Death Of A Writer   

Renowned satirist, T.M. Aluko, passes on at 91

When renowned writer, Timothy Mofolorunso Aluko, popularly known as T.M. Aluko, died in the early hours of 1 May in a Lagos hospital, it was glaring that the nation has lost one of its finest literary minds. While critics never put him on the same pedestal with Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe, Aluko’s star, through a string of successful satirical novels, burned brightly. These include One Man, One Wife, One Man, One Machet, Chief the Honourable Minister and His Worshipful Majesty.

Only last November, Aluko took the literary world by surprise when he presented his novel, Our Born-Again President, widely acclaimed as his swan song, to the public. Written in the mould of his earlier novels, Our Born-Again President is a satire on leadership in a troubled country.

Aluko was a remarkable man. When he suffered a stroke, which affected the right side of his body, the author taught himself to write with his left hand.

Although the Ilesa, Osun State-born writer studied Civil Engineering and Town Planning at the University of London, his books are widely acclaimed and among the most studied in Nigerian schools.

He had a distingusihed public service career, rising to the post of Director of Public Works in the defunct Western Region and was also a lecturer at the University of Lagos.

The death of this great man of letters has left a gaping hole in the Nigerian literary world and he will be sorely missed.

NEHRU ODEH

Tags:  Timothy Mofolorunso Aluko, Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe