Drilling into the creative, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, last night highlighted the power and efficacy of photography in telling human stories including those of political actors in the country, and disclosed a personal past time of his as “a collector of rare and interesting photographs.”
Prof. Osinbajo spoke at the public presentation of a photo book entitled “Gbajabiamila: The Long Road, which is about the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila by his Personal Photographer, Ayo Adeagbo.
The Vice President spoke at an event that witnessed a panel discussion on the place of official photographers to top public servants, speeches by the President of the Senate; Ahmad Lawan, the Lagos State Governor; Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Speaker himself, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives; Ndidi Elumelu, and a review by Dr. Sam Omatseye, the Chairman of The Nation’s Editorial Board.
According to the VP, as a subject of photography, the Speaker “is one of the most resilient, most resourceful and most successful Nigerian politicians, having won elections five times in the past 18 years.”
He said Gbajabiamila is “an effective bridge-builder across tribes, political parties, religions, and even generations and he has proven to be an innovative mediator and an honest broker in several local and national disputes and conflicts.”
While commending the photographer, Prof Osinbajo noted that “Ayo has proved to be a creative and faithful documentalist of the political journey of the charismatic and photogenic speaker.”