THE PAIN AND THE PROMISE: THREE MAGICAL HOURS
PAUL C NWABUIKWU, a public intellectual, presents his gripping collection, The Pain and the Promise
Last Wednesday, for three glorious hours, the 100-capacity hall of a major Abuja hospitality complex, was filled with magic. Within the space, joy jostled with laughter, clapping competed with cheering and the atmosphere was suffused with that sense of collective delight that comes from having a good time in great company.
No, the event wasn’t a lusty show by one of the big three musical giants of the moment – Davido, Wizkid or Burna Boy – or any of their other famous satellites in Nigeria’s star-rich entertainment firmament. These musical notables would have needed a bit more space than the comparatively modest one in which the event under discussion took place. And, of course, the decibel level would have been much louder if they were in the vicinity. This was a quieter, more thoughtful occasion.
Also, the event wasn’t one of the many political meetings and bazaars that are gradually taking over Abuja, six months to the next national presidential, governorship and legislative polls. This was clear from the absence of babanrigas, agbadas, Isi-agus and other popular cultural attires in the corridors and halls. That aura of frenetic corruption and furtive desperation that generally accompanies political gatherings in Nigeria was absent. The air was suffused with pleasantness and a certain joy with an underlying intellectual thoughtfulness.
In place of thumping music and the orchestrated cheers of political deception, the soothing sounds of a saxophone wafted through the corridors and staircases, and meandered into the hall as guests arrived and took their seats and the compere, Ohi Alegbe, the journalism, broadcasting and public relations icon called the proceedings to order. The guest of honour, DG, World Trade Organisation, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, christened Iya Oloja Gburugburu by Alegbe was in the house. Also present was Osita Chidoka, former Aviation Minister and Chairman of the Athena Centre who chaired the occasion. Chidoka’s interventions in the public sphere are always rigorous and productive. Also in the front row was Professor Abiodun Adeniyi, Vice Chancellor of Baze University, Abuja, a brilliant academic and great human.
As you may have read in the media, the event was the public presentation of my new book, The Pain and the Promise (Insights and Fragments on Nigeria and People, Public and Personal 1990-2025), a multi-year project that involved selecting, editing and publishing a collection of my writings from different stages of my personal, professional and creative journey over the past three decades plus. The book, like the writer, is eclectic and diverse in its focus and interests. Its thematic scope also reflects this diversity. It includes pieces written on various issues of public interest while serving as a contributing editor of Newswatch in the early 1990s; pioneer editorial board member of THISDAY from 1996 to 1999; editorial board member of The Guardian for the next four years; and more recently, as an external member of THISDAY Editorial Board.
It also includes many pieces that were not written in response to deadlines: musing and observations on Nigeria’s popular culture, Nollywood, the emerging comedy sector, the rising profile of herbal medicine and retrospectives on many Nigerians who have played prominent roles in our history over the past several decades.
Perhaps the best expression of the range and diversity of The Pain and the Promise is the list of the Nigerians, living and dead, who are embedded in the analyses, observations in the walk and run through its pages: Isaac Adaka Boro moments before he died in a hail of bullets during the civil war; Fela begging security men to grant him access into an international record company before his big break and subsequent global stardom; 2nd Republic Senate President, Joseph Wayas telling Dele Giwa why he enjoyed the social circuit more than the legislative chambers; Jimoh Ibrahim tearfully recalling his modest origins as the son of a fisherman during a trying moment; Late Sultan Ibrahim Dasuki dominating Babangida’s Constitutional Conference a few years before Abacha rejected his horse gift and sent him into exile; Okonjo-Iweala hunting down the Italian finance minister for a critical meeting in the heat of the negotiations with the Paris Club before the historic debt deal; A policemen publicly ordering Chris Ngige to shut up after his abduction.
There’s a lot more. Michael Jackson, Ojo Maduekwe, Oladipo Diya, Chinua Achebe, Burna Boy, my first child and many others also made cameo appearances. It’s quite a concoction -perspectives on policy, analytical features and socio-political commentary marinating in a stew of prose, poetry and even a short story about the immediate tragic circumstances that led to the murder of a rich young man by a policeman at a checkpoint in the pouring rain at Okokomaiko on the outskirts of Lagos. Eketi Edima Ette’s riveting performance of “Checkpoint’ was a major highlight of the event.
Happily, based on the feedback from the book presentation, many found the concoction not only nutritious but enjoyable in many respects.
My big sister and forever boss, Okonjo-Iweala was especially kind. Her words: “In stylish prose, leavened with a mischievous sense of humor, you bring to life events, big and small, and people, famous or otherwise, that encapsulate Nigeria’s trajectory over the past 35 years. The transition from military rule to democracy. The legacy of our civil war. Technological changes – from the home video revolution that made Nollywood possible, to the advent of mobile phones. (I laughed out loud when reading the piece on SMS messaging.)”
Chidoka said he has been a long-time fan of my perspectives on public issues and style. Adeniyi, a professor of media epistemology, weighed in with a magisterial review of the book, describing it as “a chronicle of Nigeria’s contemporary experience, assembled by one of the country’s most thoughtful journalists. It is… a documentary record of a nation in perpetual conversation with itself, written by a man who has spent more than three decades observing, interrogating and interpreting the Nigerian state.”
Many more kind words were said by others in the audience including Dr David Ige of Gasinvest; retired federal permanent secretary Dr Timiebi Koripamo-Agarry; my brothers Engineer Chris Nwabuikwu and Reverend Emma Nwabuikwu; THISDAY Ombudsman, Mr Kayode Komolafe; Dr Monday Ekpe of the University of Abuja; and my secondary school classmates Ozavize Winful, mni and Boma Kurubo. Notable THISDAY editorial board members Waziri Adio and Peter Ishaka were also present to contribute gravitas to the proceedings.
All in all, it was quite a show which delivered on its auspicious beginning. Hopefully, Nigeria will learn a few things about keeping promises.
Nwabuikwu is a member of THISDAY Editorial Board
