The Four Aishas

The Four Aishas : From Lagos To Aso Vila

This is a true life story of the four Aishas I know from Lagos to the Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Abuja.

The first Aisha was the beautiful daughter of a Fulani gateman at a two storey residential building on Kalejaiye Street, off the Bajulaiye Road in Shomolu, Lagos.

He wanted me to marry her even though she was only 11 years old and told him that I Iooked like a tall and handsome Fulani man with fair skin and starry eyes. Aisha always accompanied her Yoruba friend of the same age to visit a Yoruba family in our residence, a bungalow popularly known as Morocco Ville in front of the Morocco Bus Stop of the Morocco Road in Shomolu. The residence was owned by the popular Morocco family and was built during the British colonial administration of Nigeria. My family and four other families were tenants in the building of different apartments. The Yoruba families were the Akanbi family, Asigbolusi family and the family of Baba Shadia. 

Aisha often accompanied her friend to visit the Asigbolusi family who knew her parents, Mr and Mrs Ojosu. 

Mr. Ojosu worked in the office of the Nigerian Energy Commission in Ikoyi on the Lagos Island. I visited him when I was one of the youngest national program consultants of the UNICEF at the age of 25 years. We met and became familiar and often had conversations about human development and the challenges of the political leadership of Nigeria. I was already popular after the publication of my book of original poems for Children, "Children of Heaven" by Krystal Publications Limited in 1987 and in 1988, there were reviews on the book by The Guardian and The Punch newspapers and on Radio Nigeria and the public presentation at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) on Victoria Island was on the prime time 7pm news of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) read by Siene Allwell-Brown, one of the celebrated newscasters in the country. Millions of people saw me on TV and millions heard the news on radio and read the reviews in the popular national newspapers. So whenever Mr. Ojosu and his family came to visit the Asigbolusi family, he always had the chance for our intellectual conversations and admired me with the daughter gazing at me with glints of excitement in her beautiful brown eyes. Girls at puberty begin to become affectionate with infatuation of lust and love for any boy and man they like. So I understood her admiration and excitement of always bringing Aisha along whenever she visited. Aisha told her father about me and introduced me to him when I was passing by their residence to visit my relatives in my uncle's two storey house at number 13, Kalejaiye Street. I often saw them as I visited my relatives almost every day.

I had several female friends, including our beautiful hood queen, Chinwe who often visited me and was my favourite girlfriend among other girlfriends.

I couldn't marry an underage girl even though her Muslim parents thought she was ready for marriage in accordance with their Islamic religion since the founder, Prophet Muhammad (puh) married Aisha, the youngest of his 13 wives when she was only a child and ended her virginity when she was only a 9 year-old girl.

The whole narrative of their lives is the subject of my historical fiction, "Unveil Me My Love" which Amazon refused the distribution of the novella, because of the fears of provoking Islamic terrorism like the "Satanic Verses" of the famous Indian novelist and essayist, Salman Rushdie. But another American publishing company published "Unveil Me My Love" and is available by special request. It is only available in hardcover collector's edition.

The romantic narrative of an Abbysian bodyguard and trainer of the soldiers of Prophet Muhammad (puh) who was in love with Aisha. 

https://www.lulu.com/shop/orikinla-osinachi/unveil-me-my-love/hardcover/product-519468.html

The Aisha I refused to marry, because she was  an underage 11 year-old girl is now over 42 years and married with children.

The second Aisha came from war torn Sudan in pursuit of better life in Nigeria. She was black and beautiful and slender like the famous supermodels who were also from Sudan. I met her when she among the pretty ushers at the first credible international film festival in Nigeria, the Lagos International Forum on Cinema, Motion Picture and Video in Africa organized by Independent Television Producers Association of Nigeria (ITPAN) from 2001 to 2006. It attracted local and international filmmakers and supported by the Nigerian film Corporation (NFC) and French Embassy. It started from when Chief Tunde Oloyede was President of ITPAN and continued successfully when Mr. Femi Odugbemi succeeded him as President of ITPAN. Famous Nobel laureate of Literature, Prof. Wole Soyinka and other important dignitaries were at the inaugural edition held at the Maison de France of the French Cultural Centre in Ikoyi.

I was attracted to Aisha and I gave her a phone number to reach me before I left.

Then one day, she called and said she had been kicked out of the flat in 1004 estate on Victoria Island where she had been staying with two Nigerian "runs babes" who were professional escorts. They falsely accused her of snatching their boyfriends.

She was waiting for me at the Yaba bus stop..She was homeless and wanted to come and stay with me. But there was no space to accommodate her where I was allowed to stay in the flat of a good friend in Moshalashi near the Jibowu area, off the Agege Motor Road on the way to Mushin. I would have persuaded my relatives in Shomolu to accommodate her in their two storey house, but they would most likely fight over sleeping with her. She was breaking down in distress and I was really feeling sorry for her. Her last resort was to call David Hivet, the handsome young French Regional Audio-visual Attache based in Lagos whom she met at the ITPAN's international film forum.  So, he came gallantly and rescued the Sudanese damsel in distress.

If I had accommodated Aisha, our first child would have been a grown up adult by now. 

I met the third Aisha when she was an office  assistant of a former friend I worked with as the media consultant for his communication company in Shomolu on the mainland of Lagos State. She was an attractive young woman from Kogi state  who had just completed secondary school and was waiting for the opportunity to go to any of the universities or polytechnics in Nigeria.

She was staying in the nearby Myyoung Army Barracks with her elder sister, a junior military officer married to a fellow junior officer in the Nigerian Army. 

