A Civil Society of One: Selected Published Articles
Africans in general and Nigerians in particular are surrounded and overwhelmed by a cascade of simultaneous failure of systems – political, economic and religious. Maybe the quality of our lives would have been better if at least one of the systems was functional, but this is not the case.
The three systems within which our Rights and wellbeing lay are dysfunctional and many of us do not even have any recollection of when these systems were minimally normal. It is a vicious cycle of dis-oriented existence and helplessness.
The victims of failed systems are clueless, and their oppressors are ruthless….but we cannot seize to dream A Civil Society of One is a collection of selected published articles which. represent my views on the different dysfunctional systems. These articles were published mostly on online media and can be found on the internet.
Totally!: Abimbola Lagunju’s Selected Poems
Totally! is a collection of my selected thoughts expressed in poetic form over the past seventeen years.
Most of these poems are political, some are philosophical and very few are love ballads.
These poems have been published in different batches in Cyclones of the Human Heart, The Shadow of Rainbow, The Children of Signatures and Verses From Under The Sands.
Gaddafi's Gaffes: A Selection of Quotes from Contradicting Views and Speeches of Col. Muammar Gaddafi
Gaddafi’s Gaffes is a collection of quotes from Gaddafi’s speeches and declarations.
The book highlights the contradictions, inconsistencies, absurdity and the comic nature of some of Muammar Gaddafi’s thoughts and declarations
This Is Not Yet My Story
This Is Not Yet My Story is a fictional account of the life of a senior citizen from the age of five years.
Mr. Ibukun Irewole, the narrator takes us through his travail-free early years in Tilane and the different challenges he had in adult years. He had brushes with the Russian KGB, the German Polizei and on many occasions, with the authorities of his country.
He sees himself as a victim of many injustices...
On the African Bus
On the African Bus is a satirical story of the views of Africans riding On the African Bus. Stuck on this bus apparently without direction, some of the passengers challenge their past and their present condition, their local and foreign rulers, their traditional and imported religions, the savagery of politics in their environment and their different survival strategies…
Jonscariot, their driver, oblivious of the conditions of his bus, drives without care. He is unconcerned with the welfare of his passengers. He only wants to be seen as a good servant of the International Community and he goes to great lengths to satisfy his foreign masters to the detriment of his own people…
The book portrays in a very comical way, how the international community sees and relates with Africans and African leaders.
Gombii and other stories
Gombii and Other Short Stories is a collection of sad and funny stories.
These are stories of lost traditional values and the tragic consequences of misunderstood imported and borrowed systems in rural and urban Africa.
The Pelting March of the Storm: Selected Poems of Our Africa
The Pelting March of the Storm challenges the helplessness of Africans in the face of man-made and natural disasters, and encourages a renaissance of spirit forged on self-pride and self-discovery.
Both authors draw on timeless African memories, and have provided us with images sketched on a tapestry of cultural and contemporary African life. This is a fine collection of poems of life in Africa, and calls on us to follow them on the journey to regain pride and selflessness, in a world dominated by greed and selfishness.
This is a book of treasures to read and cherish.
In The Embrace of Fear: Fear as a determinant factor of Under-development in Sub-Sahara Africa
For centuries, Africa has lived with fear and has, at a great cost adapted itself to its vagaries. The challenges of the modern world have not only made this approach redundant but very dangerous to the continued survival of Black Africa. Survival can no longer be taken as a given. Africa must struggle for it.
This struggle entails concerted efforts to move away from basic existence to sustainable quality of life. Africa must rise up to this challenge. The cost of ineptitude in the face of fear is dispersion and extinction.
In the Embrace of Fear seeks to demystify Black African manacling fear through a frank non-narcissistic self-examination.
Days of Illusions
Hillview, a densely populated and poor working class neighbourhood is the melting pot for all those who dream to make it to the Plateau, the plush city centre, a seemingly unrelated appendage to the squalor in the country. It is also a rallying point for those who had made it to the Plateau and rolled down its very steep sides.
Disillusioned by the persistent failure of politicians to deliver on many pre-election promises and crushed under the weight of economic hardships, Hillview inhabitants conclude that they are on the brink of imminent extinction. Under the guidance of the local barman, the Association for the Prevention of Extinction (APE) intended to secure funds from the IMF and the WWF is conceived. The struggle to occupy important posts in the APE leads to an early break-up of the association into three factions.
Akinola Igwe, an easy going, honest and law-abiding inhabitant of Hillview, and a reluctant leader of one of the factions of APE soon becomes entangled in intrigues, manipulations and threats...
The African in the Mirror: A Critical Appraisal of the Past and Present Role of Africans and African Religiosity in the Development Crisis of Sub-Sahara Africa.
The African in the Mirror takes us through the predicament of Black Africa from slavery times till the present day. It seeks to establish the cause of vulnerability of the African in his relationship with the outside world and his historical predisposition to self-inflicted catastrophes.
The book analyses different diagnoses and solutions that have been proffered to African economic and political problems and proves the futility of these solutions. It propounds the theory of societal relational energy dynamics and seeks to explain the problems that Africa faces through its choice of distribution of this energy.
It challenges black Africa to rise up to its historical responsibility to redeem itself and the black race.
The Shadow of Rainbow
The Shadow of Rainbow is inspired by the author’s view of current day Africa and its place in the world today vis-à-vis the developed world.
The collection covers diverse topics, including African politics, relationships between states, love, friendship, and war.
It is a glimpse of the world seen from the point of view of an African passionate about inspiring the creation by Africans of a more just future for Africa.
The Children of Signatures
The Children of Signatures embodies mixed feelings of love and disappointment.
While it expresses profound love for Africa, it also portrays the problems facing the continent as self-induced. With flashback into history, it draws parallels with the present state of the continent and challenges Africa to view its problems from a moral mirror.
Simple in language, rich in depth and imagery; the collection also touches on other aspects of human life.
Cyclones of the Human Heart
A collection of poems by Abimbola Lagunju, a Nigerian poet, novelist, essayist, and short story writer. The collection, a notebook of observations and a portfolio of perceptive musings, covers the full range of human experience from love and awe to injustice and betrayal.
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