The cemetery, by Tolu Ogunlesi

Note: Extract from an untitled novel This city where death stalked the streets without bothering to disguise itself; where not even dying cured the dead of desperation. Graveyards full of the vengeful dead. In that instant he was alone in the world, moving this way and that, an actor on a fully lit stage, foliage... Read More

novel excerpt, the cemetery, tolu ogunlesi

June 4, 2012

Tolu Ogunlesi: We’ve been here before #pain #anger #tears (YNaija FrontPage)

Today, the dead and the living have chosen to mourn each other. ]This poem was written in 2005, for the victims of the Bellview Airlines flight which crashed Oct. 22, 2005 in Lisa village, Ogun State, Nigeria, killing all 117 people on board. THE MESSENGER (For Bellview, October 2005) by Tolu Ogunlesi Pick your way bravely through a cross... Read More

#DanaCrash, accident, Airline, bellview, Crash, dana irways, june 3, nigeria, tolu ogunlesi

May 28, 2012

Tolu Ogunlesi: The honeymoon is over – An anniversary letter to President Jonathan (YNaija FrontPage)

As the weeks have rolled into months, it has become clear that one needs a lot more than an inspiring personal story to make a presidential difference. Questions are mounting by the day – where are you taking Nigeria to? Do you have an idea? Do you have a personal vision of the kind of... Read More

first term, frontpage, Goodluck Jonathan, nigeria, tolu ogunlesi, ynaija

May 14, 2012

“Go drink battery water!”- When Arsenal fans got mad at Tolu Ogunlesi…

Never p**s off a football fan, especially one of a team who’s been deprived of any silverware for several years now. Such was the lesson our very own FrontPager, the writer Tolu Ogunlesi had to learn firsthand when a series of tweets he sent out about Arsenal FC and it’s fans were quickly jumped upon by the trolls several... Read More

arsenal, tolu ogunlesi, twitter.

April 9, 2012

Tolu Ogunlesi: Kabiyesi and other African stories (YNaija Frontpage)

Lords and Emperors all, forgetting that power never lasts forever, and that the evil that men do lives after them, and the weevils they breed are fated to feed on their ‘legacies’. Dear Kwesi, Where does one start? Why do so many of the leaders around here act as though there’s no life (or death,... Read More

African leaders, corruption, Mutharika, tolu ogunlesi

April 2, 2012

Tolu Ogunlesi: “Angels need not apply” – Lessons I have learnt (YNaija Frontpage)

Government matters: Much of Nigeria’s private sector success has taken place in spite of the government. Her success stories, e.g. Nollywood and our music industry, have written themselves without government support. This has created a “Yes We Can!” mentality that believes that, with or without government support, we (young Nigerians) can achieve anything we want.... Read More

‘Heroes’, gbenga daniel, government, NEXT, tolu ogunlesi

March 30, 2012

Have government critics outlived their usefulness?

by Gabriel Ola For there to be change in Nigeria, there must be a revolution. If we won’t have a bloody revolution, then we must have the revolution of the mind This week has seen debate by several writers over the subject of young people joining political parties, especially the People’s Democratic Party. Far from... Read More

Dele Momodu, el rufai, omojuwa, tolu ogunlesi, toyosi akerele

March 26, 2012

Tolu Ogunlesi: “Okonjo-Iweala for President” (YNaija Frontpage)

What are you up to this time? I’ve seen you making frantic phone calls and generally appearing busy Oh boy, tings are happening. Campaign don start o Campaign? Isn’t 2015 a bit too far away at this point? Who’s talking 2015? We’re talking 2012 Sah! Iweala for President Huh? As usual you’re to be found... Read More

tolu ogunlesi, YNaija Frontpage

March 24, 2012

Get Ready! Youth Marketing Conference to hold in Lagos on 27 & 28 March with Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales, Governor Babatunde Fashola, Tolu Ogunlesi and other speakers

by Chi Ibe Now in its second edition, the Youth Marketer Converge Conference (YMC 2.0) is scheduled to take place in Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos between 27 and 28 March, 2012. This year’s team is: ‘What are Young People really searching for?’ and will be the largest gathering of marketing professionals focused on... Read More

Babatunde Raji Fashola, Funke Babatola, tolu ogunlesi, YMC 2.0, Youth Marketer Converge Conference

March 19, 2012

Tolu Ogunlesi: Government – to go in or to stay out? II [YNaija Frontpage]

