Sobolation: The Hat

I had just shared photos of the classic Ibadan brown roofs when my friend, Balogun Danjuma commented that there was more to Ibadan than brown roofs.

“Check out Tolani Alli, talk to her, she’d have pictures of modern Ibadan.”

That was in 2016.

That night, I found Tolani Alli on Facebook. I checked her profile and saw some really amazing pictures – not of Ibadan, few personal pictures and few pictures of the former Governor. In those personal pictures, she always wore a hat.

I sent a friend request along with an inbox message, requesting for pictures.

The next morning, I checked. My friend request was still pending. No reply in my inbox. Still I had hope – Tolani would reply. I waited a whole week and there was no response. In the second week, when my friend request was still pending, I began to lose hope. A month passed and still, nothing. It was then that I concluded that she was one of those people who were extremely selective about whom they let into their space or who hardly used Facebook and so I gave up expecting.

It did not take very long before I began to find pictures on the cyberspace showcasing activities of the last administration with the photo-credits to Tolani Ali. It was then I realized that she was the official photographer of His Excellency Sen. Abiola Ajimobi.

Many months after, I had a notification – a friend request had been accepted.

It was Tolani Alli.

II.

At first, it was the delivery in her pictures that got me – clean pictures that gave rare insights into the activities of the governor. Tolani tells stories with the lens and she is fantastic at it. She is silent yet loud. No one hears her voice yet we all get her stories in her pictures. For every time the camera clicks, Tolani is telling a story. She is effectual, yet sublime.

In the four and half years (or so) that she was the official photographer of Sen. A. Ajimobi, Tolani froze fleeting, ordinary moments into iconic images with eternal relevance. Where words failed, her images came through with the stories.

I remember upon the passing of the former speaker, Hon. Michael Adeyemo, Tolani’s pictures told the Governor’s grief more than any word could detail.

She showed us more than just glam and glitz – she cloaked an administration with the garment of humanity. We were sober because of her pictures, we smiled because of her pictures. We laughed because of her pictures and we stared in shock because she gave us those moments. Sometimes, her images made up for the deficits of the man who was her principal. She covered her principal in such beautiful ways that pulled our heartstrings and we awwned.

III

What’s most outstanding about Tolani is the hard work and grit and passion that she put into her work. The process that birthed those gripping, touching images were nothing short of phenomenal. Tolani would lie on the floor, sneak into meetings, or push through a crowd just so to come through with undiluted and compelling stories.

Once, Tolani climbed a bus. On another occasion, during an election campaign, she hitched a ride on a helicopter just to tell the stories that a million words couldn’t tell. In a brave show of courage, Tolani captured a celebratory march in Kano – standing steady, her camera fixed on the men marching straight at her. She was undaunting!

If this is not giving one’s absolute best, then I don’t know what is.

Tolani had no holidays, no weekends. When you’re attached to the detail of the Governor, it is understandable that your life is not your own. You can be in the Governor’s Office this minute and in the airport enroute Abuja the next. Till date, Tolani and I have not been able to meet despite scheduling and rescheduling.

And still, my inbox message is still there. Unreplied. Lol

IV.

To the hat, you came, you saw you conquered. You were simply doing your job and minding your business but you did not know that you were torching our lives and now our hearts are warmed up because of your works.

If you’re reading this and still wondering who the hat is…

Tolani Alli is #theHat