By Uzor Maxim Uzoatu
The 8th Wonder of the World – Made in Nigeria; The 8th Wonder of the World – Made in Naiga; By Olaboludele Simoyan; Ore Publishers Ltd, Lagos
There is one singularly patriotic Nigerian lady named Olaboludele Simoyan who believes in Nigeria so totally it is amazing. Ms Olaboludele Simoyan is the author of the “two-in-one” book entitled from the front as The 8th Wonder of the World – Made in Nigeria; and upside-down from the back as The 8th Wonder of the World – Made in Naiga, that is, depending on the first side of the book you encounter!
In fact, the more recently fashionable Nigerian nom de plume, Naija, sees the “J” letter cancelled out to make place for “G”, thus affording Ms Simoyan to rename “Nigeria” as “Naiga” as opposed to “Naija”. The book would have amounted to some 380-odd-pages in all if laid out straight to the end, but Simoyan’s inversion gives us 211 pages for the “Naiga” half of the book and 166 pages for the “Nigeria” end.
As if to underscore the seriousness of Simoyan’s enterprise, The 8th Wonder of the World starts out with a foreword written by the esteemed Dr Christopher Kolade (CON). In the words of Dr Kolade, “Olaboludele Simoyan presents herself as someone who believes that the challenges of our time have been created specially to fuel her determination, first to do something about them, and then to move her compatriots to some specific, immediate commitment to effective action.”
Fondly called Auntie Bolu, the author graduated from the University of Lagos, Akoka in 1988. She has three degrees in her kitty, two of which happen to be higher degrees. An architect by training and a salesperson by profession, she is an acclaimed motivational speaker, nation-builder and patriot. Having used her training as an architect to create an innovative blueprint for a great new Nigeria, she is as ever determined to use her sales skills to sell the new Nigeria to Nigerians.
It was in 1996 that she “designed a graphic representation of the vision of the NEW NIGERIA” she saw in her mind’s eye, while it was in 1999 that she “started telling anyone who cared to listen that Nigeria would become THE 8th WONDER of the World.” She had to wait till 2005 to finally sit down to put her thoughts on paper, thus birthing this wonder book which she describes thusly: “There are two books in this one volume, two front covers and no back cover. To read the second book, you will have to turn the book upside-down.”
Starting from the side of the book entitled The 8th Wonder of the World – Made in Nigeria, Ms Simoyan gives eight objectives she wants to achieve with the book, notably: “To produce a revolution of the mind in Nigerians – a wake-up call to take responsibility for our destiny.” Spiced with apt illustrations, African proverbs and wise sayings from sundry luminaries across the globe, Simoyan’s book is an exercise in the can-do spirit of the zeitgeist. She simply got tired of pessimism and put pen to paper to fire up her countrymen and women, mindful of the proverb that “when two brothers fight, a stranger reaps the harvest”. She appends her signature to her total commitment to Nigeria and frontally challenges you to put your signature to the commitment to Nigeria, citing yet another proverb: “No one claps with one hand.”
Naming Nnamdi Azikiwe, Tafawa Balewa, and Obafemi Awolowo as some of the nationalistic men that “helped Nigeria to negotiate her independence from colonial Great Britain”, Simoyan stresses that it is the responsibility of Nigerians to “assume ownership of Nigeria and come up with creative ideas to solve our problems. Become a brain-stormer (sic). Learn to Think Things Through (TTT).” She offers a long list of Nigerians who inspires hope in the course of her acknowledgements.
The other book in the two-in-one volume titled The 8th Wonder of the World – Made in Naiga, as the title implies, is more hip and contemporary. It is aptly dedicated “to a generation of NEW NIGERIANS who will play their part in building THE 8TH WONDER of the World.” It is a book aimed at encouraging one “to defy the status quo”. It is a futuristic book that tells the story of a nation that has “come a long way from the UP NEPA days!” Simoyan wants corrections for negative statements such as “The Nigerian factor! African time! A wasted generation!” etc.
Olaboludele Simoyan has written a very significant book, a two-in-one innovation aimed at ennobling Nigerian patriotism.
Uzor Maxim Uzoatu is a renowned poet, journalist and author.
Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.
