By Yusuf Adua
Being outside Oyo town on Sunday 15th May 2022 at about 11:00 am is a misfortune for any lover of books and effective writing. The sky was ever blue to capture a monumental event and an author’s most special day.
The Chief Editor of the ever-growing online newspaper, News Live Nigeria, Tajudeen Bukola Hameed, launched his much-awaited grammar drama book at Ultimate Event Centre, Alagbon Oyo, packed to the rafters with supporters of the journalist’s handicrafts.
Present at the event were Professor Kazeem A Salaam, Dr Adekunle Mikail, Alhaji Saheed Omo Iya Kunmi, and Alhaji Shahid Adejare, the proprietor of Al Ameen Group of Schools, among others.
Dr Sariat Adelakun and Mr Oseni I. A. from the Federal College of Education, Special, Oyo, Mr Akinloye Ojediran from Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, Dr Azeez Abeeb, Alhaji Ismail Abdurrazaq Computer, Mrs Ajelabani AbdulMajeed were few out of the many academicians who graced the book launch.
Others include Mrs Ogunjinmi A. O, Chief Librarian, Oyo state library board, Oroki, Oyo, Alhaja Habeebah Hammed, a business tycoon, Surveyor Shakirudeen Oyedemi, Adejare Ibrahim, Mallam Jamiu Yekeen of Oyo State Judiciary, Ibadan, Alhaji Adewole Luqman Ismail of Adewole Communication, Owode, Oyo and many others.
The grammar enhancing book titled “The mystique of Grammar: Honest Masofa Odyssey was reviewed by Alhaji Rahman Onike from Oyo State College of Agriculture & Technology, Igboora containing sixty-four pages and published by Hatbuk Publishers, the second of its kind.
The book ran through the parts of speech and put correcting the common English language errors in focus.
“By parts of speech, we mean a category to which a word is assigned in accordance with its syntactic functions,” the reviewer said.
Alhaji Onike pointed out that the writer was able to lead potential readers forth through the right parts of speech and analysed succinctly the functions of words in sentences adopting a dramatic conversational style which he felt makes it much more enjoyable, appealing, and worthy of its efforts.
“He proved, with the quality of the ideas in the text, that he has adept knowledge to unleash the knot when worlds collide as claimed under ‘About the Author’ written at the back page of the book,” the reviewer said.”
The book also made conscious efforts to correct arbitrary errors in the writing and speech of even highly revered persons.
“Without the grasp and mastery of the parts of speech, one cannot gain the mastery of the English language,” the professional writer said.
He further highlighted that the book is one of those that help every learner understand the correct and proper usage of the parts of speech that are sacrosanct in English language.
“With the book’s distinctive style, the brevity, and the author’s qualifications, I have no doubt in my mind that the text breaks new ground in some ways.
Given the target readership, the pagination, and its volume, the author would have added the preface, foreword, and blurbs to add more value,” Alhaji Onike critiqued.
He agreed with the generality of the audience at the occasion that the drama book satisfies the ecological and pedagogical standards the text intends to achieve and that the author should be commended for breathing into the book the room for self-instruction.
The book, according to the reviewer, will be resourceful to the target readership, the junior secondary students, as it was designed to fascinate and entice them as they read and learn from every facet of the book.
Not only was the content of the book rich and engaging, but Alhaji Onike also added that the cover design, aesthetics, choice of diction, and social relevance are amazing features of the book that students, teachers, writers, administrators, and the general public should check out.
“Let’s all get a copy of the text to assist our children and ourselves in remedying our deficiencies in Basic Grammar,” Alhaji Onike advised.
When Professor Kazeem A. Salaam was giving his remarks on the book, the erudite professor charged the author and anyone willing to embark on such an intellectual journey not to be discouraged by the hurdles they have to cross as he, alongside people who value academic thinking would not relent in supporting such initiative.
Other speakers at the event, including Alhaji Shahid Adejare, who commended the author suggested that he should not relent in his efforts to promote effective writing of English and speech.
In his welcome address, the author had earlier thanked everyone present at the event for making his “most special day” worthwhile.