OPINION: Shehu Sani Tells Truth To His North
Monday Lines 2 OPINION: Shehu Sani Tells Truth To His North By Lasisi Olagunju (Published in the Nigerian Tribune on Monday, 21 September, 2026). 'Truth Is Trouble' is Professor Niyi Osundare’s latest book. What the poet laureate says in English, we say in another sense in Yoruba: Òótọ́ korò, truth is bitter. Then there is Ayékòótọ́, the name we give the parrot, the irrepressible bird that sees and tells. The name itself carries a verdict on the human condition: Ayé ko òótọ́, the world rejects the truth. Perhaps that is precisely why Osundare insists "truth is trouble." Two months ago, on July 13, 2026, when I wrote ‘Why Oriire was not Chibok’, a professor friend from the North fired me a hot warning: “Unfortunately, my Brother Lasisi, I must be frank with you; you are likely to lose some of your friends if you persist along this your one-man anti-North campaign.” I replied Prof with a laugh, a smile and a rejection of the charge of being anti-anyone. “N...