Olugbile unveils Heroes & Others in Lagos

An award winning fiction writer cum former Chief Medical Director (CMD), Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Dr. Femi Olugbile, last week Thursday, February 13, 2014, presented to the public his latest book, Heroes & Others – six short stories.

The event which attracted mostly staff of Lagos State secretariat was held at the Protea Hotel, Ikeja GRA, Lagos.

The chief host of the occasion, Governor of Lagos State, His Excellency, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) eulogized the author for the immense contributions he has made as a public servant and as a psychiatrist.

Fashola revealed that he graced the event because of high regard he has for Olugbile whom he described as a first class medical doctor with communication skills.

“When I appointed Dr. Olugbile as CMD LASUTH, I knew that I have picked a First Class in Medical practitioner, I did not know he was also a great literary writer. What people know is much more than what they own. I found his communication skill very appealing. He gives you a very succinct choice of words when the need arises. I later found out his early achievement that he is not only a doctor but an author. This is a combination of education and healthcare. Health provides way out of disabilities while education enlightens,” said Fashola.

Governor Fashola also disclosed that Lagos State has only one mental health which belongs to the Federal Government and revealed that with 21 million people in Lagos State, plans are underway by the Lagos State Government to build a psychiatric hospital at Ikorodu.

Fashola further said that “We must domicile mental health facility because many of us maybe in need of such services. We are in need of classification and it is important to break the taboo associated with mental ailment because it is like every other sickness such as eye problem. Mental health is not a taboo but a malfunction of the brain arising from stress, drugs and so on. I have benefitted from Dr. Olugbile and I hereby thank you.”

The chief launcher of the event, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries Limited, Dr. Stella Okoli, OON who arrived the venue of the event at 9 am before other guests said it was only because of friendship that she was qualified to be the chairman of the occasion.

 “Writing is a gift and those that are blessed with this gift are special.” She described Olugbile as a friend, trusted colleague and contributor of every task he was asked to do.

We owe ourselves a duty to document our rich heritage for the unborn generation and the young ones to tell our stories. We have allowed the western world to tell our story which tilt our history. It is amazing what Olugbile has achieved in writing despite that he is not a professional writer,” said Okoli.

In the same vein, Executive Editor of TheNEWS/P.M.NEW, Mr. Kunle Ajibade, in his review of the book titled: The Truth of Femi Olugbile’s Fiction,“ traced Olugbile’s literary talent to 1971 when he was a secondary school student. “His short story won the then Radio Nigeria Christmas Competition. His proud father kept the £20 prize money (envelope and all) in a glass cupboard in the house parlour for all to see for a long time! So narrated Femi.

“I was not, therefore, surprised when, in 1986, his first collection of ten short stories, Lonely Men, now published by Longman, won the prose prize of the Association of Nigerian Authors. I remember vividly that on the award night at the University of Ife, Olugbile was very reluctant to go to the podium, apparently the author of Lonely Men just wanted to be left alone. But he eventually left the stage with grace. By the time he won that award, he was only 32 years old with a University of Edinburgh’s Master’s degree in Medicine and some trophies in his pouch.

“Since the publication of Lonely Men, Femi Olugbile has written some plays for the Nigerian Television Authorities, NTA – The Hermit, Politics of Envy, Down at the Deep and several episodes of playhouse. He has also written a novel titled Leaders! and Ten Ahead! History of Table Tennis in Nigeria, in between his numerous commitments to his professional calling. There is a sense in which his new collection of six short stories, Heroes and Others, which he is presenting on the eve of his sixtieth birthday, is a gift to himself as a young senior citizen.”

Speaking on why he titled the novel, Heroes & Others, Olugbile, who will turn 60 on February 24, said he found the title after writing the story. “Heroes & Others is a story about everybody’s life, that is finding heroism within themselves. Everybody is capable of the best we can be. In a nutshell, everybody has to tell a story about his own life, so I recommend this book to everyone to read and understand more about life,” he said.