Thus Counsels ISESE



Thus Counsels ISESE


https://youtu.be/VR-exqkJOwA?si=GvmPEI1CowcBkCjE via @YouTube


Statement presented by Professor Wole Soyinka at his "Public Exchange" on the topic: "ISESE, SAMARKAND AND OTHER MARKETS OF THE MIND," which held (In-Person & Virtual) yesterday September 1, 2023, at Freedom Park Lagos

https://studio.youtube.com/.../UCA5NK24M.../videos/upload...


Full speech:

https://ntm.ng/2023/09/02/thus-counsels-isese/


THUS COUNSELS ISESE (Excerpts)

 

ISESE concerns itself with the fate of every unit that makes up community, and is innately bound to engage in questions such as: “What is a youth, by name MUBARAK BALA doing in prison?  Recall, ISESE upholds the right to believe or not believe, thus the question is not trite, it is not academic, but is instantly catapulted from the particularized to the universal podium of Justice. How does a nation define itself, when a youth can be sentenced to waste his years of mental prowess in prison, for no crime beyond the right to believe or not believe?  ISESE speaks to individual and collective conscience. ISESE calls on those misguided forgers of human chains to respond to a plain question: why is that youth, and undoubtedly numerous others, wasting away in hidden dungeons, for crimes that the very protocols of nation definition, known as the Constitution do not recognize. ISESE asks, WHEN is Justice? And what is that ensign worth, if it fails to fulfill the primary condition of social accreditation which is – Justice!


ISESE insists that godhead is not so inadequate that it requires the inflicted suffering of humans, their abuse, torture, and degradation, their recurrent tribute of tithes and offerings in blood transfusion in order to make the essence of godhead manifest, neither does it decree, as a condition for admission into its manifold, the absolute, uncritical veneration of avatars and prophets on its way to ultimate enlightenment. ISESE declares that any such pronouncement or proceeding serves only to inseminate terror, not piety, and thus, remains an abomination in the very sight of godhead. ISESE preaches mutual respect, but insists on the primal sanctity of human life. ISESE turns its face against murder, such as the brutal ending of the girl student Deborah Samuel. ISESE demands justice for that martyred girl, for her family, for her community and – indisputably, the nation itself. ISESE must not rest until all the perpetrators of that hideous crime are brought to justice, including those purveyors of sectional HATE and DISCORD who applauded the deed, including those who have obstructed the cause of justice. ALL are guilty of instigating others to emulation. Any society that thinks or acts otherwise, even by omission, has chosen the path of disintegration.

ISESE, and its abiding articles of faith. Because its precepts are humanistic and universal, ISESE can never be diminished. It is here for all eternity.

 

Wole SOYINKA

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