AKINBAMI OLUWAGBEMIGA

 

Yoruba writers who have achieved renown over the decades include the illustrious D. O Fagunwa, Adebayo Faleti, Afolabi Olabimtan, among others. 

            

Akinbami Oluwagbemiga in recent times has been proving his own mettle too as an outstanding writer in the Yoruba language. Till date he has published some 20 books, and is ensconced in the educational system in western Nigeria.

Akinbami Oluwagbemiga was born in Ogbomoso, Oyo State. He holds degrees from the exalted University of Ibadan (B.Ed, and MCA). His passion for writing positively bristles. 

As he says: "I am very much passionate and enamoured to write books, especially for the youth. Most of my literary work is of course in Yoruba, though I have published some books in the English language too,".    

Oluwagbemiga continues to have a positive effect on the education of the young ones, straddling many levels. His book, Yoruba Akoye, is used for JS 1 - 3; whilst another work, Asiko Eda, was used for JS 3 for years.

Books published by Akinbami Oluwagbemiga

ABD Akotun

Asiko Eda  

Ipinnu Lanleyin   

Inu Jin

Adigun

Aro

Aye o pin

Ta lo mo?

N o ko

Gbese lomoge

Mafeloosi

Aye Obinrin

Eniyan

Agba Seun

Yoruba Akoye

Going Higher

Femi and Gloria

Excellent

DIRECTOR! By Agbo Areo

It was a familiar scenario in the country whenever one wanted to do things like taking a quick photo, or "browsing" at an internet cafe - with electricity supply interminably cut off; the proprietor of the "business" would invariably go through the routine of switching on the nearby jaded generator, fumes billowing forth from the beleaguered engine, and the concomitant jarring noise from the machine. Hence life somewhat goes on, in conformity with the modern world! Now I was at an Internet cafe; and yes, the generator had just been switched on. Alas, there were glitches: the machine kept on spluttering, and switching on and off. The harassed owner of the firm mopped his brow and said to me: "Sorry about the delay sir, just a few more minutes...perhaps you'll kindly enter the main office and wait a bit till the generator is back to form?" Hence I went to the main office, where I saw a young lady, seated. She seemed so thin and fragile! But then I noticed her hands, they were strong, somewhat depicting resilience and character. The lady greeted me with some respect, and then I saw the book she was holding. Titled "Director! By Agbo Areo". I smiled, as my mind quickly went down memory lane. "You know this book sir?" she said. I nodded. "One of the 'Pacesetters' series of yore," I told her. "The (book) series was very popular many years ago. It's so rare now seeing any copies' though..." The girl said: "I know sir; I took this from my father's library. He used to love to read a lot. But now he's an old man - old like you," I winced. Then I said: "Are you enjoying the book?" She replied: "Yes sir. It is an interesting book, with the main character a bad man really, since he was young... I will see what happens to him in the end..." And I thought about the book too - yes, the protagonist (Akinduro Falana) was obsessed with lust for quick wealth since he was a kid...up to a gamut of bad deeds whilst in school, falsifying his results, lying outrageously, mixing with shady characters including teen prostitutes from a young age...a school drop-out. In propitious fashion, he profits greatly from a horrific accident, stealing money from the scene which he uses to start his own business...apparently, this disgusting character prospers, a magnet for women whom he spends large amounts of money on, revelling in expensive clothes "wonyosi", and the trappings of wealth...when his office supplies run out he brazenly goes out at night to rob and plunder, all in the bid to prop up his tottering, shady business, and of course his own status as "rich powerful man" - Director!! But this odious character gets his just deserts in the end as the law descends on him like a sack of potatoes...(‘review’ by malome Eric)

WOLE SOYINKA'S NEW BOOK (2015)

Review by Reuben Abati

PROFESSOR Wole Soyinka was quoted saying his latest book is the “nastiest” that he has written so far.

InterInventions: Between Defective Memory and the Public Lie- A Personal Odyssey in The Republic of Liars (Ibadan: Bookcraft, 2015, 136pp) is quite close to being just that. But who knows if an even nastier book may follow as Soyinka embarks on the task of exposing lies in our Republic as he has promised that InterInventions, a follow up to Interventions series (I-IV) will be dedicated solely to the dismantling of lies in the public space: malicious and non-malicious lies, lies told, lies magnified, lies fraudulent, murderous lies, accidental lies, uttered from depraved minds whose sole intention is to create burdens for their victims; malign, impugn and lower the other so they can be raised or their stomachs can be nourished at other’s expense.

