Tolu Ogunlesi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tolu Ogunlesi
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Ogunlesi in 2010
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| Born |
Tolulope Ogunlesi
3 March 1982 Edinburgh, Scotland
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| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Education | International School Ibadan |
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| Occupation | Journalist, writer, blogger |
_(cropped)_Imad_Mesdoua,_Fauziya_Ali,_Tolu_Ogunlesi.jpg)
Tolu Ogunlesi, born on March 3, 1982, is a talented Nigerian journalist, poet, and writer. He also takes photos and writes online blogs. In 2016, he became a special helper to Nigeria's President, Muhammadu Buhari, focusing on digital and new media.
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Tolu's Early Life and Education
Tolu Ogunlesi was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. His parents are Nigerian. He has lived most of his life in Nigeria.
He went to the International School Ibadan. In 2004, he earned a degree in Pharmacy from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Later, in 2011, he got a master's degree in creative writing. He studied at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom.
Tolu's Career as a Writer and Journalist
Tolu Ogunlesi is a very creative writer. He has written a book of poems called Listen to the Geckos Singing from a Balcony. He also wrote a short novel titled Conquest & Conviviality.
His stories and poems have appeared in many magazines. Some of these include The London Magazine and Wasafiri. His work has also been featured in the PEN Anthology of New Nigerian Writing.
Awards and Recognition
Tolu Ogunlesi has won several awards for his writing. In 2006, he received a Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg poetry prize. He also won the Nordic Africa Institute Guest Writer Fellowship in 2008. The University of Birmingham gave him a Cadbury Visiting Fellowship in 2009.
He has won the annual CNN Multichoice African Journalist Awards twice. He won the Arts and Culture prize in 2009. In 2013, he won the Coca-Cola Company Economics & Business Award. He was also a finalist for the first PEN/Studzinski literary prize.
Tolu's Work in Journalism
As a journalist, Tolu Ogunlesi has written for many newspapers and magazines. These include Tell Magazine, The Guardian (Lagos), and Forbes Africa. He has also written for international publications like The Guardian (UK) and Financial Times.
From 2011 to 2012, he was the Arts Manager Nigeria for the British Council. He also worked as a Features Editor for Next newspaper. From 2014 to 2015, he was the West Africa Editor for The Africa Report magazine. In 2015, he was a New Media Fellow with the U.S. State Department.
Tolu Ogunlesi has shared how his writing career grew. He started with poetry, then tried fiction. Later, he moved into journalism, writing articles, interviews, and reviews. He has even tried writing for radio and television. He enjoys trying new types of writing.
Working with the President
On February 18, 2016, President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria chose Tolu Ogunlesi for an important role. He became the Special Assistant on Digital/New Media. This means he helped the President with online communication and new technologies.
In June 2022, Tolu Ogunlesi was chosen for a special fellowship at Harvard University. In May 2023, he received a national honor. President Muhammadu Buhari gave him the title of Member of the Order of the Niger.
See Also
- List of Nigerian writers
- List of Nigerian bloggers
- Tunde Eso
