Chris Ihidero, who has pursued a career in journalism and filmmaking, has released a new book titled, Wanderings of a Rapidly Degenerating Mind.
The writer, who is currently the chairman of the NET editorial board, made the announcement at the third edition of the Nigerian Entertainment Conference on Wednesday, April 22, at the Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The book is a compilation of 100 of the best articles from his weekly column, ‘Chris Ihidero Unedited’ and it is a six-part epic divided into sections of music and showbiz, books, people, music, issues of the heart and daring the heavenlies.
Featuring the trademark sharp-tongued wit, sarcasm and self-deprecating humour of Ihidero, the book has since been getting rave reviews from a number of frontline Nigerian literary personalities.
Speaking on the release of the new book, the Director of Arts of the British Council Nigeria, Ojoma Ochai, said one would be hard-pressed to find anyone with as much knowledge and insight into the history and inner workings of Nigerian film and TV and indeed the whole Nigerian entertainment scene as Ihidero.
Tolu Ogunlesi said of the book as having a compelling humour and the rare breadth of knowledge. “Indeed, whenever I need to find out about the history of television and film in Nigeria, it’s Ihidero I turn to, because he knows the stuff; has spent time reading, researching and doing it,” Ogunlesi stated.
Ihidero, at the launch, explained that writing a weekly column is the hardest thing to do in life, second only to birthing a child.
“You do not always want to do it, but when you have a waiting audience, you have to deliver, come hail or high water. When I was informed that the editors had picked about 100 from my articles for this book, it suddenly dawned on me that I had written enough articles from which a hundred could be picked. It was a humbling moment,” he said.
NET publisher and NECLive convener, Ayeni Adekunle, congratulated the award-winning writer on an exciting new chapter in his literary journey while announcing the launch of NET Books.
“Today, we are kicking off a sojourn into books with the NET Book Series and Wanderings is the first of this. This is a careful collection of Chris Ihidero’s works which showcase him at his page-turning, toe-curling, infuriating and fascinating best. Chris is such a character!”