By Etim Etim
It was quite fitting and memorable that former employees of The
Guardian newspaper chose to honour Alex Uruemu Ibru, the paper’s late
publisher, with a new book that focuses on the birth and story of the
newspaper in its first 10 years. Written by Aaron Ukodie (the paper’s
first Communications reporter) and O’seun Ogunseitan (founding Science
correspondent), and with contributions from over 50 other former
journalists, including this writer, the book is an important addition to
the scanty shelf of literature on Nigeria’s journalism. The array of
dignitaries at the launch event in Lagos last Thursday (April 8) attests
to how dearly many Nigerians continue to cherish the memory of our
publisher. The presence of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the
high-minded speech he gave on the role of the media in our nation’s
history and development were the high point of the day.
The
Vice President noted that although The Guardian was established during
the ‘’censorial and illiberal’’ era of military dictatorship, the paper
‘’quickly set itself apart as the outpost of liberalism populated by
intrepid journalists and keen-minded intellectuals devoted to the
freedom of thought and inquiry’’. It was one of the best speeches made
by any public official in many years. The VP paid glowing tributes to
the late publisher and the youngest of the six Ibru brothers, describing
as a man of calm deportment with foresight and propensity for
risk-taking. Said the VP: ‘‘To find a businessman that could trust a
group of intellectuals with editorial freedom in the treacherous
sociopolitical climate of the time as Alex Ibru did, was clearly
exceptional’’. Prof Osinbajo praised The Guardian for setting ‘’new
standards that forever transformed the practice of journalism’’ in our
country, noting that the pioneers of the newspaper understood that
journalism operates in a social context and cannot be value-neutral.
Professor Osinbajo is the first Nigerian, and so far the only one, to
expertly use teleprompter in delivering all his speeches in and outside
the country.
The new book should
enrich our national collection on the history and evolution of Nigeria’s
journalism. The dearth of published works in this important area was a
major part of Aremu Olusegun Osoba’s remarks at the event. One of the
nation’s best journalists, Chief Osoba is one of the important persons
that played crucial roles in the founding of The Guardian. In fact, he
was actually tipped to be its founding editor. Thankfully, he’s written
his own memoir which is an impressive account of his journalism career
and his ring-side view of events in the country. In his opening remarks
as the Chairman of the book launch event last week, Chief Osoba
regretted that another media icon who died recently, Lateef Jakande,
departed without writing a book despite his rich experiences in
journalism. ‘’Jakande was the sole writer of editorials in Nigerian
Tribune in those days, and those editorials were always pungent enough
to keep the military authorities worried all the time. Jakande’s library
is full of files and documents on the evolution of Nigeria’s journalism
and the formation of its many institutions like the NUJ, NIJ, Nigerian
Guild of Editors, etc, yet the man did not write a book despite my
promptings’’, bemoaned Osoba. However, I must acknowledge great efforts
by some of our best in the industry. Richard Ikiebe and Lanre Idowu have
recently enhanced our national library with their epic works on the
media. Ikiebe’s two-volume book, Nigerian Media Leaders: Voices Beyond
the Newsroom and Lanre Idowu’s Uneven Steps: The Story of The Nigerian
Guild of Editors and Voices from Within, essays in honour of Sam Amuka
are very important publications. There are also Fred Omu’s Press and
Politics in Nigeria and Dayo Duyile’s Makers of Nigerian Press.
Broadcasting has also benefited other scholarly works like the essay by
Liwhu Betiang (2013), Global Drums and Local Masquerades: Fifty Years of
Television Broadcasting in Nigeria: 1959-2009 and books such as
Folarin, B. (2000) Foundation of broadcasting: A handbook for Nigerian
students, and Lasode, O. (1994) Television broadcasting: The Nigerian
experience, 1959-1992.
Despite
these, media professionals believe that old hands in the industry should
write more books. Chido Nkakamma, a former journalist at The Guardian
says the challenge of inadequate documentation and citation was the
greatest hurdle he faced in teaching Nigerian Media History for over
four semesters at at the School of Media and Communication at the Pan
Atlantic University, Lagos. He notes that the new offering by Ukodie and
Ogunseitan, The Making of the Flagship: A story of The Guardian has
‘‘rendered an excellent service to journalism and scholarship’’.
Alex
Ibru deserves all the honour he gets, even in death. A successful
businessman and a doting family man, he founded The Guardian in 1983 at
age 38. A month shy of my 27th birthday, I joined the paper as a
reporter on the Business Desk in January 1988. I was struck at how
humble and ordinary, but elegant the publisher looked in his simple
white buba and shokoto. Occasionally, he would walk quietly across the
newsroom, trying not to create distractions, as he made his way to the
editor’s office. It was a point his widow, Maiden, made in her speech
last week. ‘‘He was just an amiable, gentleman who did his business
decently’’, she said. But beyond her personal reminiscences which
included the fact that her husband died on her birthday, Mrs Ibru read a
prepared a speech in which he called for the restructuring of the
country into a true federal republic. It is a cause The Guardian is so
committed to so much so that it has been the focus of the paper’s front
page editorial every Thursday in the last six months. The series is
titled Federalism is the answer, after all.
The
honour given to Alex Ibru by his former employees 10 years after his
death testifies to the Biblical injunction that all good deeds would be
rewarded bountifully, one way or the other. None of us could have
envisioned long ago when we disengaged from the paper, sometimes in
unpleasant circumstances, that we would one day be involved a project
that would celebrate the man in such an important way. I can only hope
that this book will open the way for media professionals and veterans to
document their experiences in the industry. I particularly look forward
to a publication from Lade Bunuola (Ladbone), one of the best
journalists of our time. I must commend Prof Yemi Osinbajo for honouring
the Alex Ibru, his family family and us, former employees of The
Guardian newspaper, with his esteemed presence and beautiful speech
despite his hectic schedule.
