The memoir of Comrade Hassan A. Sunmonu, titled Organise Don’t Agonise, is a compelling read. Reviewing the memoir proved a more Herculean task than one would have thought from the outset. This is because the book is not merely a collection of the experiences of a prominent labor leader in Africa but also a political text deeply situated in the heart of Nigeria’s complex quest for power, institutional fragility, and resistance. A close contact with the book reveals an uncommon truth about what essence means.