time he’s occupied the
wrong seat,” Olaokun Soyinka wrote.
“It’s not a big deal and most
frequent flyers have done it. I’ve not asked him yet, but if it was deliberate
then, as my wife points out, he was probably trying to keep away from the aisle
to avoid the inevitable ‘go-slow’ as people stopped to shake his hand. Most
likely it was mere preoccupation with other matters.”
So my elderly father mistakenly sat in the wrong airplane seat, & moved when asked.— Olaokun Soyinka (@olaokun_s) June 26, 2019
It was a non-event until Mr Tonye Cole did an Instagram post about respect.
I thought I'd write to Mr Cole & share a memory about WS & an airline drama when he was shown great respect indeed. pic.twitter.com/Ix1VtkgOuy
He said while the man was right
to have demanded his seat, he (Olaokun Soyinka) was irritated by the comments
of “social media warriors”.
Olaokun said “our garrulous
online youths however, should not take freedom of expression for granted”.
He added that his father had
served his country well and deserved to be respected.
“Do our online youths these days
see it as a badge of honour to avoid the courtesies that we traditionally
extended to our elders? Why do they insist on jumping to the most uncharitabie
conclusion? (‘It was deliberate. WS commandeered the seat’.),” he asked.
“Why did people insist on
misinterpreting the events? Can’t an elderly man make a mistake? I have not
commented on the fact that beyond being an elderly man, WS has served his country
in a way that many would do well to emulate. I will leave that for others to go
into. Our garrulous online youths however, should not take freedom of
expression for granted.”
Below is his full letter to Cole
Dear Mr Cole,
I am writing to thank you for
standing up for my father, and for respect. You ignited a social media storm
that appears to have had even more impact on aviation matters than Iran’s
recent downing of the USA drone. Prof Soyinka’s inadvertent trespass into someone
else’s ‘seatspace’ has triggered numerous unguided missiles which are flying
all over social media.
My dad travels a lot and at his
age we, his offspring, have been advising him to cut down. I hope if l get to
his ripe old age I will still be as independent as he is, though he does have
the occasional mishap I’m sure this is not the first time he’s occupied the
wrong seat. It’s not a big deal and most frequent flyers have done it. I’ve not
asked him yet, but if it was deliberate then, as my wife points out, he was
probably trying to keep away from the aisle to avoid the inevitable ‘go-slow’
as people stopped to shake his hand. Most likely it was mere preoccupation with
other matters.
The young man whose seat it was
may have had a specific reason to insist on having his seat. He was within his
rights, and WS would be last person to make an issue of it. My irritation,
however, is reserved for the social media warriors.
Some vehemently defended the
right of the young man to claim his seat. They hailed him for bravely standing
up to oppression and divined how a young WS himself might have reacted in a
similar situation. (He is an activist but a gentleman, so it is most likely he
would have graciously given way to an elder who mistakenly sat in his seat).
Some criticised WS for attempting to
callously deprive a youth of the fruits of his hard-earned money. One wag even
suggested he might as well have insisted on having the pilot’s seat.
Others castigated your good self
for mentioning the t-shirt and tattoo. They poured venom on the passengers who
dared to suggest that Prof should have been allowed to stay where he was. Thus,
online, the non-drama transformed into a tragicomic metaphor for the problem of
Nigeria. Soyinka representing, to some lazy thinkers, the oppressive ruling
class that has laid waste to the country, now trying to deprive the young of
their dues even in the confines of an airplane cabin. The deprived seat-owner
meanwhile representing our virile but dispossessed young Nigerians, angry and
determined to grab and hold on to whatever they can. Not prepared to give an
inch, or deference, to any venerable agent of the wasted generation. The cabin
controversy had gone from local to international.
Do our online youths these days
see it as a badge of honour to avoid the courtesies that we traditionally
extended to our elders? Why do they insist on jumping to the most uncharitabie
conclusion? (‘It was deliberate. WS commandeered the seat’.) Why did people
insist on misinterpreting the events? Can’t an elderly man make a mistake?
I believe the learning point of
this controversy lies in understanding the difference between right and
entitlement. The seat owner had a right that is enforceable. But the elder
though he or she is entitled to some deference and respect, can only hope for
it. In this case it was not given and WS, unhesitatingly moved seat.
To the online outraged, I would
point out that those who like to see an elder given his due deference are
entirely within their rights to judge the young man. And if they decide to add
some profiling (the t-shirt, tattoo, face cap), please just ‘chop it’ He passed
up a small opportunity to bestow an act of kindness, and commentators happily
pointed out his emblems of youthful disregard for convention. Afterall, he had
just disregarded a convention that many hold dear.
Extending courtesies based upon
age such as offering your seat in a crowded bus or lifting a heavy bag is not
just a matter of convention or kindness but common sense. We will all become
that person: a bit more frail every passing year, a little unsteady,
occasionally absent minded, frustratingly blurred of vision. We will inevitably
need to rely on considerate fellow passengers or observant bystanders. We hope
they will anticipate and help. The future seems far away for youths, but soon
enough it will be today’s young ones who are the elders. They may one day have
to struggle to their feet to make way for youths bent on claiming their rights.
I have not commented on the fact
that beyond being an elderly man, WS has served his country in a way that many
would do well to emulate. I will leave that for others to go into. Our
garrulous online youths however, should not take freedom of expression for
granted. In his day, the dictator Abacha tightly controlled the then novelty
called the internet. People spent decades in jail, being tortured for merely
hinting at criticism of the military ruler. Our freedom to hold our leaders
accountable is a precious right bought by the heroism of many; some died, some
are still living. 50, as you fight your battles of today, please do so with a
sense of history.
On that historical note I will
finish with an anecdote about Wole Soyinka and another airline seat. He
returned from exile to Nigeria in 1998 for the very first time after Abacha’s
demise. Although he had departed in secret four years earlier on the back of a
motorcycle along a forest path, he returned home more publicly by plane. His
first-class seat was given to him, free, by KLM. I know this because l arranged
it. After explaining the situation to a senior manager, the airline did not
hesitate to offer to fly him back on that momentous occasion. I accompanied him
on the flight and proudly watched as grateful and admiring compatriots made
their way up the aisle to get a glimpse of him or to thank him for his
steadfast years-long role in opposing the military junta at great personal
cost. Not all the cabin crew were aware of the intricacies of Nigerian politics
and the historic nature of the occasion. The commotion soon got the message
through and then even l got the VIP treatment (i.e. endless Champagne). I’m
sure if WS had insisted on sitting in the pilot’s seat they would have obliged.
Wole
Soyinka was given respect freely
he had not demanded it, he earned it. On landing, the joyous, singing throng
that met him at the airport arrivals hall was a sight that I will never forget.
Now he was seated shoulder high.
I recount this not as a boast.
Rather, as a reminder to our young online activists that respect for our senior
citizens is also about history you just don’t know the story behind the seats
your elders have occupied, even before you were born.
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