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The Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Professor Tunji Olaopa, has paid tribute to Dr. Wale Okediran on the occasion of his 70th birthday.
The celebration, which took place at the Mamman Vatsa Village in Abuja, was organised by the Abuja chapter of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), according to the Life & Style section of a news report published two hours ago.
Dr. Okediran is a former President of ANA, a trained medical doctor, and a one-time member of Nigeria’s House of Representatives.
In his address titled “Writing the Public Service into the Nigerian Consciousness,” Professor Olaopa praised Okediran for the unique way he has woven his expertise in medicine, literature, and politics into a career dedicated to serving people.
He remarked that Okediran “has come a long way and has blazed many trails so consistently that at a beautiful age of seventy, he has achieved a sublime legacy that embodies existential fulfilment.”
Olaopa described Okediran as a rare figure who defies the traditional divide between science and the humanities.
Referencing C. P. Snow’s theory about the communication gap between scientists and literary thinkers, he said that Dr. Okediran is an “exemplary personification that firmly undermines that thesis.”
Olaopa noted that medicine in Nigeria involves far more than clinical treatment, as it often touches on the effects of structural neglect and suffering.
He stated that Dr. Okediran has had to confront these realities both in his medical practice and through his writing.
Through literature, Olaopa said, Dr. Okediran has told the Nigerian story from a place of lived experience.
His decision to serve in the legislature, Olaopa observed, was a natural extension of his desire to impact society more directly.
He added that public service for Okediran did not end in government office, as his contributions have spanned education, literature, and cross-border collaboration.
Olaopa also spoke about the Ebedi International Writers Residency in Iseyin, which Dr. Okediran founded.
He described the residency as a powerful metaphor for his ability to create space for others and foster opportunities through shared expression.
In closing, Olaopa said Okediran represents “the renaissance man—the multi-talented man imbued with a secular sensibility that draws on the human condition to articulate an Afropolitan sensibility of humaneness, compassion, strength, open-mindedness, passion and empathy.”
Article updated 2 hours ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
