One of Nigeria’s most celebrated columnists, Sonala Olumhense, turned 60 today, with several writers praising his stellar career as an insightful commentator on Nigerian politics, culture and public affairs.
Mr. Olumhense, who is fondly called Ess Oh by his friends, has written for close to four decades for a variety of Nigerian and African newspapers, magazines and websites, including a syndicated column that currently appears on SaharaReporters and the Nigerian Guardian newspaper, among others.
In a post on Facebook, fellow columnist Okey Ndibe described Mr. Olumhense as “the dean of the Nigerian commentariat.” According to Mr. Ndibe, Ess Oh “is an example of patriotic outlook wedded to penetrating analysis and elegant writing. He is the most stimulating and knowledgeable writer on Nigerian affairs, and a man whose gift with language often takes one's breath away.”
Nigerian poet and journalist Uzor Maxim Uzoatu celebrated Mr. Olumhense as an “inimitable journalist’s journalist.” He recalled his first memorable meeting with Mr. Olumhense in the mid-1980s when Ess Oh was the editorial page editor of the Guardian in Lagos. “I doubt that I would ever have become a journalist if not for my eventful meeting with the man called SO, or to put in a more hip and contemporary vein, Ess Oh,” said Mr. Uzoatu. He added: “Sonala’s entire office table was stacked up with articles asking to be published on the OP/ED pages—some typed and many written in longhand. People came and left the office at will, calling him ‘Ess Oh’ whilst he assessed the articles and I was engrossed with reading the newspapers. Whenever he read a particularly pathetic article, he would scream and toss the piece to me for my perusal. He was so free with me, treating me as though he had known me all his life. I kept wondering if he still remembered that I had come to look for a job.”
Another journalist inspired by Mr. Olumhense, Azuka Jebose, said he “always dreamt of a day I would write like Sonala Olumhense.” He said Ess Oh’s columns “triggered those desires to be a prose writer. Today I am an unashamed protégée of S.O., Nigeria’s most celebrated syndicated journalist and writer.”
Besides being a columnist, Mr. Olumhense is also the author of a novel titled No Second Chance, published in the 1980s by Longman Publishers.
Intensely private and even self-effacing, Mr. Olumhense has drawn a huge following of fans impressed by his well researched, insightful, courageous and elegantly written opinion pieces. He lives near New York City with his wife and family.