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The presentation
ceremony of ‘Comrade’, Tosin Otitoju’s debut collection of poems, held
at the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs, Victoria Island,
Lagos on Tuesday, September 14.

Parents of the
academic whiz kid, Kayode and Kemi Otitoju; chair of the event, Julius
Adelusi-Adeluyi and the chief launcher, Albert Iyorah, were among those
who came to support the engineer formally announcing her arrival on the
literary scene.

Currently on
sabbatical from her PhD at the California Institute of Technology,
Otitoju, lectures in the Department of Systems Engineering, University
of Lagos. She won first prize in the 1996 Senior Secondary School
Certificate Examinations and had a first class in Electrical
Engineering from Howard University, US. It was not surprising that
professionals outnumbered the literati at the event emceed by Chude
Jideonwo.

Singer, Kafayat,
entertained the audience with ‘Wa si ‘le eko’, a song extolling the
virtues of education and its impacts on Otitoju before the event
properly started.

Support the young

The chair,
Adelusi-Adeluyi, acknowledged the genius of the poet, marvelling that
she made time to write poems while teaching Systems Engineering. The
former Minister of Health and Social Services also dwelt on the title
of the collection. He said, “She has chosen the word ‘Comrade’ to show
an outpouring about what she feels about some subjects. All you need to
do is meet Tosin for five minutes and you will know she is a special
girl.”

Adelusi-Adeluyi
condemned how Nigeria stifles creativity. “If she had remained in
Nigeria, would she have had her certificates, her recognition?” He
added that anyone who succeeds in Nigeria will succeed anywhere else
and commended the tenacity of Otitoju. “We need to support and
encourage talent among youth if we are going to have a worthwhile
country. The older generation have lost the 20th century; we have to
make sure that youth don’t lose the 21st century by supporting the
young.”

He reiterated that
geniuses should be encouraged from childhood and advised parents
against forcing their wards to study professional courses when they
exhibit talents for the arts. Nigeria, he further said, is in need of
people with talent who can express their creativity unhindered. The
politically conscious entrepreneur also made some recommendations he
said would help Nigeria and Nigerians in the quest for real democracy.
He said Nigerians have to change their attitude about the country from
negative to positive and that the country’s image can only be improved
by what Nigerians do.

The former group
chair, Odu’a Investment Conglomerate, canvassed a return to old family
values of respect and caring for the young, instead of hustling for
money. “You must aspire to inspire the young people before you aspire
to meet your messiah.” Adelusi-Adeluyi also underscored the importance
of a secure environment and good visionary leaders, further suggesting,
“Lend your shoulders to some young Nigerians to aspire.”
Adelusi-Adeluyi advised Nigerians to adopt the ‘RSVP approach’
(register; select your candidate objectively; vote and political
positions) for the forthcoming 2011 elections.

The Crown Troupe of
Africa, regular at most literary events, registered their presence with
two performances. They rendered their adaptation of a medley of popular
songs including ‘Gongo Aso’, ‘Lorile’, ‘Yahooze’ and Fela’s
‘Demo-crazy’. The group also sang its popular ‘Gbamu Gbamu’ before
exiting the stage. They returned later to perform excerpts from
Otitoju’s collection.

Dealer in irony

Writer, Tolu
Ogunlesi, who reviewed the collection, praised the author’s effort. He
noted that she “is a master at sketching worlds gone topsy-turvy” and
“failed worlds that you instantly recognise as the real world.” He
further noted the eclectic nature of poems in the collection, including
the haiku section that has a poem in pidgin. Otitoju, the author of
‘Conquest and Conviviality’ also said, “deals in irony.” A number of
the poems, he added, combined muse and music, making the reader feel
“that these lines were snatched from half-constructed songs, and
compelled into the service of verse.”

Multiple award
winning author, Akachi Adimora Ezeigbo, commended Otitoju’s effort but
unlike other launchers, didn’t disclose the amount she would pay for
the book. She promised to present the book “to my department and I’m
sure we‘ll be teaching it in the department.”

Otitoju, first
Howard University recipient of the Poincare Fellowship, read two poems,
‘Prophecy i-blame game’ and ‘An evening with the dead’ before returning
to give a rather lengthy vote of thanks.

The publisher, Steve Shaba of Kraft Books, disclosed that he
initially disagreed with Otitoju’s choice of ‘Comrade’ as title for the
collection but disclosed that Adelusi-Adeluyi’s explanation had made
him happy. He described ‘Comrade’ as a “wonderful addition to our list”
before the event concluded.