By Victoria Onehi
The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has recommended the book Persona Non Grate to both practising and aspiring journalists, as well as any professional seeking “to find a balance between their allegiance to self and to truth.”
Senator Shettima made the recommendation on Saturday during the Public Presentation of the Book, “Persona Non Grata,” authored by a seasoned journalist, Mr. Ismail Omipidan, at the Ladi Kwali Hall of the Abuja Continental Hotel.
Describing the book, “Persona Non Grata”, as “a declaration of the price of adhering to noble principles even in the face of corrupting temptation,” Vice President Shettima pointed out that the book is not “a record of the journey to being cancelled for telling uncomfortable truths.”
He said:”True courage is being able to tell the truth even in a congress of critics and bullies. The rush to partake in a smear campaign, even in the face of superior facts, is, of course, not an act of courage. This distinction sets courage apart from cowardice. It takes rare integrity to recognise the difference between the two “Cs”, he added.
Urging both leaders and media practitioners, as well as other well-meaning citizens to “aspire to learn where and when to draw the line between courage and cowardice,” the Vice President described the author of the book, Mr. Omipidan, as a journalist who “has shown that, in reporting the ups and downs of his nation, true allegiance isn’t to oneself, but to one’s society.
In his welcome remarks, the Chief Host of the book launch, Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Alhaji Isiaka Adegboyega Oyetola thanked Vice President Shettima “for taking time out of his demanding schedule to attend the book launch.
He said the book is a compilation of the vast experiences of the author, his work in the private and public sectors.
According to him, the book speaks volumes about the author’s strength of character, resilience and commitment that defines his personal and professional judgement, as well as integrity in journalism.
“The title of the book, “Persona Non Grata,” states his curiosity and rightly so. As I delve into the pages it became apparently clear that he put his mind and soul into his work. It is not just a professional memoir, it is a profound commentary of the complexities of power and unforeseen forces that shape public perception,” Oyetola stated.
The book reviewer, and the Editor of Saturday Tribune, Mr. Lasisi Olagunju, said Omipidan’s book has 31 short chapters with the foreword written by Farouk Kperoogi.
He said that he had taken time to read the book from the title page to all the pages that chronicle the author’s early life, and his many experiences.
Olagunju said: “The 309-page story of Omipidan runs more than what Robert Frost calls “a course of lucky events.” We encounter the opposite of luck and lucky in almost all the early chapters of his story. On those pages are unhappy signature stories of the author’s many falls and failures.
“Why did the author write this and the way he went about it? In other words, what are the themes? A theme is the central idea, the literary element that recurs and dominates a text. There is the theme of discrimination: class, religion and ethnicity. I see a theme on why politicians win elections and why they lose. But the bigger theme I see is the place of fate in human struggles; the victory of conviction over life’s conflictual challenges. For this book, the recurring element is survival despite life’s rapids and falls; the win after the race.
“The book is structured in a way that makes readers read defeat in the early chapters, then sweet triumph in later chapters. In other words, the theme is the transformation of a persona non grata to a persona grata; the movement from being unwelcome, unacceptable and rejected to being acceptable and accepted in the same space. My late mother would hear this and summarize everything in one line: “asale ni ojaa ntooro“, the calm of the evening market; “a clarification of life” – Robert Frost again.
In his vote of thanks, the author of the book Ismail Omipidan, thanked the Vice President for honouring his invitation.
He recalled the first time he discussed with him 10 years ago about writing a book, and the VP told him: “You have not seen anything yet; what are you writing about?”
Speaking about his Principal,Omipidan said he accepted to work with Oyetola when he was the governor of Osun State because he is a man of honesty and integrity.
