Tony Adibe and Grace Nnamezie
10 November 2009
It was a harvest of praises and commendations yesterday in Lagos for foremost novelist, Dr. T. M. Aluko, who turned 91 this week and celebrated the 50th anniversary of his first novel, One Man, One Wife. He also unveiled of a new book entitled, Our Born Again President, a critical expose on African leaders who hide under the banner of religion to commit atrocities while in office.
Aluko, 91, is the author of several other popular literary works such as One Man, One Matchet, Kinsman and Foreman, Chief the Honourable Minister, His Worshipful Majesty, Wrong Ones In the Docks, among others.
Chairman of the event, retired Supreme Court Justice Kayode Eso, in his brief opening remarks, described the author as an iconoclast, who served as a role model to the younger ones, adding that he is also a household word in the world of the elite and that was the reason notable authors and dramatists graced the occasion.
"I happened to have met the author in the 1940s when he used to impact knowledge on us the students at Ilesha. The author happened to be one of those who came to my class in 1940 to impact knowledge on us in class 2 then," recalled Justice Eso humourously as he remembered how troublesome the students then were to Aluko.
"We gave him so much trouble; in the class we had a boy called Angel of Disorder, who gave Aluko a great trouble but he (Aluko) would pretend as if our class was not troublesome. At times, we would give Aluko some questions after his lessons to test his intelligence and before we knew it, he would give us the answers to the questions," said Eso, who added that Aluko was right when he published his book Ilesha and Nigeria which projected the potentials of Ileshaland in the present Osun State.
"He is an iconoclast. He taught me what to do and we looked at you as a role model, as a true leader. In the literary world, these people here will attest to the fact that he is no mean author," said Eso, as he turned to the audience, while pointing at the novelist who was wheelchair ridden, the effect of an attack from stroke.
Justice Eso, however, said he regretted the fact that novelist Aluko was attacked by stroke, recalling that "one day the devil came in and attacked Aluko and he fail and that's how he got what would have been a disability to many, but here he is still writing," revealing to the crowd that the author wrote the latest 219-page book with his left hand, his right having been affected by the stroke.
Turning to Aluko in his wheelchair, decked in his sky-blue traditional caftan, a native cap to match and double-lenses, Eso declared to the admiration of all: "Sir, you have made your marks. It's for us the young ones to emulate you. So, sir, you've made your marks. If we fail, it will be our fault. It will never be your fault. Sir, you will grow from strength to strength and write more and more books until the Lord will say Otito! (It's enough!)."
Former Nigerian Ambassador to Ethiopia and a pioneer broadcaster, Chief Segun Olusola congratulated the celebrant, saying; "I want to congratulate the old man for coming this long. I don't know what else to wish him since God has blessed him with all that we are praying hard to get."
The newly elected national chairman of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Dr. Jerry Agada, who flew in from Abuja before 12.00 noon, expressed delight over the literary achievements of Aluko, stressing that physical disability meant nothing to the old man who was able to churn out his latest book after an attack from stroke.
"We are very happy. We are going to tell Nigerians that our great author is coming out with a new book at 91. We want to tell the world that old age cannot inhibit one from writing. If God permits, we can come back here to launch another book by our trustee," Agada said.
Reviewer of the book, Dr. Rueben Abati said Our Born Again President examined crucial issues that are very common in most African countries today, noting that it "exposes the hypocrisy of leaders who use religion as a cover to perpetuate their wicked acts."
Climax of the event was the unveiling of the book by Eso. There were side attractions from engineer, poet, singer, guitarist, Seye Aluko, first son of the old author, drama, dance by "Whaijo Dance Co." and exhibitions of writings, photographs and comments centered on Aluko.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 Daily Champion. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
