Season of Books and Denials
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.