By ‘Sola Fagorusi
Hon. Ipoola Ahmed Omisore
Starved for news; all I need do is check my Facebook timeline and I can be sure to catch it all there in significantly objective and sometimes humour laced form. Hon. Ipoola Ahmed Omisore is one of those who ensures such that the 5000 people on his timeline feel the country’s pulse through him. His book titled Thoughtful and Thoughtless Thoughts is a compilation of social media posts by the author. Omisore is following closely in the heels of the president who launched his book titled – My friends and I’ in 2010.
On 161 pages, Omisore lays bare his thoughts on diverse issues that invite his interest. Dedicated to his Ile-Ife mother and his wife, Omisore’s book points glaringly to his family ties and ancestral lineage. The foreword, written by Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly carries recommendation of the book for the entertainment and enlightenment value it has the capacity to provide.
The choice of the word – thoughtless in the title of the book is likely to come under scrutiny by readers. His friend, Hon. Babatunde Ogala fires a fine salvo on this as his retitles the work – Thoughtful Thoughts in the book’s preface. Omisore’s sojourn through public roles and elected duties come under various illuminations as one reads through the book. The book captures five years of Omisore’s synergy between his fingers and his brain as he constantly engages with his friends on Facebook. It is a narrative between year 2010 and 2014.
Omisore, unlike president instead only shares his thoughts with the public without any conversation. He dodges the maze of copyrights of thoughts in the book by ignoring comments and interactions from his friends on Facebook. No portion of the book captures feedbacks on his opinions. Knowing how feisty conversations on social media can be, the book will have benefitted from sharing conversations that were especially confrontational with the readers. It would also have given an insight into Omisore’s capacity to engage with dissident thoughts and sometimes manage cyber fights which is a growing norm on cyber space.
Divided into five sections so readers who are interested in various aspects of his life can choose to go straight into that part; the book’s core content starts with an introductory note on page 17. The first part of the book is titled – Nigeria my country. The three chapters there raises information about the country’s historical past and also mentions the country’s growing problem with attempts to offer solutions to them. For Nigerians and other citizens wanting a snap shot on Nigeria’s political leadership history, pages 26, 27, 29, 30 are good reference points. Chinua Achebe’s, Nelson Mandela’s thoughts on Nigeria are captured in this section. Religion also has a reference in this first part with Omisore wondering why Christians cannot have a Christian Bank financed by tithes from churches. The post must have been put up at the height of the Islamic Bank debate in 2012.
The book would have done better if the posts were labelled with the exact dates they were posted clearly served to the readership. It would have made Omisore’s Facebook page a potential research archive where readers can readily go to with proper direction to pull out issues and review again. Omisore’s thoughts are relevant and would serve this purpose especially since he is a member of Nigeria’s political class. Graduate Unemployment, Youth unrest, National Security, fuel subsidy brouhaha and a number of other national issues are properly highlighted in Thoughtful and Thoughtless Thoughts. Omisore’s carpeting of Senator Kaka’s Computer Hacking and Anti-419 bill finds space in the book, ditto his solution to the oil subsidy problem, insecurity, and local football clubs’ low patronage amongst others. Omisore, tells about Dele Giwa, his former classmate in one of his postings. He reveals that his first surname was Sunmonu but was later changed upon the deceased’s return from Benin (former Bendel) after a particular long vacation. Tai Solarin, Marxist and atheist, also has a brief biography in the book.
The Game of Politics, introduced in Section 2 of the book starts with the author lamenting the dangerous intrigues possible in politics. In a three part posting, he also spared space for Bola Tinubu, former Governor of Lagos State, who turned around Lagos’ financial narrative by moving the Internally Generated Revenue from N600m on assumption of office to N12billion when he left in 2007. The book is devoid of shorthand; an indication that the author ensures all his postings is done in proper English form.
The author’s attempt to quit Facebook at some point, the reasons and the final decision are expressed on page 69. Of note is the brilliant post on Travails of Nigeria’s elected legislators that run from pages 71 to 75. Knowing Facebook’s settings and allowance of 63,206 characters in a single update post, it is apparent Omisore fully maximises this given his long posts.
Omisore’s is not all about thoughts in the book, he also captures his dream wherein Senator Iyiola Omisore, his kinsman and the gubernatorial aspirant in Osun state’s last election would retrace his step back to the mainstream part in the South West; the APC. The author’s account of stewardship is entailed in Chapter five of the book and his huge bias of education screams through the updates he must have pushed out through his Facebook page in the five years period.
‘Marital Values and Secrets’ is contained in Section 3 of the two-term honourable’s book. Family issues and expectations of men, women and children are elucidated in this part of the book. Omisore’s unmistaken and balanced love for his mother and wife oozes out of page 97 to 100. Reading through chapter eight, one is likely to think the author is an old woman given the depth of marital counsel he makes available for women here.
In the penultimate section, the author engages with his Yoruba lineage and his Ile-Ife heritage. Justifiably the first post here is in Yoruba language. Anyone interested in the history of Ile-Ife will pick up several revelations from this section. Oba Aderemi Adesoji and a number of a number of Ife sons and daughters enjoy mentions on page 125, accompanied with a rationale to have streets named after them to immortalise them in Ile-Ife. On page 136, Omisore requests for Ile-Ife resident Facebook friends who can update him about happenings in the source! Readers interested in the Omisore dynasty will find Chapter 12 a delight to peruse. The book ends with a section dedicated to a number of quotes including that of Ebenezer Obey whom the author had quoted earlier in some portions in the book subtly alluding to the musician’s fanship.
The few typographical errors in the book do not take anything away from its overall value. Given the difficulty with digging up past posts, the author would do well to harmonise content of his book on a website or blog for his constituency to follow through his work. Readers would find the book worth their time and money.
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‘Sola Fagorusi
Sola Fagorusi is a youth development advocate, freelance writer, accomplished debater cum coach. The Obafemi Awolowo University graduate has about 10 years experience in social entrepreneurship which straddles leadership, good governance cum anti-corruption and adolescent reproductive health. The Leap Africa alumnus is also a trained peer educator, a DESPLAY alumnus and co-facilitator. For 2 years now, he has been a technical consultant and lead judge on the Intra-Faith Peace Youth TV Debate Project facilitated by Youngstars Foundation and the British High Commission. To read his full profile, click here.
