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ANOTHER GONG FOR OMOSEYE BOLAJI

  ... honoured with 'Exquisite Calabash'


The Gbobaniyi Club of Ikire (Nigeria) has conferred its ‘Exquisite Calabash’ award on Writer, Omoseye Bolaji for his ‘Contributions to the Genre of Mystery/Detective Writing in Africa'.

 ‘It is quite apposite and seemly that the recipient Mr Omoseye Bolaji would be receiving this award exactly 20 years after he published the very first adventure of the Tebogo Mystery series, titled Tebogo Investigates. That was in 2000. The series has grown in leaps and bounds since then and is now known worldwide.



 ‘We refer to Omoseye Bolaji as ‘Mr' here, not because we are unaware that he is an eminent Chief (of Ibadan)himself, or out of disrespect; but Mr. Bolaji has always stressed in his simple way that he prefers to be addressed simply as ‘Mr’. We are also very happy that despite reported poor health over the recent years Mr Bolaji is here in person to receive the award. We also appreciate the presence of literary men, reviewers, critics here like Mr Henry Ozogula, Ms Lupna Avery, and Mr O. Bakare. You have all published a lot on Mr Bolaji’s Writings, including the Tebogo Mystery series which he is being honoured for today.

‘Indeed the Tebogo Mystery series is famous not only in Africa, but in the literary world generally. Scores of essays have been published on the copious books that constitute the series. Many scholars, black and white, have written full-length books on the works including the likes of Charmaine Kolwane, Petro Schonfeld, and Julia Mooi. Mr. Bolaji has done not only Yorubaland, but also Nigeria and Africa very proud with his intriguing books.



‘The experts will continue to point out the ingenuity of the plotting, characterization, dialogue etc of the books in the series. There is always a consensus about the twists and turns, the unexpected endings of virtually all the books. That Mr. Bolaji has sustained it for at least 20 years is an outstanding achievement and a thing of joy. Countless copies of books in the Tebogo Mystery series are stocked in dozens of illustrious and world class Libraries all over the world. ‘We are very happy to present Mr. Bolaji with the Exquisite Calabash Award… '

-         CITATION


Comments

  1. C. MADOLYN29 December 2020 at 00:17

    Well done Chief Bolaji. It's great to see our African writers delighting in various genre

    ReplyDelete
  2. A. OSONDU29 December 2020 at 00:36

    When I was a kid I liked Eurocentric works of mystery written by The 3 Investigators, The Hardy Boys, and some Enid Blyton books. Later on I would enjoy James Hadley Chase a lot, Nick Carter and the like. Bolaji has done well to create an African sleuth with his own idiosyncracies and credo.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Eric29 December 2020 at 22:24

    Gong, eh....

    ReplyDelete
  4. A. OSONDU30 December 2020 at 00:17

    (addition)
    Tebogo Mokoena. I fell in love with the character right from the beginning. One always had the impression that though a detective, Tebogo is a good person, sly occasionally, but very much humane (though there was an attempt to present a tougher Tebogo in the book, Tebogo and the bacchae.) Right from the start Tebogo hates violence and is rarely confronted with the same during his many investigations. But it is the author that actually comes across as a person always on the side of peace, as he glosses over descriptions that should involve violence and instead concentrates on interesting ladies, and often witty conversations. Chief Bolaji has done well over the decades and deserves the encomiums

    ReplyDelete
  5. Leke Giwa30 December 2020 at 00:29

    Warm Congratulations

    ReplyDelete
  6. RAPHAEL4 January 2021 at 06:38

    My mind goes to Tebogo's spot of bother (the second Tebogo book) where our hero really finds himself in 'a spot of bother' at the end when he is attacked by a strong young woman! It is no ordinary attack - she wanted Tebogo to die, and he could easily have done so. Perhaps this is the most exciting finale in a Tebogo book, though the almost pedestrian Tebogo adventure Tebogo and the pantophagist, also ends rather strongly. All in all, kudos to the author for his literary feats over the years.

    ReplyDelete
  7. MAJA4 January 2021 at 07:00

    Congratulations, Mr Bolaji !

    ReplyDelete
  8. Eric5 January 2021 at 00:26

    MANY THANKS

    ReplyDelete

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