The Letterman: The Art of Letter Writing and the Heart of Gratitude, by 'Toyin Falola
I won't exaggerate in stating that The Letterman is more about understanding the psychology of the subject. Much like the glass prism experiment in physics, I will trace the path of rays of light visualizing different colors and how they move differently, and therefore visualize these letters revolving around different topics and covered in 25 chapters. The 130 unpublished letters of the 500-page book will be seen through a prism to understand the man in the coat of many colors.
The process, methodology, and documentation of life writing will forever thrive through all ages and eras. These days, content creation, documentation through social media platforms, and recording of our daily lives through reality TV shows have increased rapidly. The thirst and desire to know more about people's lives and how we keep tabs on their daily situation through blogs, photographs, tweets, and posts on Instagram and Facebook remains fascinating. In the past, posting letters and sending postcards were more popular to keep track of one's life. However, this is not to dismiss or elevate one above the other, but to demonstrate that traditional and digital modes are valid forms of autoethnography, biographies, memoirs and autobiographies having produced very fascinating writings in different languages.
The Letterman, written by Musikilu Mojeed, brings back the pleasure of reading letters through the character of a complex man, Aremu Okikiola Matthew Olusegun Obasanjo, a general retired military, former president and leader. Collating Obasanjo's letters exchanged with prominent figures over the years has enabled Mojeed to contribute significantly to the field of life writing in our national archives and helps reveal the tensions and intentions of key political actors. in Nigeria, Africa and the world. .
Reading the last two sentences of the preface to The Letterman—"It's up to you, readers, to say whether my efforts make sense or not. Whatever your verdict, I'm grateful - forms the foundation of my thoughts and allows me to debunk the widespread belief that epistolary artwork is outdated, particularly in the way the book pushed back the limits of service, national unity, nationality, personality, citizenship and patriotism. By seeking objective reviews from the start of the book, Mojeed has managed to inspire the reader to delve into the journey of a complex figure in Nigerian history by reading different letters to different people in different capacities.
After reading the range of letters in the book, I thought about whether to embrace letter writing as a form of communication in the fast digital age. I also thought maybe there should be an annual or lifetime award for the best writer in the country. At that point, I moved from flattering the content and style of President Obasanjo's letters, to acknowledging the contributions of journalist, lawyer and former Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Tony Momoh. His cohesive letters to the country's stakeholders on the economic and political spheres were later compiled into a book titled Letters to my Countrymen. Since Momoh's letters were more of a work of service, the Obasanjo's letters, in approach, message, diction, audience, tone, and mood, differ significantly from the earlier ones. Furthermore, Mojeed notes the ease and natural indulgence of Obasanjo's love for writing letters, which he catalogs in the Presidential Library in Abeokuta. Through the letters, readers can journey into Obasanjo's life and delve into his psychology and phenomenology.
Surprisingly, there have only been a few attempts to write Obasanjo's biography and navigate the complex mind of this enigma. Therefore, The Letterman is unique. Mojeed consciously and unconsciously crafted a compelling window for audiences to view the famed former military head of state and later democratically elected president of Nigeria, and in doing so, he allows readers and, by extension, audiences to funnel through the character and traits of...
I won't exaggerate in stating that The Letterman is more about understanding the psychology of the subject. Much like the glass prism experiment in physics, I will trace the path of rays of light visualizing different colors and how they move differently, and therefore visualize these letters revolving around different topics and covered in 25 chapters. The 130 unpublished letters of the 500-page book will be seen through a prism to understand the man in the coat of many colors.
The process, methodology, and documentation of life writing will forever thrive through all ages and eras. These days, content creation, documentation through social media platforms, and recording of our daily lives through reality TV shows have increased rapidly. The thirst and desire to know more about people's lives and how we keep tabs on their daily situation through blogs, photographs, tweets, and posts on Instagram and Facebook remains fascinating. In the past, posting letters and sending postcards were more popular to keep track of one's life. However, this is not to dismiss or elevate one above the other, but to demonstrate that traditional and digital modes are valid forms of autoethnography, biographies, memoirs and autobiographies having produced very fascinating writings in different languages.
The Letterman, written by Musikilu Mojeed, brings back the pleasure of reading letters through the character of a complex man, Aremu Okikiola Matthew Olusegun Obasanjo, a general retired military, former president and leader. Collating Obasanjo's letters exchanged with prominent figures over the years has enabled Mojeed to contribute significantly to the field of life writing in our national archives and helps reveal the tensions and intentions of key political actors. in Nigeria, Africa and the world. .
Reading the last two sentences of the preface to The Letterman—"It's up to you, readers, to say whether my efforts make sense or not. Whatever your verdict, I'm grateful - forms the foundation of my thoughts and allows me to debunk the widespread belief that epistolary artwork is outdated, particularly in the way the book pushed back the limits of service, national unity, nationality, personality, citizenship and patriotism. By seeking objective reviews from the start of the book, Mojeed has managed to inspire the reader to delve into the journey of a complex figure in Nigerian history by reading different letters to different people in different capacities.
After reading the range of letters in the book, I thought about whether to embrace letter writing as a form of communication in the fast digital age. I also thought maybe there should be an annual or lifetime award for the best writer in the country. At that point, I moved from flattering the content and style of President Obasanjo's letters, to acknowledging the contributions of journalist, lawyer and former Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Tony Momoh. His cohesive letters to the country's stakeholders on the economic and political spheres were later compiled into a book titled Letters to my Countrymen. Since Momoh's letters were more of a work of service, the Obasanjo's letters, in approach, message, diction, audience, tone, and mood, differ significantly from the earlier ones. Furthermore, Mojeed notes the ease and natural indulgence of Obasanjo's love for writing letters, which he catalogs in the Presidential Library in Abeokuta. Through the letters, readers can journey into Obasanjo's life and delve into his psychology and phenomenology.
Surprisingly, there have only been a few attempts to write Obasanjo's biography and navigate the complex mind of this enigma. Therefore, The Letterman is unique. Mojeed consciously and unconsciously crafted a compelling window for audiences to view the famed former military head of state and later democratically elected president of Nigeria, and in doing so, he allows readers and, by extension, audiences to funnel through the character and traits of...
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