Anyaoku, Kukah, Others, Hail Mojeed’s The Letterman

A former secretary general of the Commonwealth, Emeka Anyaoku; the Catholic Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese, Mathew Hassan Kukah and a former chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Ifueko Omogui Okauru, have heaped praises on The Letterman: Inside the ‘Secret’ Letters of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, a new book by the editor-in-chief of Premium Times, Musikilu Mojeed.

Commendations have also come for the book from Toyin Falola, a renowned professor and the Frances and Sanger Mossiker chair in the Humanities at the University of Texas at Austin; Dan Agbese, respected columnist and writer, who was also the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Newswatch, a foremost and trail-blazing investigative magazine; and Kadaria Ahmed, founder/CEO at Radio Now 95.3FM Lagos, television host, and former editor of NEXT newspaper.

The Letterman, a 492-page, 25-chapter narrative non-fiction, curates some of the most significant and historical letters written and received by Obasanjo, which compellingly tell the story of his life and defining the story of his country, Nigeria and the larger African continent. A number of these letters, written to dignitaries in Nigeria and around the world, have never been publicly seen.

The book will be presented to the public on Thursday, December 1, in Abuja. But those who have seen and reviewed the publication ahead of its unveiling have commended the work whose chronicle unfolds from the time of Obasanjo as General Officer Commanding the Third Marine Commando and his wartime efforts, through his tenure as military head of state between 1976 and 1979, his continental liberation struggles and political activism from the 1970s to 1999, his civilian presidential term from 1999 to 2007, as well as his post-presidency era.

A former secretary-general of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku said, “I believe that the Olusegun Obasanjo letters will find a prominent place in the chapters of Nigeria’s contemporary history as informative insights into the national affairs of the country when they were written. I therefore recommend this book, The Letterman, by Musikilu Mojeed to the reading public.”

“The Letterman takes the reader through President Obasanjo’s complex, intricate, even serpentine mind, captured by the contents of his no-hold-barred letters.”

The author has offered readers a precious piece of recorded history that will stand the test of time and occupy a special place in Nigeria’s rather barren shelves of presidential writing,” Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Nigeria said.

“This is a must and captivating read for all persons seeking to build a prosperous Nigerian nation and a truly great African continent,” former chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Ifueko Omoigui Okauru, said.