On the Doctor Adeniran Abraham Ariyo’s Saga
By Ozodi Osuji, PhD
Folks are sending to my private email box mails asking for my opinion on the Texas based Nigerian cardiologist that, apparently, wrote something on his Facebook page that they find offensive.
I have actually not read what the man wrote; what I have heard is what people said that he wrote. Igbos, apparently, are angry at him and want him reported to the Texas Medical Association and have his license to practice medicine removed. They are going for the man’s head.
We must make sure that we do not live in glass houses when we throw stones at other people! Folks write at Nigerian Internet forums stuff about other Nigerian ethnic groups that if taken seriously could lead to law suits.
As I understand it, the man said that the killing of Igbos in Northern Nigeria and South Africa is justified (it has not been confirmed that any of the reported seven people killed by Zulu mobs at Durban, South Africa are Igbos). He seems to be saying that Yoruba people doing to Igbos what the Oba of Lagos allegedly suggested: drive them into the lagoon, is justified. In effect, the man seems to be saying that Igbos ought to be killed.
He appears to be saying that Igbos have such obnoxious behaviors that wherever they go to people hate and kill them; the man appears to be suggesting that given Igbos alleged odious behaviors killing them is justified. As it were, he says: let us get rid of these nuisances that cause us a lot of headache (such as claim to own a piece of Yoruba real estate, Lagos).
Again, I do not know if that is what the man said; all I have read is what folks attributed to him. In the real world, however, it is not what folks said that a man said that counts but what he, in fact, said. So, what did the man actually say? I do not know.
Let me just say that if the man even remotely suggested that a group of people be killed because he does not like aspects of their behaviors he is an underdeveloped human being.
No human being has a right to ask for other human beings to be killed no matter how obnoxious their behaviors are. Is he, for example, saying that all Yorubas should be killed because of whatever they may have done, and do that the rest of us do not like.
I do not expect a university educated person to make such an outrageous suggestion. One can tolerate such an anti-social statement from a savage who had not seen the four walls of a university but not from an educated person.
Whatever evil behavior we see in some members of a group does not exist in all members of that group. Not all Jews did what Nazi Germans claimed that they did (some of them probably did, for every stereotype has basis in reality).
While the paranoid character called Adolf Hitler was running around inventing the image that Jews are the most awful people in the world, Jews like Albert Einstein, Neils Bohr etc. where changing the nature of physics (they and Max Plank, Ernest Rutherford, Louis Broglie, Werner Heisenberg, Emil Schrodinger, Pauli, Dirac etc. established the new science of quantum physics and general relativity).
Jews like Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, Eric Fromm, Otto Rank etc. were busy establishing the new discipline called psychoanalysis that muffed to psychology and psychiatry while Hitler ranted and raved about how awful all Jews are (and calling for them to be incinerated in gas chambers…see his books, Mein Kampf and Table Talks).
All groups of human beings contain good and bad people. Clearly, many Igbos may have issues. That been said, does anyone doubt that there are Igbos making astonishing contributions to science and technology?
I am Igbo; although I do not like to boast but the fact is that there is no human being alive or dead that has contributed more to the understanding of human nature as I have done.
There are Igbos making amazing contributions in all subject areas. Unfortunately, many Igbos, as I have pointed out elsewhere, appear to be extremely problematic and make statements that create problems for themselves and for those around them.
Many Igbos have a tendency to identify with their desired ideal selves and confusing the imaginary ideal self with their actual selves fancy themselves superior to other people and say put down things about people (see Karen Horney, Neurosis and Human Growth, New York: W. W. Norton, 1950).
All human beings are the same and coequal. Healthy human beings understand this basic reality and accept it.
A beggar on the street and the best physicists in the world are the same and coequal and must be treated respectfully.
Unfortunately, there is a class of human beings called neurotics; these people in childhood rejected their real selves and invented ideal selves and strive to become their imaginary ideal selves. From the perspective of their idealized selves they fancy themselves superior to other persons and denigrate normal human beings who do not pretend to be ideal and perfect.
