Tributes

By Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu
(Presidential candidate; Former Governor of Lagos State)

“For years, (Tunde Fagbenle’s) columns have taught and inspired. He has made us think and rethink. He has had a profound impact on those who have the good fortune to read of his vast body of work. Tunde Fagbenle is in a class of his own.
Fagbenle is always frank, exposing the ills and contradictions in our society, cutting issues to the core and proffering solutions to the problems.
I have benefitted from the wise words and moral fortitude that course through Fagbenle’s toils. He writes not for glory or fame, though these things should be his due. He writes to help the nation and to carry forth the truth as he sees it.”

 

By Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN
(Minister of Works & Housing; former Governor of Lagos State)

“A committed patriot, his columns were characteristically unflinching in their gaze on national affairs. Yet they were never a mere litany of complaints or plain abuse, as is often the case, rather he invariably offered prescriptions on how things could be improved or rectified.

Funny, clever, self-deprecating, warm, witty and wise, Fagbenle was always an indispensable guide to modern media. His words served as a viable conscience to our nation.”

 

By Pastor Tunde Bakare
(Pastor; former Vice-presidential candidate)

“Tunde Fagbenle exhibits a striking editorial philosophy in these collections. Pivoted on the principles of factuality and fairness, his pendulum of preference oscillates across time and space in search of an equilibrium position.
As a patriot and optimist in Project Nigeria, Tunde Fagbenle celebrates our success stories and radiates personal pride whenever a Nigerian adorns the national brand with garlands of brilliance and integrity.”

 

By Dr. Kayode Fayemi
(Former Governor of Ekiti State)

“His bohemian independence of mind is perhaps the most striking feature of his exceptionally fluid writing…He never fails to communicate his strong progressive thoughts in lucid riveting prose.
He is a public intellectual par excellence and a bridge across generations; a mix of the wisdom and realism of the elderly, and the optimism and idealism of our youth; a perfect blend of substance and style.”

 

By Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola
(Minister of Interior; former Governor of Osun State)

“Fagbenle’s writings encompass wide berths in politics, economy, society and people, reflecting sometimes the best in us but a lot of the time the worst in us.
While he clearly belongs to the elite, his writings have been people oriented in the main, engaging the mighty and powerful on behalf of the masses and downtrodden.”

“Fagbenle gives as much as he takes. He praises effusively, rolls with the punches and, damn it, as anyone at the receiving end of his attack might agree, he strikes like a rattlesnake. Love or hate him, you can hardly deny the honesty in his writings.” Azu Ishiekwene (2017)

“Conversations with Mandela”, a purely imaginary encounter, which touched a nerve on the question of Winnie, is so real and so authentic you’ll have to read it more than once to believe it’s a work of fiction. It’s a master class in creative writing and I wonder what Mandela thought, if he ever got to read it.” Azu Ishiekwene (2017)

– Azu Ishiekwene MD/Editor-In-Chief of The Interview and member of the Board of the Paris-based Global Editors Network

 

“Tunde Fagbenle’s contributions often evoke in me a sense of patriotism and nostalgia” Abubakar Dangiwa Umar (Kaduna, 2000)

“There is no doubt that Fagbenle has exhibited a rare love for his country, Nigeria, in all his works. His unreserved bitterness towards the regency military era and his almost pathological hatred for apologists of military regimes reflect the inner battles of the mind of a patriot in the face of the plunder of Nigeria” Abubakar Dangiwa Umar (Kaduna, 2000)

– Abubakar Dangiwa Umar (Retired Colonel)

 

“Fagbenle’s popular column in the Sunday Punch became a source of hope and inspiration for many Nigerians in the darkest days of tyranny.” Adebayo Williams (2000)

“For Tunde Fagbenle journalism is not a passion of the mind but the very mind of passion; a throbbing, blood-covered weapon against political and social inequities.” Adebayo Williams (2000)

“But by refusing to sheath his journalistic sword, by refusing to crawl away from the barricades…Fagbenle has kept faith with himself and the finest tradition of journalism. In an age when hypocrisy and dishonour are no respecter of ideological and political divides, nothing can be more honourable. Written in racy and fluent English, here then, are the exertions of a honourable Nigerian, a very rare gem in these horrible times.” Adebayo Williams (2000)

Adebayo Williams (former Professor of English, Savannah, USA)

 

“Mr. Tunde Fagbenle brings together the everydayness of the comedy of errors and the tragedy that (re)produces them in an effort to illuminate our understanding of why Nigeria is both a joke and a tragedy and why, despite this, she inherently possesses an unsurpassable capacity to be neither a joke nor a tragedy.” Wale Adebanwi (2010)

“Fagbenle’s compelling collection of essays reminds us again that if she were not such a tragic polity, Nigeria would have been a cruel joke. But the essence of the collection is a struggle, a wish, an attempt to join in that self-sacrificing enterprise, against all odds; to add one’s voice and humble effort to the (re)creation of an egalitarian polity in the heart of Africa.” Wale Adebanwi (2010).

