Opinion article by Duke of Shomolu, Joseph Edgar
Yesterday, I released the first slide from my upcoming documentary on Nigerian Theatre- ‘Inyang Ibok’ and by the way, Inyang Ibok is my mother.
Segun Adefila the stupendously talented theatre director screamed- Edgar is mad. William one of the most bankable theatre directors echoed- he is eccentric and restless and then the hugely influential Yemi Shodimu killed it –
Edgar is an outpatient…. but the beautiful thing is that there is no cure for his type of madness.
So, last night I didn’t wank from worry. Why do people say I am mad? Why do people say I am just crazy?
The whole of today, the question kept niggling at my thoughts.
So, I sent the question to a few of my friends. – WHY DO PEOPLE SAY I AM CRAZY?
The majority who came back with you are simply just crazy and when I say explain, they just laugh and say you are crazy.
But three responses hit me. Dr Nwabuoku, my personal doctor who is Harvard trained, called .
Edgar, society sees you as crazy because you do things outside of the norm of over 90% of society.
When people do those things society says they are crazy. So the things you say, do and how you do them intrigues people close to you.
Your boldness and courage to walk your path can be termed as abnormal by the rest of us.
Kai, Dr so I am crazy? He says is it bothering you? I said a bit and he said it shouldn’t bother you because you are in the minority.
Then, Agada weighs in – you are crazy to do threesome and make money out of it. You are crazy to try Polygamy with your status and succeed at it and talk about it.
You are crazy to write the things that you write and still make us laugh.
But the most engaging was Dupe. Now Dupe works with autistic children and is an expert on the field.
She has been dropping it gently for a year now that I could be Autistic.
But when I look at the meaning I don’t see myself there. My idea of someone who is autistic is very far from what I see of me, so I dismiss it.
But tonight she comes back- I think you are a high functioning autistic person. Albert Einstein – Scientist & Mathematician was a high functioning autistic person and many like him are extremely talented and successful in what they do, but they have certain behaviour that show they have the autistic syndrome disorder.
She continued – How you talk (mumbling) , how you express yourself, your approach to things, how you see life. Just the general.
I liked this more than the Yemi Shodimu own. That Yoruba man was just shouting – outpatient like a person wey go the same primary school with Tinubu.
This madam has put my name beside Albeit Einstein she can abuse me well I do not mind.
Does this mean that Makinde the great theatre director who called me hyper was closer home?
But seriously, I will listen more to her and ask her for more details about what she suspects.
True, I see things from nothing and I latch on and make things happen.
After it all, I ask myself what did I just do and get scared. At times I cry. I cry.
Yesterday when the clip of the documentary came up, I called a friend and was asking her what she thought and I fell down crying. She was shocked.
She screamed- Edgarrrrrrrr.
So, I am planning a Masterclass plus for only CEOs and I’m charging N500k per person. Everybody is saying No and I am pushing.
READ ALSO: Our Duke has gone mad again… Edgar explains how he helps his mental health by thinking of ‘breasts’
Does this fit into Dupe’s definition of a highly successful autistic person?
I don’t know, I just see the whole thing as my need to be free. If that makes me crazy, so be it.
I hate society. I only condone society because of the need for law and order other than that, I think it’s rated.
Why would I conform? Why can’t I have s3x with who I want to have s3x with? Why can’t I run in the rain naked because I am above 50? But that’s what I want to do.
Why should I sit somewhere and they say it’s a church and the man is repeating the same story that has been told over 2000 years ago?
Why should I, every Sunday, dress well and go and listen to the same story of Christ?
Society is for the weak. We fearfully obey because we don’t want to be seen as crazy. But then we look at the crazy ones and envy them from afar even while still in the shackles of domestication.
The fact that over 80% of you who have called me crazy cannot go ahead and explain just why you think I am crazy goes ahead to justify my position- the mummification of society.
I will work closer with Dupe and see if what she is saying is true that I am autistic and what exactly is the condition about.
I know I hate dates, I don’t remember birthdays, don’t know my children’s ages, don’t know days of the week and have an attention span that is so little that anything after 2 minutes you have lost me.
I am a hypochondriac and not sure if I still fear death. I used to be bold about it but now I am fearful of it as I strive to see if God will allow me to cross my father’s 62 year mark.
But in all, I am happy with myself. I am happy with who I have turned out to be and would not want to be normal if the idea of being normal is what I see of people around me.
I am not crazy. I am just me.
Thank you
*Duke of Shomolu*
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