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Tolu Ogunlesi
Tolu Ogunlesi

6.2K Followers

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Aug 14

What Do Women Want (2)

By Tolu Ogunlesi (Originally published on July 23, 2009, in NEXT) When we reconvened for the second meeting of our (still-unnamed) union, I felt compelled to open the floor, immediately after the opening prayer had been said by representatives of at least seven different religions. “Gentlemen and Gentlemen,” I began…

Gender

5 min read

Gender

5 min read


Aug 14

Poundland and the African Imagination

By Tolu Ogunlesi (Originally published on May 22, 2009, in NEXT) For the next few weeks I think I would like to take my attention off Nigeria, and showcase my ‘expertise’ on other matters. …

Britain

4 min read

Britain

4 min read


Aug 14

What Do Women Want (1)

By Tolu Ogunlesi (Originally published, July 11, 2009 in NEXT) I have just returned from a meeting. A gathering of male Homo Sapiens — of Nigerian origin. It kicked off on a contentious note; failed attempts to name the ‘organisation’. Not for lack of suggestions, though, the creative juices flowed…

Nigeria

4 min read

Nigeria

4 min read


Jul 14

[2014] Brazil in 10 points

By Tolu Ogunlesi I’m in Brazil for two weeks, on a reporting fellowship sponsored by the International Reporting Project of the School of Advanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University. …

Brazil

4 min read

Brazil

4 min read


Jun 30

The Political Wilderness

I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of the political wilderness. That place of lessened (or even absent) influence and clout that people go into, after having held significant political or administrative power. Take the example of Nuhu Ribadu, who ran the EFCC as pioneer Chairman between 2003 and…

3 min read

3 min read


Jun 26

Ariadne, Slipping: An Ode

To princesses whose crowns constellate. To Iustitia, sans scale or blindfold. To all the women who make others famous. To nymphs who stay awake to blur lines To witches who give porridge to peasant girls. To mothers who forget the magic words. To family trees full of marbled matriarchs. To choose between food and freedom. To be painted — instead of sculpted. To pose is to live forever. To lose balance is to learn how not to find it.

Poetry On Medium

1 min read

Ariadne, Slipping: An Ode
Ariadne, Slipping: An Ode
Poetry On Medium

1 min read


Jun 9

Rebuilding and Repositioning Nigeria’s Armed Forces: The 2015–2023 Journey

In his final weeks in office, former President Muhammadu Buhari played his Commander-in-Chief role to the hilt, attending the Trooping and Presentation of Colours Parade of the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Navy’s Presidential Fleet Review, and a Regimental Dinner hosted in his honour by the Defence Headquarters. At each event…

Nigeria

8 min read

Rebuilding and Repositioning Nigeria’s Armed Forces: The 2015–2023 Journey
Rebuilding and Repositioning Nigeria’s Armed Forces: The 2015–2023 Journey
Nigeria

8 min read


Apr 22

Midnight’s Children

By Tolu Ogunlesi “We are refugees fleeing from the excesses of our parents.” — Dambudzo Marechera I Shall we envy them who set forth at dawn? Dawn, when cohabitation was the biggest crime good and evil could jointly muster. They went to bed with yesterday’s sun that they might rise, well…

Poetry

1 min read

Poetry

1 min read


Apr 17

The Last King of Africa

By Tolu Ogunlesi There’s no escaping Africa, no matter how far from it you are. From England’s supermarket shelves bottled water leaps at you, chanting “Buy me and save a continent!” You blink, once, twice, to be sure you’re not hallucinating. You’re not. The voices are as real as they…

Africa

4 min read

Africa

4 min read


Feb 24

‘Nigeria Decides 2023’: A Brief Guide for Non-Nigerians

By Tolu Ogunlesi Okay, so it’s that time when Nigerians gather to vote for a new President, Governors in 28 of 36 States (8 States are ‘off-cycle’, meaning their elections happen at periods other than the General Elections), 109 Senators, 360 Members of the House of Representatives (the Senate and…

Elections

6 min read

‘Nigeria Decides 2023’: A Brief Guide for Non-Nigerians
‘Nigeria Decides 2023’: A Brief Guide for Non-Nigerians
Elections

6 min read

Tolu Ogunlesi

Tolu Ogunlesi

6.2K Followers

Digital Communications for Nigerian Government, Journalist on Sabbatical

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