A Review of Medicine and Literature Without Borders

By Osezua Stephen-Imobhio
Founder/Festival Director, African Indigenous Language Film Festival (AILFF)

Medicine and Literature Without Borders: Health and Social Justice in the Writings of Wale Okediran, edited by Denja Abdullahi and Stephen Kekeghe, is far more than an academic collection or festschrift. It is a compelling portrait of a remarkable life lived across disciplines—medicine, literature, politics and cultural administration.

Dr. Wale Okediran is a physician who writes with the sensitivity of a storyteller, a former legislator who understands the complexities of power, and a literary administrator committed to nurturing the next generation. His ability to move between these worlds gives his writing a rare depth and humanity.

The book brings together critical essays, reviews, interviews and tributes that examine his works and the social issues they confront. Across the 37 chapters, the contributors explore themes including health, social justice, political corruption, terrorism, trauma, gender violence, inequality, mental health and human resilience.

What particularly strikes me is how Dr. Okediran uses literature as a form of diagnosis. Like a physician examining a patient, he examines society—identifying its wounds, exposing its underlying conditions and challenging us to consider possible paths to healing.

His novel Madagali, for instance, demonstrates how terrorism is not merely a security problem but also a public-health, psychological and humanitarian crisis. Similarly, Tenants of the House provides a revealing literary examination of Nigeria's political culture and the contradictions of public life.

The interviews and tributes add another important dimension. They reveal the man behind the books and highlight his contribution to literary institution-building, particularly through the Ebedi International Writers Residency. They portray not only a writer but also a mentor, administrator and literary gardener who has created opportunities for others to grow.

As the Founder and Festival Director of the African Indigenous Language Film Festival, I am particularly drawn to the book's central philosophy: that creative expression can cross boundaries and become an instrument of social transformation.

Literature, like film, can preserve memory, challenge injustice, amplify marginalised voices and help society see itself more clearly.

Medicine and Literature Without Borders therefore presents Dr. Wale Okediran not simply as a physician who writes, but as a social healer—one who uses the stethoscope to understand the body and the pen to interrogate the conscience of society.

It is an important book for writers, filmmakers, academics, medical professionals, policymakers and everyone who believes that stories can help us build a more humane and just society.

Osezua Stephen-Imobhio
Founder/Festival Director
African Indigenous Language Film Festival (AILFF)