Oladejo Okediji

ByMoyo Okediji

Oladejo Okediji–who happens to be my father, is the oldest living writer in the Yoruba language.

He is 89 this year.

He is pictured here with the cover of his first novel, Àjà Ló Lẹrù, published in 1969.

Baba is still pretty prolific. His latest book, Ohùn Ẹnu Àgbà, came out this year. It is a collection of his poems.

The Yoruba language is really fortunate to have writers like Oladejo Okediji, who keep providing a written literature for the culture, ensuring that the language enjoys innovation, inventiveness and creativity.

Very few African languages are so fortunate.

(Special thanks to H B Jamiu Bulala who provided this collage).

It is NOT his birthday today. I just got to see a copy of his new book and felt like celebrating him.

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ENGLISHMAN IN BENIN CITY, 1981 (Part Ten)

ENGLISHMAN IN BENIN CITY, 1981 (Part Ten)

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Once Obaseki realized that Iya Ngu was busting him, and called him out that it was from him that the smell of marijuana was coming, for some inexplicable reason, his nervousness reduced. He smiled and said, “Madam, it is true. I just smoked a tiny joint.”

Obaseki’s sunken face took on a different appearance. I observed his face holistically the way Madam Ngu taught me to study the human face. On my first meeting with her, in the drawing class, she took a look at my drawing and she said, “Moyo, what am I going to do with you? You don’t know how to draw. Come, let’s go to my office. You are still young. I can mold you.”

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