Fellow
Nigerians, let me confess that one of my addictions is reading books. I
just love the feel and thrill that books can give to you. I simply
cannot resist great covers. And the subject matter is irrelevant.
From
prose to poetry, fiction to science fiction and even faction,
autobiographies, biographies or what have you, I read them all. I’m
therefore just greedy and voracious about books and bury my head into
whatever I find near me. Our generation was raised on books. We loved to
make shakara with books and the bravado even attracted ladies to us as
undergraduates. Girls of those days respected your intellect. They were
particularly titillated by your ability to discuss varying topics and of
course we did not have recourse to google at that time.
But for books, it would have been
impossible for paupers like me to interact with certain classes or
levels of boys and girls. However, education is the biggest leveller in
the world and the basic tool of any sound education can be found in
books. Books also had their special place for poor kids like me. They
provided an avenue for escape into the world of make-believe and the
realms of fantasy. I could live another much richer life through the
experiences I gained from the books I read and I don’t just mean riches
in terms of money but in terms off an all-round experience of life.
I’m eternally grateful to my dear
beloved mum, Gladys Arike Momodu, nee Fatoye, who despite being
unlettered knew and appreciated the power of knowledge and struggled to
send me to school despite her meagre means. Incidentally, she passed
away on May 18, 2007, nearly ten years ago. I continue to marvel about
how she slaved and starved herself to send us to school. May her
beautiful soul continue to rest in the Lord. Amin.
I was talking about books. I love
authors and saw them as the greatest humans on planet earth. Just
imagine for a minute the sheer pleasure of meeting Wole Soyinka as a
teenager and even having the opportunity of becoming close to him at the
then University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University. I fell in love
with his luxurious beard which made him look like one of those famous
Greek playwrights and philosophers. I vividly remember the stern look of
his picture on his controversial book, The Man Died and the one on the
cover of The Trials of Brother Jero and Jero’s Metamorphosis. I often
wondered why writers loved to keep beards, Ayi Kwei Armah, the author of
The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born; Kofi Awoonor of This Earth, My
Brother fame; Sembene Ousmane, the Senegalese author and film director
who wrote God’s Bits of Wood; Kole Omotoso, author of The Edifice; and
others. How can I ever forget the great Russian writer, Alexander
Solzhenitsyn? I just loved his looks. Beards added some mystique to the
awe-inspiring looks and persona of writers.
However, the main man I want to write
about today is far from being a bearded author. Apart from being tall
and probably gangling, he looks too smooth to be easily recognised as
one of those controversial writers. His style is also clearly not their
style but in another sense he possess their unique attribute of being
different from the norm.
His name is Segun Adeniyi, one of
Nigeria’s most popular columnists with stupendous readership. Segun has
done what most of us have not been able to do; he is an author of very
important books and historical documents about our country. His
authoritative and commanding interactions at different stages of our
national crises is what has endeared him to many of us. He wastes no
time in coming up with fresh ideas and churning out book after book that
would ultimately affect the Nigerian trajectory, sooner or later. Say
what you will, Segun helps to fill a void in our lives. It is not in our
character to produce books on historic landmarks in our country. Events
come and go and we all move on pronto, as if nothing happened. But,
mercifully, we have a Segun Adeniyi who grabs our head and necks and
forces us to sit up to read and revisit many of our vicissitudes of
life. He tries so hard to ensure that we don’t forget so quickly or
relapse into the collective amnesia that we seem to be notorious for.
Segun’s latest book is a very smart move
on his part because the subject matter was guaranteed to attract a
debate and popularise the book, thus soaring the sales in little or no
time. Nothing sells like controversy as we have seen all over the world.
Titled ‘Against The Run of Play (How an
incumbent President was defeated in Nigeria)’, Olusegun Adeniyi took his
readers on a racy journey by capturing the narratives of the principal
actors, otherwise known as dramatis personae. I was fortunate to get an
autographed copy from the author ahead of release and could not wait to
open and devour it. I’m reasonably convinced that Segun has done a
fantastic job. I belong to the sociological school of literature and
knowing Segun’s background well enough, I believe he did not concoct
what he wrote. He made adequate effort to reach out to the relevant
characters, the deluge of denials notwithstanding. It must always be
appreciated that most autobiographical authors genuinely record what
they saw and heard. That does not mean that what they saw or heard is
accurate, especially when one is dealing with politicians. The
autobiography is the merely the experience and perception of the author
and must be viewed with some caution for the reason I have given. In my
view, no document can be clinically precise but it is possible that some
of those casting aspersions on Segun’s effort are doing so as an
afterthought. There are times people suddenly remember the import of a
statement and regret what has already become part of public discourse.
Political books generally suffer from this unfortunate notoriety.
Awolowo, Obasanjo, El-Rufai and others never got away with the wrath of
some readers for stepping on sore toes in their books. Segun should be
proud to walk in their great company.
