Review by Chuks Iloegbunam.

The story of this book started many years ago. As a schoolboy, Pini Jason always wanted to write. He saw journalism as the profession for him. He religiously studied the articles written by masters of the craft in the major Nigerian newspapers of the 60s and early 70s, columnists like Sam Amuka-Pemu (Sad Sam), Peter Enahoro (Peter Pan), Roy Ezeabasili, and Alade Odunewu (Allah-De) amongst others.

From the late 70s, Jason, who cut his teeth in journalism writing on a freelance basis for the tabloid weekly Lagos Weekend, started to be noticed as a promising writer with a keen sense of observation and a witty turn of phrase, not to talk of a penchant for irony and satire.

His craft blossomed when he took up full-time work as staff writer at the African Guardian weekly magazine. From then on, there was no stopping Jason who later became the associate editor and later managing editor of ThisWeek weekly magazine before becoming the editor-in-chief of the Insider confidential newsletter.

In 1984, Jason took up a column of his own name which sported an artist impression of his visage in the Vanguard, a leading Nigerian daily newspaper. This is how Sam Amuka, the publisher of Vanguard, recalls the Jason-Vanguard collaboration in his Foreword to the book: "As a great admirer of Pini Jason's writing in a couple of newspapers where he had made frequent contributions, I sorted him out and persuaded him to take a column in the Vanguard. The brief was - write anything you like and we will publish, short of libel and slander.

"That was over 10 years ago. As it turned out, it was one of the most fortunate catches that Vanguard ever made. For over 10 years the readership of Vanguard increased many fold - thanks to Pini Jason, and his multitude of readers who swear by him."

His new book, A Familiar Road, is only a compilation of selections from his column in the Vanguard, and also from his much read Frankly Speaking column running for 14 continuous years now in New African, as well as three other columns in the Platform, The Guardian and ThisWeek - three Nigerian publications.

In the words of Sam Amuka, Pini "is succinct, clear-minded, matter of fact, pugnacious, tenacious of belief, independent-minded sometimes to the point of obstinacy, unexpectedly and refreshingly detribalised, high mindedly nationalistic - when many may doubt if there is still a nation to love, and unyieldingly antagonistic to military dictators and their fawning publicans."

The 132 articles in nine sections of this 400-page volume examine the Nigerian condition from all sides - the historical, the socio-economic and the political. They are dense with allusions to, and citations of, international developments.

It is the book to read for anyone intent on enriching their knowledge of contemporary Nigeria. For those who cut out Jason's articles and post them on the walls of their homes and offices in the past, they now have in this volume a keepsake.

Jason's fans know why they read him or phone up the Vanguard's editor to complain bitterly on the few occasions the column has been absent.

As for Pini himself, his reason for writing is worthy of documentation. "I write to create a living space for my children, and their generation," he says. "I write so that posterity will know that I saw my country sliding into self-destruction and I tried to do something about it."

One question deserves to be asked though. Pini Jason wrote through the long years of three military dictatorships - those of Generals Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha. During this period of protracted despotism, one of his contemporaries, Dele Giwa, the founding editor-in-chief of the weekly magazine Newswatch, was murdered with a parcel bomb. Many other journalists were sent to long stretches in jail after trials by specially-constituted military tribunals, others were swept into exile. But, with the exception of the occasional "chat" with the police/security agencies or short arrests, Pini Jason survived the evil hand of brutality. Why?

The answer is to be found in the way the man writes. An example should suffice here, an excerpt from The Handicapping of America, a recent article which is not included in the volume. It was written at a time when certain Nigerians wanted Abacha to remain in power in perpetuity while others wished aloud that salvation would come from overseas. Pini Jason wrote:

"When Nigerians themselves who are oppressed have chosen to embrace the rapist, as it were, what do they expect innocent by-standers like America to do? Call out the marines?...I can tell you one thing. The world despises us for all the noise we make about not wanting military rule. Nelson Mandela said as much two years ago. So the fault is not with the Americans, the international community or our friends. The fault is entirely ours. We will be free when we decide to be free."

The book is a good read.