THISDAY Ex-Features Editor, Akinremi Unveils Poetry Collection, ‘Scattered Ground’

Sunday Ehigiator

Former Features Editor of THISDAY, Mr. Adeola Akinremi has announced the publication of his debut poetry collection, ‘Scattered Ground,’ marking his transition into literary expression.

The collection, released in March 2026, reflects Akinremi’s experiences as a journalist, public policy expert and international development consultant, bringing together themes of climate change, displacement, war, governance and personal memory.

Akinremi, who previously served as Features Editor and U.S. Correspondent for THISDAY, is widely recognised for his investigative reporting and commentary on major national and global issues.

He has received several honours, including the Nigeria Media Merit Award for Newspaper Reporter of the Year and Features Writer of the Year, as well as the Diamond Award for Media Excellence.

His journalism has also attracted international attention. In 2016, he exposed a speech plagiarism controversy involving former Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari and former U.S. president Barack Obama, a revelation that sparked global reactions and led to an official apology from Nigeria’s presidency.

According to the author, the poems in ‘Scattered Ground’ emerged from years of reporting on conflict, climate crises and political upheavals across continents.

The collection explores the ‘scattered ground’ of modern life, a metaphor for displacement, fractured identities and the search for belonging in a rapidly changing world.

“Journalism gave me the world as it is. Public policy is the way I intervene with government decisions with consequences on human lives. Poetry gives me the world as it must be felt,” Akinremi was quoted to have said in a sentence, describing the book as an attempt to capture “the grief behind the dateline, the hope beneath the headline.”

The poet credits literary influences, including T. S. Eliot, whose works, such as The Waste Land, shaped modernist poetry, and Nigerian literary icon J. P. Clark-Bekederemo, author of Casualties.

Akinremi said both writers influenced his attempt to blend global concerns with distinctly African experiences.

The publication places Akinremi within a long tradition of editors and journalists who have turned to poetry, including British critic Clive James, American poet Harriet Monroe, and U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove.

Akinremi, who currently consults for the World Bank Group and runs Kubadily Consulting, holds a master’s degree in International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and another from the University of Ibadan. He is presently pursuing doctoral research.

“Review copies of Scattered Ground are available on request, while the author has indicated readiness to grant interviews to media outlets in Nigeria, Britain and the United States,” the statement added.