Tolu Ogunlesi | |
|---|---|
 Ogunlesi in 2010 | |
| Born | Tolulope Ogunlesi 3 March 1982 Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Education | International School Ibadan |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist, writer, blogger |
| Website | toluogunlesi |
Tolu Ogunlesi (born 3 March 1982) [1] is a Nigerian journalist, poet, photographer, fiction writer, and blogger. Ogunlesi was appointed to the role of special assistant on digital/new media by President Muhammadu Buhari on 18 February 2016. [2] [3] [4]
Ogunlesi was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, to Nigerian parents and has lived most of his life in Nigeria. [5] He attended the International School Ibadan. He also holds a 2004 Bachelor of Pharmacy (B. Pharm) degree from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. In 2011, he earned a MA in creative writing from the University of East Anglia, UK. [6]
As a creative writer, he is the author of a collection of poetry, Listen to the Geckos Singing from a Balcony (Bewrite Books, 2004), and a novella, Conquest & Conviviality (Hodder Murray, 2008). Among publications in which his fiction and poetry have appeared are The London Magazine , Wasafiri , Farafina , PEN Anthology of New Nigerian Writing, Litro, Brand, Orbis, Nano2ales, Stimulus Respond, Sable, Magma, Stanford's Black Arts Quarterly and World Literature Today . [7]
In 2006 he was awarded a Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg poetry prize, [8] in 2008 the Nordic Africa Institute Guest Writer Fellowship, [9] and in 2009 a Cadbury Visiting Fellowship by the University of Birmingham. [10] He has twice been a winner of the annual CNN Multichoice African Journalist Awards, in 2009 (the Arts and Culture prize) [11] and in 2013 (Coca-Cola Company Economics & Business Award), [12] [13] [14] as well as being shortlisted for the inaugural PEN/Studzinski literary prize. [15]
As a journalist, he has been a contributor to Tell Magazine , The Guardian (Lagos), Daily Independent (Nigeria), New Age , Forbes Africa , The Guardian (UK), [16] Financial Times , [17] HuffPost , [18] Business Day (Nigeria), and Premium Times . [19] He was Arts Manager Nigeria for the British Council between 2011 and 2012, [20] and has worked as a Features Editor and Editorial Board member of Next newspaper, and as a West Africa Editor for The Africa Report magazine from 2014 to 2015. He was a 2015 New Media Fellow of the U.S. State Department's International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP). [2]
He has said of his writing career: "I started with poetry. Then I tried my hands at fiction — my first short story, Solemn Avenue was inspired by Helon Habila's Waiting for an Angel . And then I moved to journalism — magazine pieces, interviews, satire, reviews, opinion pieces. I have tried my hands at radio drama, at television scripting. I hope to write a full-length play this year. Looking back, I think I have grown comfortable with constantly expanding the possibilities of my writing, and refusing to allow myself be held down by any particular genre." [21]
On 18 February 2016, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Ogunlesi as his Special Assistant on Digital/New Media. [2]
He was selected for Harvard University's Weatherhead fellowship in June 2022. [22]
In May 2023, he conferred the National honour of Member of the Order of the Niger by President Muhammadu Buhari. [23]
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