Bello-Fadile’s “Nine Lives”: Recounting history and national memory, By Musikilu Mojeed

With all senses of modesty, we regard “Nine Lives: The Bello-Fadile Memoirs” as a great addition to the narratives of self and country, which as mentioned, fills a remarkable space in the unknown or not properly known aspects of our history. It is expansive in scope and greatly detailed – no doubt due to the vast intellectual prowess of the author, Dr Bello-Fadile, whose capacity for details is huge, alongside his powers of recall of major episodes, like those involving the details and minutiae of the proceedings at the Special Investigative Panel, when he was subjected to harrowing consequences of being an activist for a different society within a very traditional institution.

Its gives me great pleasure to be here at this gathering that reflects on the extraordinary narrative of the life of Dr Ralph Sixtus Babatunde Bello-Fadile, not only from his origins in Kabba, Northern Nigeria, but through his journeys across numerous institutions, prominent among which was the Nigerian Army.

This was where he recorded the unique feats of being a precocious cadet, who also rose to the heights of academic attainment as the first military trained lawyer and then PhD holder in Law, and subsequently headed its Legal Unit, to his other significant experiences, which took him through a number of the “Nine Lives” that we have set before us in this astonishing volume being presently unveiled to the public.

Naturally, at Premium Times Books, we are interested in documenting stories of the human experience and the narratives of impacted and impactful lives, more so an important one like this that not only tells of how an individual has kept surmounting major life challenges, but also in manners that equally tell the story of our great country, Nigeria. Certainly, Dr Bello-Fadile’s Nine Lives extends the frontiers of what we know about this country and the various actors in one of its most foremost institutions – the Nigerian Army – and how their actions have defined the course of the nation’s history at critical periods.

Of course, in the nature of biographical accounts of this type, some might regard the way in which a slice of history is presented to us – many years after the events being chronicled – as being controversial or even contest the manner of its rendition, yet every single jigsaw piece in the puzzle of our historical experiences in Nigeria is important. That this, among others, will inspire debate, is a very important part of the recognition and preservation of national memory.

Perhaps, more importantly, is the universality of some of the experiences chronicled by Dr Bello-Fadile in this narrative, which touches on some of the great themes of survival through the maelstroms of life – the capacity and determination to surmount hardships, and the role of faith in the ultimate triumph of the human spirit. These are aspects that speak to the essence of each and every one of us, making it a story of everyman…

The media – from which our practice takes off – is generally considered as the great documenters of history, albeit many have regarded this as being “history in a hurry”, though beyond this has now come great efforts in appealing to evidence, lending the weight of analysis, and adopting the procedures and rigours of science to bear on our work. Hence, while history might remain in a hurry, how it is now documented is a lot more painstaking.

As an associated level of practice, our endeavours at book publishing in Premium Times is as meticulous in engaging with historical materials, and we make great efforts in assisting authors to present their accounts with all the clarity and importance these deserve – although the ultimate credit for their perspectives go to the authors themselves.

With all senses of modesty, we regard Nine Lives: The Bello-Fadile Memoirs as a great addition to the narratives of self and country, which as mentioned, fills a remarkable space in the unknown or not properly known aspects of our history. It is expansive in scope and greatly detailed – no doubt due to the vast intellectual prowess of the author, Dr Bello-Fadile, whose capacity for details is huge, alongside his powers of recall of major episodes, like those involving the details and minutiae of the proceedings at the Special Investigative Panel, when he was subjected to harrowing consequences of being an activist for a different society within a very traditional institution.

Perhaps, more importantly, is the universality of some of the experiences chronicled by Dr Bello-Fadile in this narrative, which touches on some of the great themes of survival through the maelstroms of life – the capacity and determination to surmount hardships, and the role of faith in the ultimate triumph of the human spirit. These are aspects that speak to the essence of each and every one of us, making it a story of everyman, at one key level or the other. The need to keep relating such, as indicative of the human capacity and potential, is part of what defines our publishing enterprise.

At Premium Times Books, we are on a mission to keep publishing books that continually deepen knowledge on important aspects of our lives, and which continue to serve as crucial resources for engaging with our histories and experiences. We intend to keep at this role and will continue to offer our services to major documenters and interpreters of experience like Dr Bello-Fadile, as he does the unprecedented and embarks on his tenth life.

At Premium Times Books, we have three principal missions, which is to expand the reading public in Nigeria, to make essential books easily available to the reading public and to bring books about Nigeria published in Europe, America and elsewhere home to Nigeria. In over a decade of our operations, we have published a significant number of books, with our catalogue growing with a number of highly remarkable titles.

Some of these include Naija No Dey Carry Last by the late distinguished Professor Pius Adesanmi, and then our trilogy on religion and fundamentalism anchored by Professor Raufu Mustapha – from Overcoming Boko Haram, to Sects and Social Disorder, Creed and Grievance; also Quranic Schools in Northern Nigeria by Hannah Hoechner; Remaking Nigeria: Sixty Years, Sixty Voices and We are All Biafrans by Chido Onumah.

Also, we have released great studies like those of Dr Omoniyi Ibietan on Cyber Politics; The Sokoto Caliphate by Murray Last; equally my own very well received book, The Letterman: Inside the Secret Letters of former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, in addition to Azu Ishiekwene’s Writing for Media and Monetising It, among a growing list of noteworthy titles. As such, Dr Bello-Fadile’s book finds itself in very distinguished company and among key books that are offering great insights into our national experiences in Nigeria.

At Premium Times Books, we are on a mission to keep publishing books that continually deepen knowledge on important aspects of our lives, and which continue to serve as crucial resources for engaging with our histories and experiences. We intend to keep at this role and will continue to offer our services to major documenters and interpreters of experience like Dr Bello-Fadile, as he does the unprecedented and embarks on his tenth life.

So shall it be.

Musikilu Mojeed is the Editor-in-Chief of Premium Times newspapers and Chief Operating Officer of the Premium Times Group.

This is the text of remarks made at the public presentation of Nine Lives: The Bello-Fadile Memoirs at Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja on Monday 18 November.