The Media Blog: No, but maybe we should all be learning from Toke

Toke Makinwa is pulling off a coup, guys. It’s not today celebrities started writing books, but we’re hard pressed to recall a Nigerian celebrity memoir (discounting Obasanjo, El-Rufai, and other politicians) that’s captured pop culture consciousness quite like this. They typically land with very little noise and fizzle out much the same way.

We can’t say how “On Becoming” will do in the long run, but it’s landed with a notable splash. Of course, this has been aided in part by the strategic release of excerpts from the book, capitalizing on the very public relationship (and its subsequent demise) that is likely what most people will be reading for.

But where this could have been, like celebrity memoirs around the world, become noteworthy for whatever surrounding scandals exist therein, Toke’s smoothly, deftly, managed to present this as something entirely different; less a take down of her ex and more a celebration of her strength.

And then of course, the launch event.

Mo Abudu.

Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa.

Which is to say, this book is serious business. A legitimately noteworthy move in the media space, and not just a juicy, gossip-filled tell-all (even though it doesn’t fail on that front either.)

Toke, we are taking notes.

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