We became close and would have become lovers, but I was distracted by other romantic affairs with more attractive female friends, including Linda Ikeji who was coming to our office in her car and with her laptop.

So, Aisha soon relocated to Akure in Ondo state to stay with her mother and family. She is now married with two kids. 

The fourth Aisha is Dr. Mrs Aisha Buhari, wife of the immediate past President of Nigeria, retired Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR. 

I was invited to meet with her by the Office of the President in 2018 following my request to present my book on her husband, "The Victory of Muhammadu Buhari: My Eyewitness Account of the 2015 Presidential Election".

I borrowed money from close acquaintances to travel to Abuja and paid for three days accommodation in a hotel in Asokoro close to the State House,  Aso Villa. 

I was welcomed to her office and sat down in her own official Office after meeting with the Information Officer, Dr. Haruna Suleiman and her special secretary, Dr. Hajo Sani. I was offered tea which I politely declined and accepted the cans of soft drinks and digestive biscuits. But I couldn't meet with her for three days and I said I would be stranded in Abuja without any more money to stay longer. So, I returned to Lagos in peace.

- by Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
Author of "Diary of the Memory Keeper" and other books distributed by Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other booksellers.

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WOLE SOYINKA - ENI OGUN, An Accomplished Biopic on the First African Nobel Laureate of Literature

WOLE SOYINKA - ENI OGUN, An Accomplished Biopic on the First African Nobel Laureate of Literature

Joshua Ojo with Prof. Wole Soyinka.

Joshua Ojo's vivid biopic, "WOLE SOYINKA - ENI OGUN"is an outstanding historical film on the phenomenal life of the most lionized African writer, Prof. Wole Soyinka, the first African winner of the highly coveted Nobel Prize for Literature. 

This is the only one of the few films on the life of Soyinka to capture the essence of the spirit of the art and persona of his iconic genius in motion picture. And the first to be produced in his beloved mother tongue of the Yoruba language. The biopic produced to celebrate his 90th birthday is a must see and the film has been authorized by the Nobel laureate.

Official trailer

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m_nA7r4CH50FjxHdNlvaixNv5F44GQI3/view?usp=drivesdk

It chronicled his trials as a fearless sociopolitical human rights activist and triumphs as an intellectual luminary of the literary world with critically acclaimed books of poetry, drama and prose for which he became famous and awarded the Nobel Prize in  Literature in 1986 for with his writings, Soyinka "in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence."

The cinematic beauty of the film with outstanding portrayal of Soyinka by the award winning Nigerian actor, Lateef Adedimeji and other accomplished actors, including Jide Kosoko, Femi Branch, Segun Arinze, Dele Odule, Funky Mallam, Haffiz Oyetoro, Bimbo Oshin, Joke Muyiwa and Olaiya Igwe showed the accomplishments of the director in the art direction with the production design, casting, characterisation, cinematography and soundtracks based on the historical facts of the celebrated author with important emphasis on Ibadan and other locations of his life and the political circumstances of his imprisonment in the Kirikiri Prison for 22 months during the Nigerian-Biafran war from 1967-1970.

"This is my most challenging film production so far. Because of the historical importance and significance of the legacy of Prof. Wole Soyinka, I have to make sure of the accuracy of the sets used for the period in the history of Nigeria. KIRI-KIRI PRISON was built from the scratch in the studios. Soyinka's house was equally built with over 98 percent of the set built by the crew, except for the scenes of the roads and the other scenes shot outside Nigeria," the director said.

"I did the casting myself, because I really wanted actors to look like the real characters in his life. For the production design, I took my time as well to draw and sketch out how I wanted them to look and the guys in that department brought life to it.

I've been to Soyinka's house, so it was easy for me to recreate it."

"I had an accident two days to shoot. I was given two options: either to cut off my right leg or I do an emergency surgery, which I did. And I went back to location a week after the surgery, with an ambulance on stand by everyday. I'll shoot for 2 to 3 days and rush back to the hospital for check-up. That was how we shot for two months to complete the principal photography."

The film certainly is an outstanding achievement in filmmaking in Nollywood and African Cinema. It will attract millions of Yorubas in Nigeria and the Diaspora; especially in Brazil where hundreds of thousands of people are devotees of the Yoruba OGUN traditional religion which Soyinka has celebrated in his life and works. Millions of others who have read his popular plays, novels and essays will be anxious and curious to watch the film subtitled in English and should be widely available in other popular languages for the global distribution.

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

The Publisher/Editor,

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series,

The first book series on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry.

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Prof. Wole Soyinka's Most Anticipated New Novel, "Chronicles of the Happiest People on Earth"

WeREAD💕💋 NEW BOOK OF THE MONTH

"Chronicles of the Happiest People on Earth" by Prof. Wole Soyinka, the first black winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature.

https://bookshop.org/shop/Weread

The Book

The novel tells the story of a pact and an alliance formed between four friends, to make an impactful change in their nation. Now in the late stages of adulthood, against an evolving political landscape and a change of government, they drift apart, reunite, navigate complex familial relationships, and increasingly gain recognition in their professions — all the while, their paths interweave with those of prominent religious, community and government leaders, and the tide begins to turn against them, with dire consequences.

It is a dramatic and engaging read, laced with humour and extraordinary characters. The read also provides a realistic perspective on the state of affairs in Nigeria, with a depth of commentary. In Soyinka’s expert hands, the apparently disparate strands are woven together with a master story-teller’s aplomb. 

CHRONICLES OF THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE ON EARTH, is a great and unputdownable read from start to finish.

Book Size: 6.1 inches x 9.2 inches (15.5 x 23.5cm)

Number of pages: 524 pages.