Successful businessman, Tonye Cole, wrote on how he met the renowned Nobel Laureate and African literary giant, Prof. Wole Soyinka in the departure lounge recently and excitedly moved to greet him.
He said soon after, they headed into the flight and the Prof occupied a window seat in the business class cabin. But before long a young man walked in and asked the Prof to move to his original seat. So he (the young man) can have the seat allocated to him (the window side) where the Prof had occupied.
Tonye added that, amidst the situation, he and a member of the cabin crew tried to convince the young man to allow the Prof to keep the window seat. But the young man wouldn’t agree.
Tonye expressed disappointment and suggested that the young man was disrespectful to the Prof by asking him to leave the window seat.
Nigerians on Twitter react….
Observe how Tonye Cole profiled the young man asking for his seat as irresponsible cos of a t-shirt and tattoos.
A lot of us are just SARS officers without guns.
— Marvin the Paranoid Android (@Boboye_Ak) June 24, 2019
https://twitter.com/itsabiodun1/status/1143182227175550976
https://twitter.com/TheViralTrendz/status/1143105388344160256
The appropriate Igbo proverb for that Tonye Cole/Soyinka post is "Egbe bere, ugo bere, onye si ibe ya ebela, nku kwa ya".
Egbe is still and egbe. Ugo is still and ugo. But the rules of perching apply equally to everyone.
— Amara Nwankpa (@Nwankpa_A) June 24, 2019
https://twitter.com/Kashmeil/status/1143180788562894854
The whole Tonye Cole post was smelly. There is sssigned seating for a reason, end of story
— Splervy XO (@Splerv) June 24, 2019
We all though SARS was evil by demonising tattooed youths…we now know better. If someone as open minded as Tonye Cole could think that way….then ..🤷
— Naruto (@SirMuyen1) June 24, 2019
Ask yourself why didnt Tonye Cole offer his own seat? That is what the Elders have been doing to us since.
— Mr Marcus (@dmayornoni) June 24, 2019
https://twitter.com/ThinTallTosin/status/1143184305616760832
Let me guess. Mr. Tonye Cole added “tattooed biceps” to somehow paint the guy in a negative light?
Lol! Yh😒
— Demie Babie (@Emidemie) June 24, 2019
I'm in my 30s, but if my mother heard I dragged a seat with an Octogenarian, much less Wole Soyinka, she'd whip my behind sore. Can't do it.
On Uncle Tonye Cole, Rivers State dodged a bullet, simple.
P.S: The young man was not wrong, if he was respectful and civil about it. pic.twitter.com/cXxePsmE1a
— SS (@D0uble_ess) June 24, 2019
https://twitter.com/isidags/status/1143183947960131584
The funny thing is Tonye cole was also seated in a window seat o. Why didnt he offer Wole Soyinka his??🙄
— Mysterious 🐻⛓️ (@embele_paul) June 24, 2019
https://twitter.com/am__Argo/status/1143183542127661057
When I was growing up, I was always told to respect people older than me, but I was also told to make people earn my respect. Wole Soyinka did the right thing by leaving the seat. Political correctness & hypocrisy would not kill us in this country. Tonye Cole is just blabbing.
— Mazimum (@_Mazimum) June 24, 2019
Y'all insulting and tearing the young man that asked Woke Soyinka to move are part of the problems we have in this country.
So because it's WS, it makes everything right?. If it were to be a random elderly person, would Tonye Cole keep this same energy?
Bunch of hypocrites.
— Nora. (@EdoFirstLady) June 24, 2019
https://twitter.com/RexRoyston/status/1143183405645029379
Young Man Tells Soyinka To Leave His Seat On A Plane – Tonye Cole, Mo Abudu, Kate Henshaw React https://t.co/dbXdPOiF2x pic.twitter.com/Zroba9pHAb
— Plenty (@1danfulcreation) June 24, 2019
https://twitter.com/Kashmeil/status/1143183045681455105
https://twitter.com/FAGalileo/status/1143182671377575937
https://twitter.com/itsabiodun1/status/1143182227175550976
https://twitter.com/abjghost/status/1143182197098209280
https://twitter.com/MajicEventz/status/1143182145625776129
It's Tonye Cole that brought this rederede to Prof because I don't think he took it as seriously as Respect Prefects on social media have run with it.
— Samson T. (@samson_at) June 24, 2019
https://twitter.com/EtniesJags/status/1143181968575799296
https://twitter.com/Hitee_/status/1143186499128692743
https://twitter.com/SomkyBaba/status/1143186470850781184