Last week I wrote about the “Stay-outers” versus “Engagers” conundrum: the questions that many well-meaning (emphasis on that) young Nigerians will increasingly have to face and deal with in the near future. I observed that “all too often we have seen ‘good’ men and women go into government and come out unrecognisable. Intelligent persons climb... Read More

government, tolu ogunlesi, YNaija Frontpage

March 12, 2012

Tolu Ogunlesi: Government – to go in or to stay out? (YNaija Frontpage)

All too often we have seen ‘good’ men and women go into government and come out unrecognisable. It’s becoming a regular debate these days: should Nigerians who are keen on being agents of (positive) transformation have anything to do with / in government? There are generally two considered sides to that debate. First is the... Read More

corruption, government, Leadership, tolu ogunlesi

March 5, 2012

Tolu Ogunlesi: “This ‘Youth’ of a thing!” (YNaija Frontpage)

I suspect it’s high time we cured ourselves of a certain blind optimism in the power of the ‘youth’. Julius Malema, the man who until recently was the controversial President of the Youth League of the African National Congress (ANC), was born in 1981. That makes him almost two decades younger than the PDP’s immediate... Read More

tolu ogunlesi, YNaija Frontpage, youths

February 28, 2012

#ThePowerList: Tolu Ogunlesi, Japheth Omojuwa, Linda Ikeji… who else? Check out our list of the Top 10 powerful young people in Nigeria’s new media space!

Introducing The Annual YNaija Power List! We present the most influential young Nigerians under 35 in Business, Fashion, Media, Entertainment, Technology and Politics! We’re not talking influence or popularity; we’re talking to power to make things happen beyond their immediate spaces. by ‘Ifreke Inyang Let’s not even argue this – New Media is where the... Read More

#ThePowerList, Linda Ikeji, noble igwe, omotola jalade ekeinde, tolu ogunlesi, Uche Eze

February 20, 2012

Who is an Afropolitan? With the help of Tolu Ogunlesi and others, CNN tackles the question

By Chi Ibe The word Afropolitan first appeared in a 2005 magazine article by Nigerian/Ghanaian writer Taiye Selasi. Selasi wrote about multilingual Africans with different ethnic mixes living around the globe — as she put it “not citizens but Africans of the world.” Brendah Nyakudya, editor of Afropolitan magazine, produced in South Africa is... Read More

Afropolitan, Hannah Pool; Afri-Love Blogger, Lulu Kitololo; writer, Minna Salami, tolu ogunlesi

January 18, 2012

Tolu Ogunlesi: Why Nigerians are no longer content with ‘suffering and smiling’

By Tolu Ogunlesi, Special to CNN If North Korea is the crying capital of the world, Nigeria holds the aces when it comes to smiling and laughing. It’s not simply anecdotal evidence. Nigeria has been adjudged a happiness-ridden country at least twice in recent years. In 2003, the UK’s New Scientist... Read More

FuelSubsidyRemoval, tolu ogunlesi

November 21, 2011

You Tweet! "An angry girlfriend will make me close down my Twitter account," says @eaboyeji

by ‘Ifreke Inyang Iyinoluwa Aboyeji is the Director of Research and Development, Empowerment Squared and the co-founder of Bookneto (www.bookneto.com). What makes all these titles more interesting is that he is just 20! He recently spoke to YNaija about Twitter. “It can be a time waster. You have to know the limits.” What were you doing... Read More

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November 16, 2011

And the Winner of the September/October You Tweet! Series is…

by ‘Ifreke Inyang The You Tweet! series has produced yet another winner. In the months of September and October, we profiled four tweeters who let us into their individual experiences on the social networking site. That list included @vivsleek, @RIPFaceboook, @MrFixNigeria and @ToluOgunlesi. They then took their turns in campaigning for our votes and for... Read More

mrfixnigeria, ohimai amaize, RIPFaceboook, tolu ogunlesi, twitter roundup, twitter roundup extra, twitter., vivisleek

September 9, 2011

You Tweet! “Now, Facebook is like the village mansion that remains locked most of the time,” saysTolu Ogunlesi

by Ifreke Inyang [@Ifreke] There’s hardly any Nigerian tweeter that doesn’t know Tolu Ogunlesi. Full of amazing wit and down to earth, he is one person everyone loves to have on their timeline. He is a well respected writer and journalist. His fiction and poetry have been published in The London Magazine, Wasafiri,... Read More

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