This is nevertheless, a publication in which Professor Soyinka settles strictly personal scores, but this is no pamphleteering that he modestly alludes to, but a fine, extended essay in the distinguished tradition of that form. He is polemical, punchy and critical – without mercy or measure! There is no deceit, no pulling of punches, not much of deliberate concealment; it is Soyinka wielding a Bazooka in one hand, and a gilt-edged knife in the other, shooting down the hypocrisy and pretensions of representative figures in a Republic of Liars, where defective memory, an affliction worse than amnesia, but much closer to dementia, and psychosis, is standard fare. He deploys language dramatically and draws blood even if his mood remains charismatic and entertaining as he laughs at human folly, and the verminous antics of his named and shamed traducers.

The writer focuses on his personal experiences as a victim of the burden of being lied to, being lied against and being pushed to defend his right not to be lied against, but his theme is probably far more important than his content and mood. He ends up inviting us to think further about a social malaise, a missing, distorted, disjointed ethical link, and so his subjects – including Obasanjo, Chinweizu, Adewale Maja-Pearce, Peter Enahoro, Major Salawu, Gbenga Daniel, Abiola Ogundokun, Olagunsoye Oyinlola – rise off the pages, as illustrative archetypes of a hydra-headed crisis at the heart of society, namely how self-delusion, ego, power and an obsessive, compulsive, alimentary propensity turns adults into liars. Other associated themes along this line of moral exhortation will include the sheer uncertainty of life, the unpredictability of human character, and the near-helplessness of victims in a nation of fabulists.

Thus, the entire narrative is organic, with the humanistic import of the content, imbued with a personal orientation as it were, taking us closer to larger questions of ethics, humanity, the inviolability of truth. Man and his foibles is the central subject of inquiry invariably; there is a certain universality in the tendency of man, including those who quote the Bible with practised ease, to be nasty and brutish. I recommend this book for everyone’s reading pleasure and instruction. It is quite affordable, only N1, 000 per copy, and certainly, a temptingly quotable book – more so as the reader is reassured by the author’s statement of indemnity. Here goes: “My publishers are hereby fully indemnified by me against court processes, as well as the consequences of any libel suits that may arise from this maiden number of the InterInventions series” (p.93). The stoutly flagellated figures in the book, who are described as “the greatest public liars I have ever known”, thus ridiculed have every reason to be angry but obviously, Soyinka in taking his pound of flesh cannot be bothered.

There can be no greater denigration to be sought beyond his depiction of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, as the philosopher-king who is “an overgrown child of circumstance;” “Double-O-Seven”, “an infliction”, “a hypocrite”, and “irredeemable egomaniac” or Chinweizu as “Chichidodo”, a bird that feeds on shit, or Adewale Maja-Peace as “the area-boy of letters”; or Peter Pan as “lying, opportunistic, contemptible”; Olagunsoye Oyinlola as “the Prince of Darkness”; Gbenga Daniel as “DaaniElebo”. Professor, ki lo de? Or when of Maja-Pearce, whom he calls “Ade-Boy!”, the writer says: “It is a time to remind him that the stern rod of Ogun awaits all lying tongues.” (p.38). Professor, ewo ni t’epe!

Of Abiola Ogundokun, Soyinka thunders: “Of all the loathsome lumps of slime that ever oozed from the sump of human depravity to aspire to human form, none comes close to the two-legged parasite that goes by the name of Abiola Ogundokun”. Whaa-a-t? And in taking on Major Rasaki Salawu, he says “Howu Salawu” – a vocalic alliteration which cryptically summarises the subject-matter;  a considerable part of the book is devoted to a profiling of the self-same Salawu in a manner that evokes shame or the equivalent of a mortal decapitation. Soyinka’s anti-heroes owe themselves a duty to say something in self-defence, for the naming and shaming tends to stick, with all the stamp and authoritativeness of the inimitable WS. Audi alteram  partem.

Which is why I was surprised that President Olusegun Obasanjo in a reported interview with The Punch, made light of it:

Reporter: While you were away from the country, your friend Prof. Wole Soyinka inaugurated (sic) a book in which he called you a child of circumstance.
OBJ: (Talking in Yoruba: Se o so be?) Meaning: Did he say so?
Reporter: He even said he won’t eat any food you give him without you eating from the food first.
OBJ: (Continues in Yoruba: Mi o mo o) Ehnhenhn? I don’t know.
Obasanjo irritated by the Soyinka questions, gets up and walks out of his study during the interview… but the
reporter keeps throwing questions at him.
Reporter: Why are the two of you always quarrelling?
OBJ: Kini wahala yin? (What is your problem?)

Indeed, what is our problem? But just in case President Obasanjo has not read the book, I recommend that he should especially as Soyinka has promised a follow-up shake down edition: “a collective effort, a corroborative-or self-cancelling-anthology by many long-suffering victims…dedicated solely to the Otta phenomenon.” (p. 53). Our Republic of Liars is a temporary space for Soyinka; his reputation in the world of letters places him historically, in the long run, beyond local dog-fights; but as for this book, emotional responses to the vengeful biographical dimensions cannot be unexpected.

