T. M. Aluko

On 1 May 2010, Nigerian writer T.M. Aluko died in Lagos at the age of 91.

Timothy Mofolorunso Aluko was born on 14 July 1918 in Ilesha, Nigeria.  After atttending the Government College in Ibadan and  the Higher College 'Yaba' in Lagos, he studied civil engineering and town planning at the University of London. He held a number of administrative posts in his home country, including Director of Public Works in Western Nigeria. Aluko departed from civil service in 1966 and from then until his retirement in 1978 he pursued a career as an academic, earning a doctorate in municipal engineering in 1976. 

His novels, including 'One Man, One Wife (1959)', 'One Man, One Matchet (1964)', 'Kinsman and Foreman (1966)', 'Chief the Honourable Minister (1970)' and 'His Worshipful Majesty (1973)', are satirical in tone, and deal with the clash of new and old values in a changing Africa. In 1994, Aluko published his autobiography, 'My Years of Service', an account of his activities as an engineer and university teacher. His later autobiographical book, 'The Story of My Life', published in 2007, provides a more in-depth look at Aluko's life, expounding on his childhood and his work as a civil servant.

Aluko received several awards and honours including Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1963 and Officer Order of the Niger (OON) in 1964.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Selected publications

My years of service / T.M. Aluko. - Lagos : Nelson Publishers, 1994

Wrong ones in the dock / T.M. Aluko. - London [etc.] : Heinemann, 1982

T.M. Aluko as a social critic / S.A. Dzeagu.
In: Legon journal of the humanities, vol. 2, p. 28-41, 1976

T.M. Aluko : The Novelist and His Imagination / Oladele Taiwo.
In: Présence africaine, 1974, Vol.90 (2), p.225-246

His Worshipful Majesty / T.M. Aluko. - London [etc.] : Heinemann, 1973

T.M. Aluko : Nigerian satirist / Bernth Lindfors.
In: African literature today : a journal of explanatory criticism , no. 5, p. 41-53

Chief the Honourable Minister / T.M. Aluko. - London [etc.] : Heinemann, 1970

One man, one wife / T.M. Aluko. - London [etc.] : Heinemann, 1967

One man, one matchet / T.M. Aluko. - London [etc.] : Heinemann, 1964

Timeline of Yoruba writers via Dbpedia and Wikidata