In keeping with the tradition of “emi lokan”, a Yoruba saying made popular by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu while he was campaigning for presidency, it is time for the public presentations of two new books written on him, The Pathfinder: The Life and Politics of an African Politician and The Blueprint: How Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Transformed Lagos State.
In the line of following the practice of the popular saying which roughly translates to “it’s my turn”, the books, published by the Topseal Communications Limited, are being planned to be unfolded to the public to coincide with the commemoration of President Tinubu’s birthday this March.
Both books are written by Taiwo Ogundipe, an author and veteran journalist.
The Pathfinder details the accounts of Tinubu’s life and politics from the early years, his education, his brillant professional career as an accountant, his engaging political activities, his ground-breaking two-term tenure as helmsman of Lagos State, his active post gubernatorial period, his unique leadership in the political landscape of the country that led to the formation of All Progressive Congress (APC) and his midwifing the election of Ex-President Muhammed Buhari.
The Pathfinder is written to highlight the essential Tinubu; documents his struggles and accomplishments, and show the value of his political dexterity in the context of nation building. The book also provides a useful insight into the background that shaped a political figure that has come to represent progressive politics in Nigeria.
The book is lucid and engaging, enriched by Ogundipe’s journalistic background. It is unprecedented as a penetrating deeply enlightening portrait of a personality whose history has so far been largely presented superficially. Ogundipe brings a unique perspective to the project, which anyone interested in Nigeria’s democratic evolution will find invaluable.
On the other hand, The Blueprint is an engaging documentation of the financial strategy and the foundation that Tinubu laid for the enduring economic development of Lagos State. The compelling Lagos economic story, especially during the tenure of Asiwaju Tinubu as governor, is one that has to be told.
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The two books have garnered the endorsement of President Tinubu who was personally involved in their evolution. He got his trusted associates to scrutinise the manuscripts. He also contributed to financing the production and printing of especially The Pathfinder, which was done in the United States. The printed copies have since been stored up in his custody awaiting eventual public presentation. In the course of developing the books, Tinubu coined a pet name for the author, “akowe kowura”, which loosely translates to “the man with the golden pen”.
The book projects are important historical documents in this era when the Federal Government is reintroducing History back into the school curriculum. It is therefore inevitable for President Tinubu to support and push the projects just as he stood up for Femi Adeshina’s book on Buhari’s tenure, Working for Buhari.
Rave reviews
The Pathfinder has garnered some rave reviews. Sam Omatseye, writer, columnist and Chairman of Editorial Board of The Nation Newspapers wrote of the book: “Once in a generation, a leader erupts to inspire and define his times. A book inevitably emerges to tell the story. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is that man for this era and The Pathfinder is that book.”
Segun Ayobolu, a columnist and former Chief Press Secretary to Ex-Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu wrote of the book: “The book, The Pathfinder, is a rigorous attempt to dissect the essence of the man Bola Tinubu – his life and politics – since his emergence on the political scene of the country. The book traces his root, growing up years, adulthood, professional life and his foray into politics, which has turned him into an icon ….
“Mr Taiwo Ogundipe, veteran journalist and author, documents for history in this enthralling book, The Pathfinder, (such details of the momentous events and achievements of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s tenure as Governor of Lagos State). Those who have read Ogundipe’s bestselling book on the mercurial General Murtala Mohammed titled The Hurricane, will not be surprised at the muscularity and vitality of his prose, his perceptual acuity and the vividness of his imagination. There is no doubt that scores, even hundreds of books, will yet be written on Tinubu’s epochal role in Nigeria’s development but Taiwo Ogundipe’s offering is sure to occupy a unique place in the growing corpus.”
Professor Segun Gbadegesin, retired Professor of Philosophy and former interim Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Howard University, USA also wrote: “Taiwo Ogundipe, the author of this masterpiece on the life and politics of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has done a wonderful job of placing the subject of his research in the center of the democratic struggles with its fits and turns, failures and achievements since the beginning of the ill-fated Third Republic. From being a consummate professional in the finance industry, where he was already a force to reckon with, and where he made his fortune, Tinubu saw the need for thoughtful and visionary citizens to intervene in the rough and tumble of politics.”
The making of The Pathfinder
Taiwo Ogundipe started work on The Pathfinder since Tinubu’s first year as governor of Lagos State, researching and interviewing numerous people for the project. Ogundipe was so committed to seeing the project to fruition that he had to forego his opportunity for post graduate studies in the United States of America, and come back to Nigeria for the then proposed launch of the book a few years back.
About the author
Taiwo Ogundipe has had a distinguished career in journalism, working with various media houses. He started as a reporter with the then The Democrat newspapers based in Kaduna, after which he joined ThisWeek magazine as a senior reporter. He thereafter moved to the Daily Times as a senior writer and ran a very popular column in the then widest circulating Sunday Times. He later joined The Concord press as an assistant editor and edited the weekly Midweek Concord. He eventually became a member of the editorial board of ThisDay newspapers and pioneered a very popular column on Sunday. He was until recently an Associate Editor at The Nation newspapers.
Ogundipe is also a talented television and film writer/producer. He has created, written and produced a number of highly rated programmes on the network service of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), and the African Independent Television (AIT), notably SPACS, a detective series and MAGNATE, a soap opera.
He is also the author of the widely acclaimed The Hurricane, a biography of the late General Murtala Muhammed. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo wrote the foreword to that book.
He also wrote Henry Kissinger, the African Mission and Henry Kissinger, the Metamorphosis of an American Diplomat, both of which are available on the Amazon publishing outlet.
He is currently working on releasing The Angel of Love, the biography of the late tele-evangelist, Pastor Bimbo Odukoya of The Fountain of Life Church.