Many Igbos rejected their real selves and identified with their desired ideal selves and from the perspective of their desired ideal selves (which they now think that they are) proceed to pretend to be superior to other people and often insult the people they consider inferior to them (to their imaginary ideal self; that is).
The neurotic human being is ashamed of his real, imperfect human self and uses his mind to construct what he believes is an idealized self and identify with that fantasy self.
The neurotic works very hard to approximate the ideal self he made. Generally, neurotics are responsible for much of the achievements in every field of human endeavor.
Both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are neurotics (Steve Jobs had paranoid personality disorder and Bill Gates has schizoid personality disorder). See their tremendous contributions to technology.
I doubt that there are extraordinary contributors to science and technology who are neurotic. Isaac Newton (see his 1687 book, Principia Mathematica that posited the three laws of Motion and Gravitation and started modern physics) was never married and made frequent trips from England to Switzerland to go be with another man; thus suggesting that even if he was not an overt homosexual he was a covert one. The man devoted much of his time to the study of the occult! In effect, the man had personality issues; he probably had schizoid personality disorder (as was Dirac…see a recent book on Dirac making that claim or alternatively saying that he had autism…I am assuming that you know who Dirac was; he was the quantum physicist who, among other things, discovered neutrinos).
During the American Civil War report reached the President, Abraham Lincoln that his best general, Ulysses Grant was almost always drunk. Religious folks asked for him to be fired. Lincoln, sagacious as ever, asked for those asking him to release Grant of his duties to go get him another general able to win battles and ultimately “kick the ass” of the best general in the USA, Robert Lee (Lee left the Union Army to fight for the Confederate army).
The point is that one can be imperfect and do wonderful things for one’s nation. People do not have to be perfect to contribute to our general welfare.
Therefore, to suggest that a whole group of people should be killed just because some of their members appear to have personality disorders is outrageous.
In my opinion, Dr. Ariyo is misguided in making the assertions attributed to him. That been said, his license to practice medicine is not going to be jeopardized by the entire hullabaloo made about him.
In the USA folks have freedom of speech and can to talk as they wish. Indeed, people have a right to be racist. There are many racist American medical doctors who nevertheless will provide the best medical services to black folks.
Those around Dr. Ariyo should tell him to think about the consequences of his words before he opens his.
Igbos should chill out and not make much ado about nothing. They are not going to get the man’s license to practice medicine removed. If that were possible you could remove the licenses of many white American medical doctors who actually believe that black folks are inferior to white folks.
Human beings have a right to be stupid. They need to be reeducated, not punished for being stupid.
Finally, let may say that the part of speech that is punished is speech that led to actual harm to people. If you go into a movie theater and yell fire and folks try to rush out and some are stampeded to death you would be charged with murder, not because of the speech itself but because of the result of it. Dr. Ariyo’s speech has not yet led to actual death of Igbos so to punish him is to punish him for something expected to happen that has not, in fact, happened; that is not law but jungle justice.
To punish someone for genocide you must show those he actually killed, and not just allege that you think that his talk would lead to genocide.
Some human beings who hated other people made tremendous contribution to humanity and you cannot punish them just because they hated people.
William Shockley who discovered the Transistor believed that all black folks are literally shit; yet, he won the Nobel Prize in physics.
When I was at college, one of the professors at my school, University of California, Arthur Jensen, went about writing that all black folks are born dumb. Yet, he was one of the best researchers in his field.
You take the best from people, even if they are evil and leave it at that. People do not have to be perfect to do good work.
Dr. Ariyo may be a pain in Igbos asses but he may be an outstanding cardiologist. We must not destroy him just because he is a pain in our asses.
Mr. Ariyo has a right to hate Igbos; what counts is if he does something from his hatred, such as kill Igbos. If, in fact, he killed Igbos, then Igbos have the right to defend themselves. The best defense is offense. (Ozodi Osuji, NaijaObserver).