In fact, Segun has challenged me
personally. I’ve been too lazy and reticent about writing or completing
my books in progress. My first manuscript was ready as far back as 1997
in London. It was titled ‘PENDULUM: Writings of an Angry Man’ and was
edited by Dr Reuben Abati. It never saw the light of day for reasons I
can never explain or justify. I worked on the biography of Chief Moshood
Abiola, titled ‘The Pillar of Joy’ but never completed it once Nigeria
was thrown into total confusion and commotion. I dreamt of writing an
informative account on the June 12, 1993 Presidential election in
Nigeria but it evaporated when I dialogued with my feet and fled into
exile. It was practically impossible to gather the actors from that
distance and at a time the main protagonist Abiola was in solitary
confinement. The next book was written by my National Campaign Manager,
Ohimai Godwin Amaize, after I contested the Presidential election in
2011. It was titled ‘Fighting Lions’.
I have written hundreds of essays in
Pendulum since 1997 and would easily have up to three or more
compilations but the many troubles of Nigeria would not let me rest or
concentrate on publishing these books. I must confess that Segun has
really fired me up and I wish to publicly thank him for inspiring a few
of us. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Dr Reuben Abati are expected to release
their explosive books as soon as possible. I cannot wait to read how Dr
Goodluck Jonathan would explain and defend the unprecedented and
atrocious malfeasance that rocked and ravaged his government. Who knows,
he might know and divulge what ordinary mortals like us didn’t know.
There are so many books in waiting from several potential authors. On my
part, I have decided to break the jinx and I have fixed some strict
deadlines.
We owe it a duty to our country and
fellow citizens to educate and entertain them with our robust knowledge
of Nigeria. I think we’ve deprived our people of good information about
how we arrived where we are and where we are likely to head from here.
The time has come to get serious and sit down to produce eternal works.
This is particularly so when one considers that a lot of revisionist
history now dots our literary landscape. We must not let our children
suffer the ignominy of not knowing their background and heritage.
Prof A.B.O.O. Oyediran – He Leadeth Me
My birthday comes up on May 16
and I am privileged to share it with an erudite scholar, brilliant
teacher, seasoned Administrator, astute political observer, great family
man and above all a quintessential gentleman, Professor Allen Bankole
Olukayode Oladunmoye Oyediran. He is the father-in-law of my best
friend, Prince Adedamola Aderemi, and his daughter, Mrs Olukemi Aderemi
and I have been good friends since she was a student at the University
of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Professor Oyediran
will be 78 on May 16 and in
keeping with the nature of the man he has decided to celebrate by
launching an autobiography titled ‘He Leadeth Me: Autobiographical
Testimonies of Olukayode Oyediran. The title of the book itself
epitomises the simplicity and humility of the man. There is no mention
of the well known fact that he is a renowned Professor of Preventive and
Social Medicine. Not for him in this work, which is in one sense, not a
work in his discipline of Medicine, but a story of his childhood and
work as a Professor of Medicine and University Administrator.
The book traces Prof. Oyediran’s
childhood days to his secondary education at CMS Grammar School Lagos
and King’s College Lagos. He then proceeded to his university education
sponsored on a UAC Scholarship for Medicine at the University of London
(Guy’s Medical School) where he graduated and then went on to the
University of Edinburgh where he obtained his postgraduate degree with
distinction.
His distinct sense of humour marked with
his candour and candidness is typified by his recollection of how he
eventually ended up completing medical school. In effect he professes to
have been guilty of some prevarication and hesitancy in the choice of
his career. He says in the book “Shortly after I got to Guy’s I came to
the conclusion that what I really wanted to do was to read politics,
philosophy and economics (PPE) at Oxford and then law and international
relations …. My dilemma was that I was on a UAC scholarship for
medicine. It seemed most unlikely that UAC could be persuaded to allow
me to change my course of study. Also it seemed unreasonable to expect
my father (who wanted me to become a doctor) to agree that I could
jettison the UAC scholarship and that find money to support my proposed
studies at Oxford. In the event, I decided that I should pray that I
should win the football pools so that I could present my father with a fait accompli. My prayers were not answered, even though I was a very active member of the Christian Union!”
Upon his return to Nigeria, Professor
Oyediran joined the University College Hospital Ibadan and eventually
became a Professor of Preventive and Socual Medicine in 1975. He went on
to become the Executive Secretary and head of the West African College
of Physicians and the WAPMC responsible for the postgraduate training of
doctors in West Africa.
He was appointed the Vice-Chancellor of
the University of Ibadan where he was faced with all sorts of political
intrigues that he did not expect from academics in the Ivory Tower. It
was a baptism of fire for him. His keenness of mind and willingness to
cut to the chase did not endear him to the Unions in the University but
he stuck to his guns because he knew it was for the good of the
institution.
When he left his post as the
Vice-Chancellor he was appointed the Director of the Malarone Donation
Progamme which wss geared at donating malaria tablets fr free in East
Africa. He was successful with this project and returned to Nigeria
after completing his stint to great adulation and accolade.
Prof Oyediran is married to his wife of
more than 50 Years, Chief Mrs Omotola Oyediran, daughter of the late
Sage Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Professor Oyediran was a keen observer of
the political developments in Nigeria by virtue of this fact.
Professor Oyediran’s account of his life
is a refreshing one laced with anecdotes, unique experiences and vision
that one can learn from. It is a compelling read which I will commend
to all those interested in University administration and some political
developments in Nigeria from the viewpoint of a close family member.
Dele Momodu is a Nigerian journalist, publisher, and former presidential aspirant. He tweets from @delemomodu. This article is culled from ThisDay.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
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