Wole Soyinka on Boko Haram, racism and Winston Churchill

Professor Wole Soyinka , considered by many as Africa's best living writer, has been one of the staple figures throughout Nigeria's post-independence politics. Jon Snow interviews him, and begins by asking about the missing schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram.

[@dasbarasat2637]

Reading Ake... he is so good

[@pedazodetorpedo]

A very balanced, nuanced and crucially, as he qualifies it, subjective viewpoint. This was just four years ago, and in that time we seem to have lost all nuance and context in favour of an enforced, monolithic narrative. As Soyinka observed in 2016 "we are going backwards".

[@danielbillington7993]

He's a brilliant writer.

[@african-history-fountain]

Oh yes. A literary genius he is.

[@Scopps94]

Wole Soyinka is Nigeria's Morgan Freeman

[@ogasontop]

+Scopps94 wole soyinka is not an actor

[@aminatsodeinde4403]

+Kan Abu he was referring to their looks, ofc

[@Scopps94]

Kan Abu looks and persona

[@vjay6667]

thank you! if anything, Morgan Freeman is America's lesser version of Wole Soyinka

[@Scopps94]

rdokoye relax you're stressing over nothing

[@sainttymez5146]

That last question seemed a little much

[@aspeltaofkush3540]

Why are some people so mad about the comparison between Wole Soyinka and Morgan Freeman? There is a superficial likeness in appearance and both are great men in their own craft. It’s not meant to be insulting. Lighten up.

[@Jeremygee]

Morgan Freeman is not a writer

[@Beautifulbliss03]

Smart man 👌

[@danielewenkhare3600]

🇳🇬💚🤘🏾🤘🏾 Iconic playwright

[@thatonteso9606]

The interviewer was really cocky

[@paulcarroll6441]

Why are so many black called Winston

[@therealgodessisis]

Who do you know called Winston.

[@sonofsoweto]

Stupid Paul

[@TheMiniseany]

Paul 🤦🏾‍♂️

[@prosurferwaves6195]

Paul You Dumb Dumb No No Guy

[@prosurferwaves6195]

And Why is ur last name so female lol 🤣😜💯

[@OmarrK154]

Mase has deckwd me in 103 Kirkby street...

[@kyesho1903]

Uk Morgan Freeman

[@sesaydeen]

He is Nigerian from Nigeria living in Nigeria.

[@29AndreG]

I thought it was Morgan Freeman.

[@29AndreG]

***** No! The hair, the gotie

[@uzbekistan5665]

Drew Gars better version of Morgan Freeman you meant ?

[@ivorbiggun710]

The statue of Rhodes is going. Official. Horrible.

[@tigerlord1985]

Makes me want to have a fuzzy beard.

[@SuperGreatSphinx]

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, PC, PCc, DL, FRS, RA (30 November 1874 - 24 January 1965) was a British statesman who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. As Prime Minister, Churchill led Britain to victory over Nazi Germany during World War II. Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a non-academic historian, and a writer; he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 for his overall, lifetime body of work. Churchill was born into the family of the Dukes of Marlborough, a branch of the Spencer family. His father, Lord Randolph Churchill, was a charismatic politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer, and his mother, Jennie Jerome, was an American socialite. As a young army officer, Churchill saw action in British India, the Anglo-Sudan War, and the Second Boer War. He gained fame as a war correspondent and wrote books about his campaigns. At the forefront of politics for fifty years, he held many political and cabinet positions. Before the First World War, he served as President of the Board of Trade, Home Secretary, and First Lord of the Admiralty as part of Asquith's Liberal government. During the war, Churchill continued to serve as First Lord of the Admiralty until the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign caused his departure from government. He then briefly resumed active army service on the Western Front as commander of the 6th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers. He then returned to government under Lloyd George as Minister of Munitions, Secretary of State for War, Secretary of State for Air, then Secretary of State for the Colonies. After two years out of Parliament, he served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Baldwin's Conservative government of 1924-1929, controversially returning the pound sterling in 1925 to the gold standard at its pre-war parity, a move widely seen as creating deflationary pressure on the UK economy. Out of office and politically "in the wilderness" during the 1930s because of his opposition to increased home rule for India and his resistance to the 1936 abdication of Edward VIII, Churchill took the lead in warning about Nazi Germany and in campaigning for rearmament. At the outbreak of the Second World War, he was again appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. Following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain on 10 May 1940, Churchill became Prime Minister. His speeches and radio broadcasts helped inspire British resistance, especially during the difficult days of 1940-41 when the British Commonwealth and Empire stood almost alone in its active opposition to Adolf Hitler. He led Britain as Prime Minister until after the German surrender in 1945. After the Conservative Party suffered an unexpected defeat in the 1945 general election, he became Leader of the Opposition to the Labour Government. He publicly warned of an "Iron Curtain" of Soviet influence in Europe and promoted European unity. After winning the 1951 election, Churchill again became Prime Minister. His second term was preoccupied by foreign affairs, including the Malayan Emergency, Mau Mau Uprising, Korean War, and a UK-backed coup d'état in Iran. Domestically, his government laid great emphasis on house-building. Churchill suffered a serious stroke in 1953 and retired as Prime Minister in 1955, although he remained a Member of Parliament until 1964. Upon his death (aged ninety) in 1965, Elizabeth II granted him the honour of a state funeral, which saw one of the largest assemblies of world statesmen in history. Named the Greatest Briton of all time in a 2002 poll, Churchill is among the most influential people in British history, consistently ranking well in opinion polls of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom. His highly complex legacy continues to stimulate intense debate amongst writers and historians. On 9 April 1963, Churchill was the first of only eight people to be made an honorary citizen of the United States.

[@K_dashing]

He was a madafakka.

[@uzbekistan5665]

Sug_ madic let that racist know!

[@emmajoseph5963]

apparently he was dislexic & yet he wrote brilliantly

[@therealgodessisis]

Winston"s father died from syphilis and his mother was a diagnosed nymphomaniac. Interesting facts.

[@ivorbiggun710]

Sounds a bit like here. Rotherham.

[@jerrymoffatt9127]

WOLE, WRONG , ITS NOT COLOR

[@Kurgan618]

Both are surprisingly inarticulate

[@davidfergusson4241]

Churchill compared with Nelson Mandela I watched NM as a old fart on stage with the ANC singing that song bring me my machine gun and me shoot the white men, sounded a bit racist to me thats what comes to mind when his name comes like someone with the sun beaming out his butt. But it should be remembered our statues our home land our history, If brits can not display statues here where else should they be. Do we need permission now because you and others have Chosen to come here for the opportunity that is available you, and nobody has been forced to stay.

[@davidatherton1780]

I thought this was samuel l jacksons nerd brother