My Odyssey Into Writing....

My daily and recent entries into my blog has drawn the attention of many, seduced some and intrigued others. Some have wondered what is shrouded behind the ease in which I story tell, what is Olu Ojedokun attempting to portray?  I believe to me it is an outlet in a Nigeria where so much stress and frustration is abound, a hobby I enjoy but more importantly a burden which I feel responsible to discharge since it is suggested I am blessed with so much in terms of speaking and of course in the written word.  The paragraphs below may provide a slight peep of the Tom variety into the workings of my mind and my inspiration. 

At age 12 I became sated with a thirst and a desire to write but it was from an early age of seven that the foundation was laid. The consumption of news contents littered on the pages of Daily Times was always an attraction to me, the grainy pictures an incentive to drive my curiosity and the headlines captivated me. I developed an appetite described as voracious and at some stage my mother indulged me with the daily purchase of Newspapers, 10 Nigerian Kobo at the time.  However, at some point my mother with a added touch of cynicism suspected I was a little too partial to the Sports pages and I had abandoned my academics and put a halt to this.

My indulgence was further deepened with the arrival of our neighbour Uncle Wole Ayeni on the scene. He expanded my scope beyond Daily Times to Nigerian Tribune, Sketch and Punch. He purchased almost all the dailies going and I was usually the one to send on newspaper related errands. He was in the habit of initiating endless and boundless discussions with me on the nuances contained in the feature stories and various headlines.

It was therefore no coincidence that at age 12 in Abule-Oja where we lived I co- founded with Sylvannus and Callistus Okogbenin a news publication where we wrote on topical issues. The most notable was themed, ‘Socialism A way Forward for Nigeria’, authored by me.   But it will be disingenuous to suggest it was my love for the words that drove me. Rather there was a financial incentive as we sold it to the many unsuspecting adults about the Lane of our abode.