Osinbajo to headline launch of Arukaino Umukoro’s book in Abuja

• Event to feature panel discussion on national unity

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, will on Friday headline the public presentation of a book, The Memory of Seasons, a collection of poems on nationhood, life and humanity, written by award-winning journalist, Arukaino Umukoro.

According to the organisers, Eternalfilez Media, in collaboration with Anisza Foundation, the chairman of the occasion will be a former Group Executive Director & Technical Adviser to the Honourable Minister of State Petroleum Resources (HMSPR), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC, now NNPC Limited), Engr Rabiu Suleiman.

The event, scheduled to take place at the Shehu Musa Yar ‘Adua Centre, Abuja, will also feature special guests panel discussion on the theme of the event: “Conversations on Nigeria’s Unity in Diversity: Challenges, Opportunities”, aimed towards driving meaningful discourse that will promote national unity.

The Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Digital and New Media and a 2022-2023 Fellow at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Tolu Ogunlesi; Founder, Anisza Foundation (Nigeria’s 1st ever UNITY Photo Gallery), Novo Isioro; Lawyer and Development Economist, Myani Bukar, are among the panelists.

The event will also feature spoken word performances focused on citizens and nation-building.

Renowned Poet, and Director, Lagos International Poetry Festival, Efe Paul-Azino, commended the author for his debut collection of poems.

He said, “To read Arukaino Umukoro is to see the world both as it is and as it could be. This duality—this gift of seeing—a mark of journalistic range and poetic temperament, shines through this stellar collection of poems, infusing his work with a unique clarity and depth that deftly navigates the nuances of love, nationhood, and humanity.

He added that, “Umukoro has crafted a collection that is both a celebration of life and a call to action, done with such subtlety as to transform the mundane into the extraordinary, epitomizing the profound ability of the poet to serve as both a mirror and a beacon, reflecting our reality, while guiding us towards new horizons.”

Umukoro was named CNN Multichoice Africa Journalist of the Year in the sports category in 2015; and has won multiple awards in Nigeria, including the Nigeria Media Merit Awards and the Diamond Award for Media Excellence.