Ilaje-Etikan-born poet-star, Ola Ajimisan releases first drama book – VERDICTS OF MONEY-MUFFLED GODS on Easter Monday, April 10
OLA AJIMISAN ADDS YET ANOTHER FEATHER TO THE WINGS OF WORLD LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH
Mr. S. Ola Ajimisan
The Ilaje-Etikan-born poet, folklorist and Cultural Heritage Ambassador, S. Ola Ajimisan releases his first drama book, VERDICTS OF MONEY-MUFFLED GODS on Easter Monday, April 10, 2023. The drama book is his sixth book of Literature-in-English. After the publication of his first poetry book, Forty Testaments for Our Dearest Drifting Dome in 2021, Ajimisan went further to consolidate his status as a global literary figure, writing for a global audience across all ethno-racial and cultural borderlines, by adding Castle Built with Spittle, Sweltering Labyrinth, Dead End of Crossroads and Where Else Do We Go From Here?; all in 2022 for the reading pleasure of his global audience. Besides his feat as one of the younger generation of Ondo State’s ambassadors in the field of Literature, Ola Ajimisan has further distinguished himself as multi-talented personality through his vigorous promotion of the Ilaje trado-cultural heritage through numerous researches, his writings and conference papers. In 2022, his zeal and cultural nationalism spurred him to travel to the University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou Republic of Benin in June and to the University of Cape Coast, Ghana in September, same year, to present papers on aspects of Ilaje folklore. His first collection of poems, Forty Testaments for Our Dearest Drifting Dome (2021) explored myriad of national issues addressed to a dearest drifting home, Nigeria and the global space. His second book of poetry, Castle Built with Spittle explored several national and global issues like xenophobia, racism, war, banditry, bad governance, global insecurity among other topical issues. In his three subsequent books, Sweltering Labyrinth, Dead End of Crossroads and Where Else Do We Go From Here?; Ajimisan did poetic exemplifications of the situation of the world through what he called rebellion against order, conventions and stylistic norms. This glorification of transgressions in form of the evolution of innovative poetic forms and styles made some critics classify his works as transgressive writings and he has continued to see and addressed himself as a rebel; arguing that most of what is hitherto celebrated as either styles or conventions are nothing but consistently re-inforced and re-invented errors that have been accepted because the world had got nothing to do about them, other than to live with them. This style of writing and amplification of creative thoughts have therefore, become his creative signature as a rebel against traditions and euro-morphic conventions or writing canon. As a part of his rebellion against religion, he has continued to grow increasingly nihilistic by challenging and constantly calling to question the exploitative nature of world’s religions and their exploitative officiants. As a demonstration of his rebellion against religion, he had refused to be known and addressed by his “baptismal name” Stephen; but by his indigenous name, Ola which connotes wealth. Ideologically, he downplays Stephen, his baptismal name by writing it as just an initial S. His reason for this is that, bearing a foreign name is still part of colonial mentality and stereotypes which must be radically dismantled and discarded. His cardinal and redemptive ideology is decolonisation of African ways, writings or thoughts from the strangulation of alien identities and cultures, without which Africans and their cultures will continue to be relegated to the backstage. His writings are known for their foregrounding of the African identity and Yoruba-morphic cultural heritage through the creative employment of African folklore or folkism in writing. Ola Ajimisan was born to the family of Late Patriot Numeri Olorunsola Ajimisan and Princess Esteri Semilola Ajimisan (nee Poroye Olowofeyeku) at Ode-Etikan, Ilaje Local Government Area, Ondo State, Southwestern Nigeria. He had his spasmodic elementary education under the tutelage of his maternal grandfather, Late Pa Johnson Arowosola Poroye, a retired school principal, under whose tutelage he learnt the art of writing and story-telling. His primary education took him to about three primary schools due to financial constraints occasioned by the death of his father at a very early age. He had his secondary education at Community Grammar School, Zion-Pepe and Cherubim and Seraphim Academy, Ugbonla all in Ilaje Local Government Area, Ondo State, Nigeria. After fishing and teaching for many years, after his secondary education, he returned to the university and garnered a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Studies from Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State and University of Ibadan; where he garnered a Master of Arts degree in Literature-in-English, all in Southwestern Nigeria. He currently teaches at his alma mater, Akungba-Akoko with pedagogical and research interests in Performance Studies, Creative Writing, Folklore Studies, Cultural Studies, Aesthetics Studies and African Literature. Verdicts of Money-muffled Gods is his first drama book and it explores the politicisation of the traditional institution, power play, desperation and the catastrophic repercussions of the circumvention of the tradition for selfish or political reasons. The play is a creative exploration of the nihilistic and postmodernist subversion of the tradition as done by politicians during selection processes of traditional rulers or elections of leaders on the African continent or anywhere in the world and its grave implications not only to Africans but also to humanity at large since, according to him, desperation and obstinate ambition are “elementargedanken” across different cultures of the world. The beauty of the work lies in the playwright’s creative re-invention of the Ilaje-morphic epistemology and folklore in fine Apollonian diction.
