BY SEGUN AYOBOLU
X-RAYING TUNDE OLUSUNLE’s NEW TWIN LITERARY OFFERINGS
Poet, reporter, columnist, editor, communications scholar, literary critic and engaging polemicist among others, Dr Tunde Olusunle has been an enduring and value adding presence on Nigeria’s intellectual and imaginative landscape over the last three decades. The energetic and unflagging public intellectual has engaged in vigorous public discourse and sought to contribute his quota to shaping the direction of the national course through prolific commentary in diverse newspapers, magazines, online publications, social media idea contestations and less popularly visible contributions to peer-reviewed scholarly journals.
He has recently added two new muscular essay collections to his previous publications which include three acclaimed volumes of poetry and two collections of essays on the international peregrinations and diplomatic forays of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in office as well as on the life and times of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who has been a relentless but so far unsuccessful contender for the presidency of Nigeria, respectively.The first offering titled *Toasts, Tributes and Wreaths* comprises his tributes and commentaries on nearly 50 distinguished Nigerians across disciplinary boundaries – academia, politics, governance, diplomacy, the military, business, media, the civil service etc – on diverse occasions including milestone birthdays, notable professional attainments, honours conferment and, of course, transitions from our earthly realm of existence. *Running into 308 pages,* the volume is subdivided into three sections: ‘Birthdays and Champagne poppings;’ ‘Recognitions, Honours and Landmarks’ and ‘Requiems and Epitaphs.’I conceptualize these essays as snapshot mini-biographies of the various personalities focused on which portray and illustrate why their lives and accomplishments are indispensable to any credible rendering of the sociopolitical and intellectual history of contemporary Nigeria. The collection reminds me of a memorable lecture to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the defunct Daily Times delivered years ago by the late Dr Stanley Macebuh and titled *
A few good men and women.* The celebrated scholar and consummate columnist vividly sketched the trajectories of distinguished journalists and administrators who had traversed the terrain of the then veritable octopus of Nigeria’s media industry and left indelible imprints not just on the newspaper but also the nation’s social consciousness and collective memory. In a similar vein, Olusunle’s *Toasts, Tributes and Wreaths* reminds us that, despite the many ills plaguing our country which we lament on a daily basis, there are still a good number of men and women who by their character and demonstrable virtues constitute the salt of the Nigerian earth and whose examples can help facilitate the redemptive quest for a new Nigeria.As Olusunle writes in his preface , “This potpourri of subjects by way of champagne-popping on birthdays, merited honours and recognitions, as well as inevitable requiems and epitaphs, have informed this body of essays. I imagine I met about 70 percent of the subjects featured here on a one-on-one basis, at various times, across time and space.
There were instances where I never previously interfaced with the people I wrote about but whose stories and histories nonetheless struck a chord in me. I therefore depended on available research capital about them to ensure empirical validity as much as possible.”And as *Omotayo Oloruntoba-Ojo, Professor of Literature,* notes in the foreword *Toasts, Tributes and Wreaths* is not just a book, it is a celebration of life, an acknowledgment of achievement, a poignant reminder of the transient nature of our existence and the need to leave memorable imprints during its sometimes very short course. I am confident that, like myself, you will find inspiration and multiple reasons for introspection within these pages.”From the work scrutinized above, Dr Olusunle moves to more contentious, partisan terrain in his second offering titled *Orisirisi: Vistas on Contemporary Politics in Nigeria.* Spanning *466 pages,* the book is compartmentalized into ten sections focusing among others on state politics, governance and the governed, rulers and impunity as well as issues of crime and punishment in Nigeria with regard to sacred cows and selective justice.
Other sections feature essays on the travails of tertiary education in Nigeria, the challenges of insecurity in ‘The unsecured state’, the depraved politics and deterioration of infrastructure in his native Okunland in Kogi State and matters concerning literature and the literary.Of course, having served as a political appointee at various levels first in Kogi State and later as Senior Special Assistant to President Olusegun Obasanjo from 1999 to 2007, Olusunle offers more than a detached, armchair analysis of politics.
He is also a keen participant observer with useful insights into the actions and motivations of political actors and the intricacies of public administration. Yet, it is indisputable that the author writes from an essentially partisan standpoint as a member and sympathizer of the PDP and an unrepentant loyalist of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Consequently, he hardly sees anything wrong with the politics of the former Vice President while he is unsparingly scathing in his criticism of the *Wazirin Adamawa’s* adversaries within and outside the PDP. But whether you agree with him or not, it is difficult to dispute *Professor Omotayo Oloruntoba-Oju’s* submission that Olusunle’s writings encapsulate “narrative eloquence’ and combine a unique blend of research, journalism and prosaic communication skills” which are “a testament to versatility and depth.” The positive values which the author celebrates copiously in his *Toasts, Tributes and Wreaths* are largely absent in the actors that feature in his political rumination which is why he laments the corruption, impunity, lack of vision, ineptness and mediocrity characteristic of our politics across party lines even if his biting barbs are directed mostly at opponents of the PDP.