Unic Press UK: Emeritus professor and noble laureate Wole Soyinka’s son Olaokun says the elderly people deserve respect, weighing in on the hullabaloo trailing the drama – his dad WS mistakenly sitting on the seat allocated to another passenger when aboard an international flight heading to London from Nigeria’s capital city Abuja.
In a letter, appreciating one ot the people that stood in defense of respect for the senior citizens, the son of the 85-year-old noble laureate wrote:
“Do our online youths see it as a badge of honour to avoid the courtesies that we see traditionally extended to our elders? Why do people insist on misinterpreting the events? Can’t an elderly man make a mistake? The seat owner had a right – that is enforceable. But the elder though he or she is entitled to deference and respect, can only hope for it. In this case, it was not given and WS, unhesitatingly moved seat.“
So my elderly father mistakenly sat in the wrong airplane seat, & moved when asked.
It was a non-event until Mr Tonye Cole did an Instagram post about respect.
I thought I'd write to Mr Cole & share a memory about WS & an airline drama when he was shown great respect indeed. pic.twitter.com/Ix1VtkgOuy— Olaokun Soyinka (@olaokun_s) June 26, 2019