For the Chairman Editorial Board of The Nation Newspaper, Sam Omatseye, it is expedient to interrogate intersection of vanity and superstition
Speaking at a recent reading session of his book, titled, Juju Eyes, at the Lagos State University (LASU) recently, the author said the story interrogates how corruption has permeated the country. It also exposes all elements of evil that confront t novel is rooted in African tradition and modern. It follows the life of a young lady, Shay, a victim of betrayal he society.
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To the author, “Oluseyi, alias Shay, is a haunted soul. Is she pursued by an episode of childhood or by a need to escape a life of suffering? During the COVID-19 months, I read a story on social media of a Nigerian young woman whose marriage to a man in the United Kingdom unraveled. She disappointed her lover by claiming to be who she was not, including her education, parents etc. She was reportedly beautiful, smart with a lot of cunning as gift. I thought she was an emblem of something common in the Nigerian society: Men and women who got by through a guise, a guise of beauty, intelligence, faith and the mystical. But at the bottom of it all is an angelic void.

Paradoxically, tied to this image is a certain vigour of innocence, a sense of helpless longing for fame and money. That was the strain at the bottom.”

To Omatseye, “I got this expression from the steward of one of my friends in Port Harcourt. I heard him call his girlfriend juju eyes. And I asked him, why would you call your girlfriend in juju eyes? He said it is because they worship her as juju eyes.”

The author pledged to give one hundred thousand naira to the best news report by any student present at this reading.Coordinated by one of the senior lecturers at the Journalism Department, Prof. Tunde Akanni, the event was organised in collaboration with the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies (FCMS) of the university.

The Dean Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, (FCMS), Prof. Jide Jimoh, said, “we feel that we can marry this practical experience with the theory. So we can see the transition, we can see the movement. But we are also being fought by ethical and professional challenges that go with writing.

“The Internet or social media has made a journalist of everybody. Well, we are not saying journalism should be a closed shop. But, if you want to learn mechanics, you should be able to distinguish between 12 and 13 spanners. So, you need to at least learn from those who are there or who were there before you.”