– Wale Adebanwi (former Professor at University of California-Davis, USA)

 

“Tunde Fagbenle has written a definitive assessment of contemporary issues in Nigeria in a lucid and engaging prose. His assessment demonstrates a penetrating understanding of the issues at the heart of Nigeria’s dilemma of rising expectations and frustrations.” Adeolu Akande (2010).

– Adeolu Akande, PhD (Ibadan) – Media Analyst/Consultant

 

“Tunde Fagbenle writes compulsively without respect for no-go areas, untouchable arguments and sacred cows! His humour, keen and sassy, sometimes turns decapitating. If a nation must be saved, he seems to be saying, why pamper the nation wreckers! Odia Ofeimun (2010)

– Odia Ofeimun (Poet and former president Association of Nigerian Authors)

 

“In a period when columnists have come to occupy a very special, crowded but laudable place among Nigeria’s literary intelligentsia, Tunde Fagbenle is among the best in this rich harvest. Accessible, witty and urbane, he writes with grace, urgency and constant flashes of insight. Biodun Jeyifo (B.J) (2017)”

– Biodun Jeyifo (Professor, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA)

 

“Tunde Fagbenle is one of the country’s longest and most respected columnists, one of the few whose opinions are eagerly awaited every Sunday. Fagbenle, like all his fellow columnists and other public commentators…will continue to write to plead for reason, for justice and equity, to celebrate the positive icons among us while we condemn the fraudulent and the evil among us. We will never stop or relent, until we attain that just society of our dreams.” Femi Osofisan (F.O) (2017)

– Femi Osofisan (Emeritus Professor, poet, novelist & playwright)

 

“Tunde Fagbenle has brought an incisive intellect, depth of empathy, and an originality of style to bear on his chronicling of Nigeria’s and the larger continent’s sometimes promising, often maddening and frustrating effort to shake off mediocrity. This latest rich harvest of Fagbenle’s columns reminds me why I am a huge fan: his writing is absorbing, penetrating and elegant, a cry from a patriot’s deep heart. Whether you’ve followed Fagbenle’s writing for years, or have never read him, here’s an opportunity to luxuriate in the company of one of our most generously endowed public intellectuals.” Okey Ndibe (2017).

– Okey Ndibe (Columnist and Author, USA)

“Tunde Fagbenle exhibits a striking editorial philosophy in these collections. Pivoted on the principles of factuality and fairness, his pendulum of preference oscillates across time and space in search of an equilibrium position.

As a patriot and optimist in Project Nigeria, Tunde Fagbenle celebrates our success stories and radiates personal pride whenever a Nigerian adorns the national brand with garlands of brilliance and integrity”

– Pastor Tunde Bakare

 

“For years, (Tunde Fagbenle’s) columns have taught and inspired. He has made us think and rethink. He has had a profound impact on those who have the good fortune to read of his vast body of work. Tunde Fagbenle is in a class of his own. Fagbenle is always frank, exposing the ills and contradictions in our society, cutting issues to the core and proffering solutions to the problems.

I have benefitted from the wise words and moral fortitude that course through Fagbenle’s toils. He writes not for glory or fame, though these things should be his due. He writes to help the nation and to carry forth the truth as he sees it”.

– Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu

 

A committed patriot, his columns were characteristically unflinching in their gaze on national affairs. Yet they were never a mere litany of complaints or plain abuse, as is often the case, rather he invariably offered prescriptions on how things could be improved or rectified. Funny, clever, self-deprecating, warm, witty and wise, Fagbenle was always an indispensable guide to modern media. His words served as a viable conscience to our nation”

– Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN

 

His bohemian independence of mind is perhaps the most striking feature of his exceptionally fluid writing…He never fails to communicate his strong progressive thoughts in lucid riveting prose.

He is a public intellectual par excellence and a bridge across generations; a mix of the wisdom and realism of the elderly, and the optimism and idealism of our youth; a perfect blend of substance and style”

– Dr. Kayode Fayemi

 

Fagbenle’s writings encompass wide berths in politics, economy, society and people, reflecting sometimes the best in us but a lot of the time the worst in us.

While he clearly belongs to the elite, his writings have been people oriented in the main, engaging the mighty and powerful on behalf of the masses and downtrodden.

– Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola