Tolu Ogunlesi

Tolu Ogunlesi (born 3 March 1982)[1] is a Nigerian journalist, poet, photographer, fiction writer, and blogger.

Ogunlesi was appointed to the role of special assistant on digital/new media by President Muhammadu Buhari on 18 February 2016.

[6] As a creative writer, he is the author of a collection of poetry, Listen to the Geckos Singing from a Balcony (Bewrite Books, 2004), and a novella, Conquest & Conviviality (Hodder Murray, 2008).

Among publications in which his fiction and poetry have appeared are The London Magazine, Wasafiri, Farafina, PEN Anthology of New Nigerian Writing, Litro, Brand, Orbis, Nano2ales, Stimulus Respond, Sable, Magma, Stanford's Black Arts Quarterly and World Literature Today.

Then I tried my hands at fiction — my first short story, Solemn Avenue was inspired by Helon Habila's Waiting for an Angel.

Ogunlesi (right) at the Halifax International Security Forum 2017