Book: OMOSEYE BOLAJI, Review by Paul Lothane.

Book: OMOSEYE BOLAJI

Review by Paul Lothane

This is a beautiful book put together by Mr Hector Kunene; proving once again that he is “a real breath of fresh air in the literary sphere” as Mr Lechesa puts it. This is a book that will really put the Free State on the map!

This new book bears comparison with virtually every major study on key African writers over the years – eg Fraser’s study on Ayi Kwei Armah; Dr Adele King’s study on Camara Laye; Wild’s initial study on Dambudzo Marechera; Mary Ebun Modupe Kolawole’s study on the late Zulu Sofola. This is a book that will be treasured by the scholars and lovers of literature for generations to come.

Kunene has gone out of his way to present a most pleasing book – apart from the main body of about 30 articles on Omoseye Bolaji’s works. There is the interesting introduction, revealing interviews late on in the study, an excellent piece by Ishmael Soqaka, and the book concludes with a world class Bibliography at the very end.

The articles, critiques etc themselves cover a wide range. All the books of poetry produced by Bolaji are reviewed. The most visible aspect of his writings; the fiction, is also extensively covered. Contributors like Peter Moroe, Pule Lechesa, Aryan Kaganof, Raphael Mokoena, yours truly, Hector himself – all have their say.

Such an excellent work challenges the critic who is in danger of becoming a “praise singer” as Lechesa puts it in one of his books. But of course this new work is not free of a few blemishes – happily such weaknesses are confined mainly to the Introduction to this book.

Hector, in his introduction shows what some critics refer to as a “butterfly mind” which is not necessarily a bad thing; but he also puts together many contradictory and illogical statements. Let’s take two of them here:

“I even asked him (Bolaji) how he expects to be well known if he was so private and distant and he would simply smile and shy away…”

(Page 17)

Also:

“Bolaji does not strike as a public figure; I continue to question myself how he has managed to survive in this industry that is dominant in competition whilst keeping a low profile. Can it be perhaps that he manages to keep up with the pressure…?”

(Page 14)

Yet, from the beginning and throughout his introduction the author keeps on stressing how much he wanted to meet the “great” Bolaji, the “legend” Bolaji – he repeats this many a time. Hector himself goes out of his way to track Bolaji down. This clearly shows that Bolaji’s fame already preceded him in the literary world despite his low profile. Hector ironically confirms this himself in the following passage which again contradicts what he is claiming:

“Whilst Bolaji and I were journeying the streets of Bloemfontein (people) would raise their fists in the air when greeting him, and in return he raises his fist back at them, smiling…I even feel like I am walking with David Beckham or a Will Smith”

(Page 15)

We should also note that the “competition” and “pressure” (in writing) Hector refers to is largely a creation of his own imagination, or his own approach to life. Distinguished writers like Bolaji who have amassed top quality awards and accolades for writing have a large corpus of published works and complementary studies which already speak for themselves; they do not need to be childishly running up and down “competing” or seeking cheap publicity.

But these are just minor blemishes in what is a stunning, superb work put together by Hector Kunene.

OMOSEYE BOLAJI: BEFORE OUR VERY EYES

OMOSEYE BOLAJI: BEFORE OUR VERY EYES

By Kehinde Laniyan (Abuja, Nigeria)

There is the tendency to perhaps be flippant, or rather to unconsciously undermine the achievements of those friends we grew up together with, went to school with; blossomed into adolescence, adulthood etc with. But I am sure I have never really undermined the writer Omoseye Bolaji.

Omoseye and I went to secondary school together (Lagelu Grammar School, Ibadan) and our times at the same University Obafemi Awolowo University (Ile-Ife) overlapped. We have been close for decades despite distances of thousands of kilometres many times.

When Omoseye was conferred with a major Chieftaincy title on Aug 16 2008 by the Olubadan (King) of Ibadan there was an air of unreality among so many. Not because the recipient (Bolaji) was relatively very young at the time to garner such an accolade; not because he has always been something of a mystic (I know the word is rather old fashioned now in our modern technological world); not because his achievements as a writer did not warrant such a high honour; but somehow, those of us who grew up with him could not have envisaged such an occasion.

When we were in Lagelu Grammar School, Omoseye was more or less the youngest in the whole form, though he was lanky from the beginning. He was painfully shy, and for years one could not even imagine him befriending a member of the opposite sex. But more significantly, he loved literature from the very beginning and I must say our form (class) contained quite a number of precocious students.

Those who loved literature in particular throughout our days in school were Biodun Adesegun, Lanre Bolarinwa, Bolaji Owasanoye and Omoseye Bolaji (I suppose I should be mentioned too!). All of us were reading countless general books for leisure then; Bolarinwa and Omoseye in particular were already writing. Because he has always been a very private person, one can not pin-point exactly how many manuscripts Omoseye worked on in his youth, but I have no doubt that they were staggering, even then! It was good practice for the near future when he would become what many would call a professional writer.

It was clear from the beginning that the world of writing was fundamentally the most important to Omoseye. As a shy, introverted person he relished both reading and writing; and he also followed sports a lot. But it was not really the type of sports most people are used to – Omoseye would rarely go to the Stadium, for example, but prefer to listen\watch sports on radio and television. I was a bit surprised to learn later on that he became a sports reporter in South Africa for some years – actually filing in his reports from stadia; I guess he had really grown up by then!

How well I remember Omoseye coming to our house in Ibadan (Nigeria) so many times in those early days. I often went to his house too. We were both teenagers when we learnt how to drive, although I learnt the art of driving before him. Like other youngsters in those days Omoseye would drive the family cars – and his own when he had his – but he did not really love driving (He’s never been much into material things). I recollect driving his car many times when we were on outings in those days; it was a bit strange because he taught quite a number of people how to drive then, and he was subsequently happy for such people to do the driving!

Whilst scholars and researchers might not know much about his early published work, I know as a fact that The Termagant was NOT Omoseye’s first published book (despite what you might read elsewhere on the internet). Omoseye’s first published book appeared when he was a teenager and was locally distributed in Ibadan, Lagos etc in those days. 

The rest is now history, as they say. Most of his books would subsequently be published in South Africa, but the foundation had been laid many years ago during our youth. It was just that his “peak” as a creative writer coincided with his stay in South Africa. He started the Tebogo Mystery series which now numbers seven in all:

Tebogo Investigates (2000)

Tebogo’s spot of bother (2001)

Tebogo Fails (2003)

Ask Tebogo (2004)

Tebogo and the Haka (2008)

Tebogo and the Epithalamion (2009)

Tebogo and the pantophagist (2010)

Other important works of fiction written by Omoseye include Impossible Love, The Ghostly Adversary, People of the Townships, The Guillotine (A complete list of what is usually regarded as his published works can be seen below). Omoseye has published not only fiction, but also drama, criticism, poetry, and other general works.

Apart from the Chieftaincy Award, Omoseye has also been honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award in South Africa. A major highlight for him was also when he was conferred with the Chancellor’s Medal by the University of the Free State – all this thanks to his creative writing.

It is also encouraging (evidence of the impact he has had) that many books have been written about Omoseye Bolaji, mainly focusing on his literary work. Authors of such books include Pule Lebuso, Flaxman Qoopane, Charmaine Kolwane, Petro Schonfeld, Pule Lechesa, Urbain Tila and Julia Mooi. The very latest study on Omoseye titled OMOSEYE BOLAJI – written by Hector Kunene - is quite celebrated already.

Oh, Omoseye! I still see him seated shyly behind his desk at school in those days...always reading a story book, novel, or play...his bedroom at home a veritable library when he was just entering adolescence...we his old pals are so proud of him...

BOOKS BY OMOSEYE BOLAJI

FICTION

Impossible Love (2000)

Tebogo Investigates (2000)

The ghostly adversary (2001)

Tebogo’s spot of bother (2001)

People of the Townships (2003)

Tebogo Fails (2003)

Ask Tebogo (2004)

Tebogo and the haka (2008)

Tebogo and the epithalamion (2009)

Tebogo and the pantophagist (2010)

SHORT STORIES

They Never Say When (1994)

The Guillotine (2001)

You never know with women (2002)

The quack of Qwaqwa (2003)

POETRY

Snippets (1998)

Reverie (2006)

Poems from Mauritius (2007)

LITRERARY ESSAYS/CRITICISM

Thoughts on Free State Writing (2002)

Molebogeng Alitta Mokhuoa (2004)

BIOGRAPHIES

The story of Collins Mokhotho (2000)

Gilbert Modise: the man and the myth (2001)

My life and literature (2007)

DRAMA

The subtle transgressor (2006)

GENARAL

Eagles at USA 94 (1994)

The golden pen of Eselby  (1994)

Fillets of Plaice (2000)

My Opinion (2005)