"Truth Has No Apology": Ismail Omipidan Reads from Persona Non Grata in Osogbo

Former CPS to Oyetola recounts political betrayals, media trials, and a journalist's defiant spirit at Fountain University book event.

In a charged hall at the Eti-Osa Lecture Theatre, Fountain University, Osogbo, Osun State, former Chief Press Secretary to ex-Governor Gboyega Oyetola, Ismail Omipidan, held the audience spellbound during a reading and presentation of his latest book, Persona Non Grata, a memoir of truth, trials, and political treachery.

 “Most of the events in this book are not what somebody told me,” Omipidan declared, his voice steady with conviction. “They happened to me.”

One of the most striking revelations came when Omipidan recalled the moment he lost faith in former Governor Rauf Aregbesola during the APC membership revalidation exercise in 2021.

 “He asked us to give him 48 hours. We waited, the day never came,” he said, signaling a political betrayal that shaped much of what followed.

Speaking on the dangers of truth-telling in Nigerian journalism, Omipidan reflected on his turbulent career, including multiple arrests and one unforgettable encounter with the Department of State Services (DSS):

 “My wife had just been discharged from the hospital when I got the invite. I sat there for hours. Nobody spoke to me,” he recounted.

Despite threats and intimidation, including over a report he published about a governor’s health, based on the governor's own previous interviews , Omipidan stood firm.

 “If you hate injustice, you can't be in a place where things are going wrong and keep quiet,” he insisted. “That’s why we journalists are often seen as troublemakers. We’re not. We’re truth shapers.”

When asked whether his boldness would have survived under the Babangida military regime, Omipidan responded pointedly: “From my experience, some governors today are more brutal than the military. And those who work around them worsen things.”

Reflecting on his time in office, he emphasized the integrity of his journalistic standards: “In three and a half years as CPS, I never apologized for a single story, because I always verified my sources.”

As Persona Non Grata now makes its way into public discourse, it is clear that Ismail Omipidan’s pen remains sharp, defiant, and unapologetically committed to the truth, no matter the cost.