Brittle Paper's founder, Ainehi Edoro has responded to the widespread clamour of censorship that has trailed her platform after she sacked deputy editor, Otosirieze Obi-Young, on Wednesday.
Recall that Obi-Young was sacked for calling out rape culture.
Giving her own side of the narrative, she identified the brief report of the Kaduna's state First Lady’s supportive comments on a gang-rape as the cause of the stir.
A statement on the departure of Brittle Paper's former deputy editor https://t.co/OxgbkNSiWQ
— BRITTLE PAPER (@brittlepaper) April 15, 2020
She said Otosirieze’s post was flawed on the basis of emotion hence the decision to pull the post down.
"Otosirieze’s post was an impassioned, deeply personal piece reporting on the reprehensible statement made by Hadiza El Rufai about her son’s equally odious statement. I found the title inflammatory and unnecessarily incendiary, but everything seemed fine until I got to the last paragraph. It was then that alarms rang in my mind," Edoro said.
Holding onto excerpts of the deputy's editor's writing which she labelled libellous, she dismissed the writeup as unethical.
"I felt, and feel, Otosirieze’s outrage. I am both a woman and the mother of a daughter. Suggesting that a woman should be sexually assaulted is unconscionable and needs a hard and swift response. But in condemning such statements, it is important that we ourselves do not stoop to the level of those making them. It is important that we do not abandon completely all principles and ethics in how we write."
Deciding to clear her name and mourn her friendship with Young, the Founder explained that the online literary journal is non-partisan.
"I am particularly disappointed that he has chosen not to correct several allegations that he knows for certain to be falsehoods. For instance, Brittle Paper has never been funded by the Kaduna state government. Further, I am not a misogynist. Nor by any stretch of the imagination could I ever be called a supporter of rapists.
"More than anyone, Otosirieze knows that I run Brittle Paper on my personal income. He knows that I have never taken a kickback, or any dime from any foundation, individual, or corporation. He knows the sacrifice that has gone into building Brittle Paper," she stressed.
Happy Birthday to Otosirieze Obi-Young @otosirieze, Brittle Paper’s Deputy Editor. He is a masterful fiction writer, a brilliant editor, a noteworthy culture influencer, a dear friend, full of wisdom & kindness. Otosirieze, we love you. We are grateful for you. We celebrate you. pic.twitter.com/2qY9kXZ8sZ
— BRITTLE PAPER (@brittlepaper) April 3, 2019
She ended the long letter praising the award-winner as she wished him well in the process.
"Nonetheless, I deeply appreciate all the work that Otosirieze committed to Brittle Paper over the last four years. I am sorry that we have had to part with this bad blood between us and wish him the very best in what is certain to be a stellar writing career," she concluded.
Several reactions have flooded the post. Here are some of them:
Don’t let them spin this. They will tell you it was a little disagreement. Just a quarrel. They will tell the writers to settle. Just like they did when Elrufai had people locked up for writing and they were celebrating in Kaduna saying it was just for literature. Fuckers.
— Elnathan John (@elnathan_john) April 16, 2020
.@brittlepaper is far too important to be vilified like this. We protect the things we love and encourage them to do better so that they're stronger to support our work. Don't be distracted, a potential gang rapist supported by state actors is out at large #LongLiveBrittlePaper https://t.co/ovFX8hTup3
— BibiBakare-Yusuf (@BibiBakareyusuf) April 16, 2020
@brittlepaper A very brilliant response to a rather malicious & deliberately-damaging statement made by the former assistant editor @Otosirieze.
— Àkànjí Oko Àyìnké???? (@SlimBaba13) April 16, 2020
You can be assured to have won me (and definitely millions of others) over for standing for a balanced & unbiased reporting.
Who's reading this epistle?
— E.J. (@Enwagboso) April 16, 2020
You sacked someone clandestinely for doing his job.
Political tool "brittleness brittles".
Na wa o! Bello is still a governor's. His mother his still First Lady. But now, person don lose im work now. And Brittle Paper sef may go under. When the rich fart, na we wey never chop go suffer the consequences.
— Otunba Bola Shittu (@OtunbaShittu) April 16, 2020
I hope that the platform survives this, and thrives. There are many lessons to learn, and one hopes that they have been. As @MukomaWaNgugi said earlier, it has become too important to be left to two people. Those who care for it must continue to give it all needed support.
— K??la? Tu?b??su?n (@kolatubosun) April 15, 2020
Otosirieze's response seems spiteful, attention-seeking and slanderous to the extreme. The fact that he won't defend his friend & colleague of many years against claims she supports rape culture shows how low he is sinking. He even seems to be baiting for further public fighting
— Bhakti Shringarpure (@bhakti_shringa) April 16, 2020
Honestly
— Jane T??ní?lá-Eyre (@oladipo_waliyah) April 16, 2020
