“An African Abroad” Olabisi Ajala 1963

Olabisi Ajala is the father of D. O. Ajala.

Olabisi Moshood Adisa Ajala was an interna6onal world traveller, actor, journalist and Nigerian socialite. His biography was first published in 1963.

This book has been reproduced in exactly the same words (verba6m) as were used originally.

Republished by the author’s daughter, D. O. Ajala, (AKA Aurora Mizutani), with the excep6on of one edited photograph, this is an exact replica of the original 1963 publica6on by Olabisi Ajala.

AOer early educa6on in Africa and working his way through various colleges in America, Olabisi Ajala, a young Nigerian, determined to see the world in his own par6cular way. He bought a motor-scooter and, armed with a camera, journeyed across Europe and Asia and finally arrived in Australia. During his travels he made up his mind that he would see as many of the poli6cal leaders as he could, and he gate crashed everywhere (some6mes literally as through the Jordan-Israeli fron6er) and his persistence was well rewarded. He tells us of his mee6ng with Kruschev, with the Shah of Iran, with Mrs Meir, with Nasser, with Nehru and others, and about all these people he has something acute and percep6ve to tell, though the book is much more than an account of successful tuO-hun6ng. Ajala looks at the world with unprejudiced gaze. He tells us why he liked or disliked such and such a people or country and though much of what he says is of course, controversial, it is never dull or commonplace.

An African Abroad is a unique book: unique for its deep sincerity, its fresh viewpoints and its lack of prejudice.

Possibly only an African could have wriXen so illumina6ngly about the countries and peoples he has visited.