Ola Opesan (born 1966) is a Nigerian-British writer, journalist and educationist.Opesan's snapshots of Nigerian history
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 19 January 2016. Accessed7 December 2020. He published his first novel, ''Another Lonely Londoner'' (1991), under the pseudonym Gbenga Agbenugba.

Life

Ola Opesan was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to Nigerian parents in 1966. He returned with his family to Nigeria when he was ten years old, going to school there, and attending the

University of Ife Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal university in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife by the regional government of Western Nigeria, which w ...

. He returned to London to study

scriptwriting Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is often a freelance profession. Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, deve ...

, completing a TV and video course, and writing several screenplays. While in London Opesan read Sam Selvon's novel ''

The Lonely Londoners ''The Lonely Londoners'' is a 1956 in literature, 1956 novel by Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidadian author Samuel Selvon. Its publication was one of the first to focus on poor, working-class black people following the enactment of the British Nation ...

'', and in response wrote his own novel, ''Another Lonely Londoner''. Written in a mix of English and

Nigerian pidgin Nigerian Pidgin, also known simply as Pidgin or as Naijá in scholarship, is an English-based creole language spoken as a ''lingua franca'' across Nigeria. The language is sometimes referred to as ''Pijin'' or ''Vernacular''. Coming into existe ...

, the novel deals with the experience of young Nigerians in London. Alienated as an immigrant by his encounter with British racism, the novel's protagonist Akin eventually decides to return to Nigeria: In 1996-7 Opesan was editor of the Nigerian lifestyle magazine ''Ovation''. In 1997 he published his second novel, ''Many Rivers to Cross'', under his own name. In 1999 he became the editor of another lifestyle magazine, ''Omega''. He also contributed an essay on African businesses in the UK to the 2000 Penguin anthology ''IC3''. Opesan gained a BA in Business Studies from the

University of East London University of East London (UEL) is a public university located in the London Borough of Newham, London, England, based at three campuses in Stratford, London, Stratford and London Docklands, Docklands, following the opening of University Squar ...

and a MA in Mass Communications from the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

before training as a secondary school maths teacher. He became head of mathematics and later assistant head teacher at

George Mitchell School George Mitchell School is a coeducational all-through school located in Leyton in London, England. It is attended by students who mainly live in the local area, with some from further afield. Examination results at the end of Key Stage 4 (i.e. ...

Leyton Leyton ( ) is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the Ri ...

. In 2007 he moved to Lagos as the founding Principal of Meadow Hall School,

Lekki Lekki is a city in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is located to the south-east of Lagos city. Lekki is a naturally formed peninsula, adjoining to its west Victoria Island and Ikoyi districts of Lagos, with the Atlantic Ocean to its south, Lagos Lag ...

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

. There he has also authored an introductory book about

Nigerian history The history of Nigeria can be traced to the earliest inhabitants whose date remains at least 13,000 BC through the early civilizations such as the Nok culture which began around 1500 BC. Numerous ancient African civilizations settled in the regi ...

, ''Nigeria in 101 Headlines''.

Works

As Gbenga Agbenugba

* ''Another Lonely Londoner''. London: Ronu Books, 1991.

As Ola Opesan

* ''Many Rivers to Cross''. London: X Press, 1996. * 'The proliferation of African businesses in the UK: will Africans be the new Asians of UK business', in

Courttia Newland Courttia Newland (born 25 August 1973) is a British writer of Jamaicans, Jamaican and Barbados, Barbadian heritage. Background Born in 1973 in west London, to parents of Caribbean heritage, Newland grew up in Shepherd's Bush, where he became a ...

& Kadija Sesay, eds., ''IC3: the Penguin Book of New Black Writing in Britain'', London: Penguin, 2000, pp. 197–206. * ''Lyricism: journey to the centre of the mind''. London: Ronu Books, 2013. * ''Nigeria in 101 headlines: the past, a lamp to the future''. London: Ronu Books, 2015. Illustrated by Tosin Kajopelaye-Ola and Pere Frey.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Opesan, Ola 1966 births Living people English novelists Nigerian novelists English people of Nigerian descent 21st-century Nigerian educators Writers from London Obafemi Awolowo University alumni Alumni of the University of East London Alumni of the University of Leicester 21st-century Nigerian writers