The Book is out-AWO

[Layi Abegunrin]

 The Political Philosophy of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, is out now and is available at the website  of the publisher at: www.lexingtonbooks.com or at Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more

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Olayiwola Abegunrin

Phone: 301-221-5298

Fax:     301-459-4235

layiab...@yahoo.com

[Cornelius Hamelberg]

The Political Philosophy of Chief Obafemi Awolowo

Kudos to the author Olayiwola Abegunrin !

Indeed, charity begins at home…

[Obadiah Mailafia]

Congratulations egbon Layi Abegunrin for your book on the Political Philosophy of Awolowo. What a timely book, coming out the week the entire nation mourns the passing of his "Jewel of Inestimable Value", Hannah Awolowo. You have filled a big gap in the literature. Beyond the praise singing and adulation, there was need for a scholarly work on his social and political thought. He himself was not just a lawyer, economist and statesman; he was a serious thinker (discounting the fact the late B. J. Dudley once dismissed Awo's Thought on the Nigerian Constitution as "thoughtless thoughts")!  I was astonished to learn that one of Awo's greatest friends was the LSE philosopher and scourge of ideological collectivists, Karl Popper. Awo, I understand, used to spend some of his weekends at the man's country home outside London, with both of them spending long nights discussing the most arcane topics in philosophy. Awo took a particular interest in epistemology and metaphysics because he not only sought knowledge; he wanted to understand the basis of knowledge itself. I also understand he had interest in the higher mathematics. Gowon, who is like a father to me, used to say that he was yet to meet the equal of Awolowo. Awo was his Number 2 as Deputy Chairman of the Federal Government and Minister of Finance. Gowon was better placed than anyone to assess the worth of the man. It is no wonder his Times London obituary described him as a statesman who had the ability and capacity to lead any western nation. That would never have been said of any leader of the developing world, with the possible exception of Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore. Lee was a First Class lawyer from Cambridge, but he probably did not have Awo's depth of knowledge, beyond a certain native Asiatic cunning. Awo, history will prove, was way ahead of his times. We Northern rustic urchins were taught as kids to vilify him as an anti-Arewa person. Gladly for me, until his death last December, my own late father was a sworn Awoist until death! Long live Awo!

OM

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[Segun Ogungbemi]

Layi,

How do we get the book to buy? I need three copies. 

Prof. Segun Ogungbemi

[John Mbaku]

I will like to read this book. I have always been interested in learning more about Nigerian leaders of the pre- and immediate post-independence period. By the way, does anyone have written materials on Sir Louis Nwachukwu Mbanefo? 

JOHN MUKUM MBAKU, ESQ.
J.D. (Law), Ph.D. (Economics)
Graduate Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law
Nonresident Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
Attorney & Counselor at Law (Licensed in Utah)
Brady Presidential Distinguished Professor of Economics & Willard L. Eccles Professor of Economics and John S. Hinckley Fellow
Department of Economics
Weber State University
1337 Edvalson Street, Dept. 3807
Ogden, UT 84408-3807, USA
(801) 626-7442 Phone
(801) 626-7423 Fax

[Moses Ebe Ochonu]

A powerful addition to the growing scholarly corpus on Chief Awolowo. Awolowo was a complex, multifaceted man, and it is only fitting that scholars examine separately the different aspects of his persona. 

This book gives us Awo the political philosopher and thinker. Wale Adebanwi's book, which I had the privilege of reviewing, gives us Awo the masterful political organizer and mobilizer. I think what we need now is a study of Awo as a colorful user of language, Awo the rhetorician, writer, and linguistic experimenter. I hope one of the literary scholars, linguists, or communication scholars will give us a study on that aspect of Awo's public persona.

A mighty congratulations to Professor Abegunrin on this scholarly accomplishment.

[Michael Afolayan]

What a timely book to celebrate the passing of the great matriarch of the Awolowo clan, the late Chief HID Awolowo, who I have always referred to as "the Rose Kennedy of Nigeria!" Quite unlike most Yoruba of my age, I only met Chief Awolowo once - at the funeral and burial of Chief and Mrs. J. F. Odunjo (yes, both died within a few days of each other and were buried the same day - side-by-side). It was there and then that I saw Chief Awolowo and the wife. Chief Awolowo's persona did not match the larger-than-life image I had had of him. He was gentle, a little shy but stately and naturally charismatic. I would be surprised if he was ever a rhetorician that Moses described below; he was a great writer and master organizer, no doubt, but I doubt if he was an orator (of course, his antagonist, Chief Akintola, was). Chief Awolowo and his wife sat among the common people in the church - no specially assigned seat, no front row, no bodyguards!  I was really impressed. I hope this book touches on aspects of this uniqueness in him. I can't wait to get myself a copy of the book. Congratulations, Professor Abegunrin.

Michael O. Afolayan

From the Land of Lincoln