As President Bola Tinubu advances his administration, two books on his life and political journey is ready to hit the bookstores across the country.
The books written by a veteran journalist, Taiwo Ogundipe, contained the President’s official biography, his life and politics from the early years, his education, his brilliant 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 modifying the election of ex-President Muhammed Buhari.
The books titled: The Pathfinder: The Life and Politics of an African Politician and The Blueprint: How Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Transformed Lagos State, are being planned to be unfolded to the public to coincide with the commemoration of President Tinubu’s birthday in March this year.
The Pathfinder is written to highlight Tinubu, document 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, which is 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 revolution will find invaluable.
Some prominent personalities who are aware of the project are asking when it will be launched. Some of them include Chief Bisi Akande, former Chairman of the APC and Professor Segun Gbadegesin, a leading scholar, who was personally involved in the making of the book.
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, has to be told. That is why the author took on the task of telling it.
The two books have garnered the endorsement of President Tinubu who likes the books and 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.
The Pathfinder has garnered some rave reviews. Sam Omatseye, writer, columnist and Chairman of the Editorial Board of The Nation 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 roots, growing up years, adulthood, professional life and his foray into politics, which has turned him into an icon.
Retired Professor of Philosophy and former interim Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Howard University, USA, Professor Segun Gbadegesin, 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 centre 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.”
