Soyinka denies anti-Igbo comment, Harvard to post lecture video online

The Harvard University Hutchins Centre for African and
American Research in the United States has said that it will
release the video of the lecture delivered by Nobel Laureate,
Prof. Wole Soyinka, within a week.
This was contained in an email reply to one of our
correspondents on Soyinka’s alleged comments that he
labelled Igbo as people who voted in the last general elections
based on their “stomach.”
Some online media had quoted Soyinka as saying Igbo were
politically naive while delivering a lecture titled, “‘Predicting
Nigeria, Electoral Ironies,” at the institution.
He was quoted as saying “The Igbo are probably the only
group of Nigerians that you can predict with great accuracy
whom they will vote for in an election, because they tend to
put their votes where their stomachs take them; suffering as it
were, from incurable money-mindedness, as they would stop
at nothing in their quest for personal financial gain.”
However, Soyinka said in a statement on Tuesday that it was
unfortunate that people could tell lies against him.
The playwright described those who believe the report as
morons.
He said the entire lecture was recorded on video and anyone
who was interested could access it on the Internet.
He said, “I have just read a statement attributed to me on a
news outlet, evidently one of the Internet infestations. My
lecture at the Hutchins Centre, Harvard University, was video
recorded. Anyone who believes what I am alleged to have said
must be a moron – repeat, a moron.
“It is demeaning, sickening and boring to have to deal with
these cowards who cannot fight their own battles but must
fasten their imbecilic pronouncements on others. Only the
mentally retarded will credit this comment attributed to me
regarding the Ndigbo voting pattern in the last elections.
“I strongly suspect the author of this despicable concoction,
and may make a further statement, once the source is
verified.”
The Harvard centre, has however, stated that it will post the
video online. The institution, however, said it would not
release transcripts of Soyinka’s lecture.
The email read, “We expect the recent Wole Soyinka talk to be
posted via video on the Hutchins Centre website within a
week. However, transcripts of the talk will not be provided.
Thank you for contacting the Hutchins Centre.”