Musikilu Mojeed: Obasanjo didn’t know I was writing ‘The Letterman’ till I published

Musikilu Mojeed, editor-in-chief of Premium Times, says former President Olusegun Obasanjo was not aware he was working on compiling his letters into a book.

The journalist spoke at a reading of ‘The Letterman’ in Lagos on Monday.

The 492-page book is narrative non-fiction on the most “significant and historical” letters written and received by Obasanjo.

The book was released on December 1, 2022, to wide acclaim.

Speaking on his experience working on the project, Mojeed said he never informed the former president about the vision he had for the letters.

He added that Obasanjo would have limited his access had he been informed.

The journalist said the former president only got a copy of the book after publication.

“You know, I didn’t discuss with him about writing the book because, as most of us know, Obasanjo likes to write his own stories because he wants to control the narratives, and there is nothing you want to write about Obasanjo he hasn’t written himself,” Mojeed said.

“I felt that if I mentioned to him the Idea I had about the book, he would tell me no, and I would not have access anymore, so I went ahead to write and publish the book and took copies to him after I was done.”

Last year, the Premium Times editor-in-chief spoke about how he got the inspiration to write the book.