A Tribute on the Book Launch of “Chief Shuaib Afolabi Oyedokun: A Peace Memoir” — By Tele Oyegoke TMO

Today is not just a book launch. It is history taking a bow. _Chief Shuaib Afolabi Oyedokun: A Peace Memoir_ is the 91-year-old Oluomo of Inisa turning memory into mentorship. While others write to be remembered, Alhaji Shuaib wrote so Nigeria will remember how to live together. At an age when many men close their chapters, he opened a new one. To think, to counsel, to teach at 91 is proof that old age has not dimmed his fire. It has refined it. This memoir is his most nurtured and finest bridge: from personal experience to national instruction, from one man’s journey to a whole nation’s roadmap for peace.

Chief Oyedokun is Oluomo of Inisa, political maestro, and national statesman. But before the nation knew him, Inisa knew him first. He put Inisa on the map, not with noise, but with giant steps. Through his influence, his advocacy, and his unbroken commitment, our hometown gained visibility, gained projects, and gained respect far beyond Osun State. He carried Inisa in his heart to Abuja and brought Abuja’s attention back home. Schools rose, roads opened, and young voices found space because he insisted that development must start where you come from. He did not just represent Inisa. He rebuilt it, piece by piece, year by year. That is the work of a true son.

Beyond bricks and projects, Chief’s greatest investment in Inisa has been us, the younger ones. He nurtured us with wisdom long before we knew its value. In his presence, impatience became patience. In his counsel, anger became dialogue. He taught us that leadership is service, that politics is peacemaking, and that a man’s hometown must never be left behind as he climbs. Many of us standing here today are products of his quiet mentorship, his open door, and his belief that Inisa’s future must be bigger than its past. _A Peace Memoir_ is an extension of that mentorship. Now the whole country can sit at his feet, just as we have sat for years.

I, Tele Oyegoke TMO, commend him to the high heavens. Baba, we celebrate you for 91 years of grace, for putting Inisa on Nigeria’s map, and for raising a generation that thinks before it shouts. Literature will remember this day because an elder chose to print his wisdom instead of burying it. May this book travel to every council chamber and every campus. May it preach what you have lived: that peace is possible when elders lead and youths listen. 

Igba odun, odun kan, Oluomo. Your book is launched, but your assignment continues. May your pen never dry, your counsel never grow old, and your shadow remain shelter for Inisa and for Nigeria.

— Tele Oyegoke TMO