Title: THE KISS OF DEATH: Afenifere and the Infidels

Author: Olawale Oshun

Publisher: Josel Publishers, London

Pages: 283

Price: £16.00 (Hardback)

At the end of the April 2003 elections in Nigeria, Afenifere (the dominant Yoruba socio-political group) was shoved out of political reckoning in its South West base by advocates of “Mainstream Politics.” Historians and political analysts have wondered about what happened and have been asking the questions: Would this situation have occurred if Bola Ige had been alive as Deputy Leader of Afenifere? Or would Bola Ige have been alive had he not accepted to serve in the Federal Government formed by the People’s Democratic Party? Or would he have been alive if he had not chosen to participate in the 1999 transition to civil rule, which ultimately led the path to “D’Rovans Hotel,” where he lost his party’s nomination, as incident he perceived as a betrayal and “the second fall of man.”

No one can answer these questions definitively now. Nevertheless, The Kiss of Death: Afenifere and the Infidels is a graphic and candid assessment of the transition of Afenifere and its leaders into their twilight or, at best, into a long-drawn dormancy. The book is about high-wire politics, personal intrigues and political vendetta. It captures the process that led to the opening of the underbelly of Afenifere for piercing by a lurking enemy.

About the Author

Olawale Oshun has variously been a Member of Nigeria’s Constituent Assembly (1988), Member and Chief Whip of Nigeria’s House of Representatives in the Third Republic and the Secretary of NADECO and NACECO-Abroad. His two previous compelling books, Clapping with One Hand: June 12 and the Struggle of a State Nation and The Open Grave: Nadeco and the Struggle for Democracy, are widely acknowledged as leading books on the dark years of Nigeria’s recent political transition.

Educated in Nigeria’s quintessential schools, Universities of Ibadan and Lagos, Olawale Oshun is married with children.