
Cheers to 2025
Every New Year holds promise, as though it is any different from the turn of
Published May 4, 2024 on Business day newspaper
Title: Dreams from Yesterday
Author: Akin Akingbogun
Publisher: Winepress
Year of Publication: 2023
Number of Pages: 179
Category: Short Stories
While the cover of “Dreams from Yesterday” may not fully convey the depth and excitement of Akin Akingbogun’s collection of 14 short stories, within the book, Akingbogun showcases his talent as a playful short story writer. Through engaging and unpredictable tales, he seamlessly merges imagination with reality.
Set in Nigeria, these stories delve into a wide array of societal issues, including domestic violence, desire, peer pressure, terrorism, and death, among others. Akingbogun also sheds light on often overlooked topics in society, igniting important conversations.
Initially, Akingbogun’s creativity might not immediately shine, but with patience, readers will find that these tales are brimming with unexpected twists and captivating storytelling, keeping them eagerly flipping through the pages. Some of the most intriguing stories could have been strategically placed at the beginning of the book to capture readers’ attention from the start.
The author’s authenticity shines as he explores taboo topics, infusing the book with a unique and thought-provoking quality.
The characters in the book are eccentric and memorable, leading readers on thrilling adventures through both fantastical and mundane settings that take surprising turns. Akingbogun’s adept prose grabs the reader’s attention, though some stories could stand alone as novels in their own right.
The chapter titles, such as ‘Miss Gullible,’ ‘You Cannot Kill a Dead Cow,’ and ‘Cute Little Devil,’ are enticing, drawing readers in eagerly. Some stories, like “Baby Daddies,” not only engage but also entertain with humor, making them a delightful read.
Akingbogun’s talent for vividly depicting scenes transports readers into imagined worlds, captivating their imagination with rich descriptions.
It seems that the author has a wealth of works beyond this book. For those who enjoyed ‘Dreams from Yesterday,’ exploring Akingbogun’s other writings may prove to be a rewarding endeavor.
About the reviewer
Titilade Oyemade is a business executive in a leading organisation and holds a degree in Russian Language. She’s the convener of the Hangoutwithtee Ladies Event and the publisher of Hangoutwithtee magazine. She spends her weekends attending women conferences, events and book readings. She loves to have fun and to help other women have the same in their lives. Email: [email protected] Social: @tiipreeofficial
https://businessday.ng/bd-weekender/article/surprising-tales-that-effortlessly-intertwine-imagination-and-reality-a-review-of-akin-akingboguns-dreams-from-yesterday/

Every New Year holds promise, as though it is any different from the turn of

I want to tell you something about confidence that most people get spectacularly wrong.
And I mean that without arrogance — because I got it wrong too, for longer than I care to admit. I walked into rooms with my chest out and my chin up and told myself that was confidence. I practiced certain expressions in the mirror before big presentations. I rehearsed answers to imagined tough questions in the shower until the water ran cold.
I looked confident. I performed confidence quite convincingly, if I do say so myself.

There is a conversation you have been postponing.
You know the one. It has been living rent-free in the back of your head for days, possibly weeks. You have rehearsed it in the shower. You have drafted opening lines in your head while stuck on the Third Mainland Bridge. You have imagined seventeen different versions of how it could go, and approximately sixteen of them ended badly.
So you have said nothing. You have smiled when you did not feel like smiling, agreed when you wanted to disagree, and quietly let something important fester because the alternative — the actual conversation — felt like detonating a device in a room you still have to live in.

There is a category of question that polite intellectual company tends to avoid: the kind that, if you pull the thread long enough, begins to unravel not just a specific mystery but the entire fabric of what we think we know about human history. The Pyramids of Giza are that thread. They have been standing in the Egyptian desert for roughly 4,500 years.

Let me take you somewhere. Not to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean — at least, not yet. First, to Lagos. Nigeria. Sometime in the late 1980s. A teenager who should probably have been revising for exams is instead sitting cross-legged on the floor of a library, holding a book that is older than most of the furniture around it, reading about a city beneath the sea.

This is my story of discovering a film that challenged everything I thought I knew about the gift of time, every pulsating detail documented to inspire you to leap beyond your limitations and appreciate the beauty of growing old.
This story explores the paradox of immortality and why a movie from 2015 still resonates so deeply with audiences today.
I hope you find it worth your time.

This is my story, every pulsating detail documented to inspire you to question what you know and leap beyond your limitations.
This story is about the audacity of belief, the power of a well-told lie, and the journey to unlearn the things that poisoned my teenage mind.
I hope you find it worth your time.

There is a category of question that polite intellectual company tends to avoid: the kind that, if you pull the thread long enough, begins to unravel not just a specific mystery but the entire fabric of what we think we know about human history. The Pyramids of Giza are that thread. They have been standing in the Egyptian desert for roughly 4,500 years.

There is a peculiar kind of madness that does not arrive with hallucinations or trembling hands. It arrives quietly. At two in the morning. In a small desert town in New Mexico. It sounds like an idling diesel engine somewhere in the distance — except there is no engine. It sounds like a bass note being held by an invisible orchestra — except there is no orchestra.

Let me confess something. Long before LinkedIn articles, podcasts, and leadership keynotes became my world, I was a teenager sneaking to the library

In an era that increasingly demands hyper-specialization, Akin Akingbogun stands out as a refreshing anomaly. He is a man who refuses to be confined to a single box.

There is a particular kind of silence that falls on a man when the phone stops ringing, the proposals go unanswered, and the diary that once groaned under the weight of appointments sits quietly — almost mockingly — open. If you have ever been there, you know it.

Let me tell you something uncomfortable: the most generous person you know — the one who volunteers every weekend, donates quietly, never asks for anything in return — is probably getting something out of it. Not money. Maybe not even recognition. But something.

Adaeze had been awake since 4 a.m.
Not because she was anxious — though she was — but because this trip felt different. After eighteen months of follow-ups, phone calls, and PowerPoint presentations polished to a mirror shine, the deal was finally ready to close. An investor meeting in Abuja. A partnership that would change the trajectory of her small but gutsy consulting firm. She had triple-checked her flight, her documents, her outfit. She had prayed. She was ready.
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