Take-away, though: our problem – we do have a problem as a collective – is the sobering realization that Nigerians enjoy telling lies, much more than any other community that we know, and that we are indeed, a Republic of Liars.  We are a nation of fabulists, richly imaginative, when that asset is well-conditioned, it produces excellence, but misapplied, the tale bearer becomes a professional aproko, as they say, a self-made radio station, transmitter, booster, conditioned to promote untruths, and as the tale travels from one mouth to another, new layers are invented and added, often so viciously that the original source often finds it unrecognizable. But much damage is done, and it is this wickedness of man to man – as theme and principle- that Soyinka deplores.

The rise of the internet has even made lying so easy and convenient; the anonymity that the social media offers allows a lie to grow until its continued affirmation imposes it on public memory as received wisdom. Lies pollute the public mind; they damage relationships and destroy a sense of community. Soyinka insists on the inviolability of the truth and decent conduct, but the rot is widespread, the phenomenon is a new normal reality. Politicians lie to the electorate, win the votes and turn around shamefacedly to say they never said whatever even in the face of concrete evidence made possible by electronic reproduce-ability. This culture of deception remains unchecked because the institutions for seeking redress remain inchoate: libel cases can go on forever, or they may run into a technical hitch concocted by lawyers, requiring that they be started de novo. And to worsen it all, the followership enjoys the lies and the lying, compelling an assessment of our Republic in real and fictive representations as the biggest lie in search of truth.

Soyinka does not recommend a resort to self-help; but he inflicts punishment with his pen, and laments in a memorable instance: “Chei! There is Death o!”  Let’s add: “Chei! There is God o!” – the ultimate judge.

LAURETTA NGCOBO (1931 - 2015)

Pietermaritzburg (South Africa) - Author, essayist, teacher and political activist, Lauretta Ngcobo, has died.

Adele Branch, of the University of KwaZulu-Natal press, which published her books Prodigal Daughters and And They Didn’t Die, said in a statement: “We learnt [yesterday] of Lauretta Ngcobo’s death. Although she has struggled with her health ever since suffering a stroke, the news still came as a shock.” Ngcobo died in a Johannesburg hospital.

Ngcobo was born in Ixopo in 1931 and after completing her schooling at Inanda Seminary, near Durban, she studied at Fort Hare University to become a teacher.

During the 1950s and 1960s she was active in the women’s anti-pass campaign and well-known for her feminist stance against both apartheid and Zulu traditions that limited women’s freedom and reinforced their oppression under apartheid.

Ngcobo followed her husband, Pan Africanist Congress founder Abednego Bhekabantu Ngcobo, into exile in 1963. The family moved from Swaziland to Zambia and finally settled in England, where Ngcobo worked as a teacher for 25 years.

In Prodigal Daughters: Stories of Women in Exile, edited by Ngcobo and published by UKZN Press in 2012, she recounts and reflects upon her life in exile.

Her other published works include Cross of Gold (1981), Let it be Told: Black Women Writers in Britain (1987), And They Didn’t Die (1990/1999) and Fiki Learns to Like Other People (1994).

“And They Didn’t Die has been described as the most enlightened and balanced book about the history and personal anguish of the African woman,” said Branch.

In 1994 Ngcobo returned to South Africa where, between 2000 and 2009, she served as a member of the KZN legislature, chairperson of the National Council of Provinces and chairperson of the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus in the KZN legislature.

In 2006 she received a Lifetime Achievement Literary Award from the South African Literary Awards. Two years later the Presidency awarded her the Order of Ikhamanga for her achievement in the field of literature and for her literary work championing gender equality.

In 2012, she was named an eThekwini Living Legend and in 2014 the Durban University of Technology conferred on her an Honorary Doctorate of Technology in Arts and Design.

“UKZN Press remembers her as gracious, witty and persuasive; a determined hard worker who often put us to shame with her energy. We are honoured and privileged to have had the opportunity to work with her and to have published her last book,” said Branch.

Tributes were also paid to Ngcobo by Time of the Writer, a festival organised by the Centre of Creative Arts at UKZN’s Howard College campus, which Ngcobo participated in 2003.

In a statement the Centre said: “We wish to salute the recently departed Lauretta Ngcobo, a prolific writer, stalwart of the struggle for liberation and an unwavering voice for the empowerment of women in Africa and beyond.”

* Courtesy of THE WITNESS

LAUREL FOR HECTOR KUNENE

Hector Kunene, poet and author, says:

'I would love to officially announce that I won the Maun International Arts Festivals Poetry Slam competition that took place here in Botswana few hours ago. To the organisers Poetavango Spoken Word Poetry, I am out of words and very grateful for the opportunity given to many of us around the continent, thank you so much. I'm looking forward to my performance this coming Friday here still on the main Poetry night. It's been really amazing, thank you God, thank you South Africa, Thank you family. I am!'
Photographer : Lattimore and team