Remi Oyo: May the heavens accept her soul

A Yoruba adage says “There is a lot to say, there is little time and space to do so; there is time and space to fill, but there is very little to say”.

In my case the former is true. As I struggle to recall whose acquaintance I made first: Vincent or Remi Oyo’s, I know the casual professional association with both of them that started 30 years ago transformed from 1998/99 to a closer professional collaboration and personal friendship.

Although I participated in the efforts to resuscitate the Nigerian Guild of Editors in 1988 and attended its programmes till 1992, I did not show keen interest in its politics again until 1998 when Remi Oyo, then of the Inter Press Agency, had called on me to support her candidature in the coming elections as president. I was at first sceptical because I was unsure if her job truly qualified for the membership of the Guild. On checking the Guild’s constitution of the day, I noticed that an unambiguous provision had been made for our colleagues working with foreign news agencies. At about the same time, my colleague, Emeka Omeihe, then of Champion, had also expressed his interest in the presidency of the Guild.

After Remi won the election, she named me chairman of the Training and Enlightenment committee, which was saddled with designing workshops and business luncheons and publishing The Editor, the Guild’s professional magazine. The work of the committee was pivotal to her plans to reposition the Guild and her appreciative colleagues gave her full backing. At about the same time, she had joined the Diamond Awards for Media Excellence (DAME) as one of our judges. Indeed, many of the DAME meetings were held at the Guild Secretariat with her providing the drinks and snacks. She would later be named a DAME trustee, the only female so far. It was during her tenure as president that the Guild endowed the Editor of the Year prize for its members as a way to encourage them to further toe the path of professionalism. In many ways, Remi was a dependable ally who made things happen behind the scene. Over time, the professional relationship we shared developed into personal friendship.

Remi’s success at the Guild can be anchored on three Cs: consultation, coordination and communication. She was a good listener and networker, who was eager to learn; a team-player who made effective use of the resources available to her. Ever tactful and courteous, she was a good communicator. It also helped that she was slightly older than many of her officers, who often deferred to her.

Just as her tenure as the Guild President was winding down, she expressed desire to succeed Mallam Wada Maida, a past president of the Guild, as managing director of the News Agency of Nigeria as his tenure too, was about to end. She urged our mentor, Mr. Tunji Oseni, the Senior Special Assistant (Media) to President Olusegun Obasanjo, to sell her candidature to the President.

Oseni did. But along the way, Obasanjo had other ideas. Some months earlier, his Vice, Atiku Abubakar, had mentioned to him the need to appoint a younger person to handle his information management at the Villa. In his view, Oseni was a media general that merited a less gruelling assignment; what Obasanjo needed, he counselled, was a colonel, who would relate better with the troops. President Obasanjo had thanked Atiku for his advice and had, indeed, mentioned it to Mr. Oseni.

So one morning in June 2003, the Villa invited Remi Oyo for further discussion on her resume which Oseni had submitted. Thinking it was about the NAN job, she had called Oseni ahead of her departure from Lagos to Abuja about the invitation. It was at the office of the Chief of Staff, she was told to take over from Oseni as the new presidential spokesperson. The hapless woman burst into tears, asking: “What of uncle Tunji?”

It took a stoic Oseni little time that day to clear his desk, visit Obasanjo for his last handshake and put out a statement, announcing “I’m out”. Obasanjo reportedly assured Oseni and Oyo that he had something else for Oseni, which never came until he passed on November 29, 2004.

As Obasanjo’s spokesperson, Oyo discharged her duty well at the Villa but her crowning professional glory was at NAN. There as her own boss she was able to put her bold imprint on the content of NAN’s services to her customers, bring her motherly attributes to management, use her vast contacts in government to attract good funding and put it to good use. That was the assignment she hankered for. Thank God that after the detour to Aso Villa, she eventually got the job that gave her great fulfilment.

As we mourn the exit of Oyo, who was truly a good media ambassador, and remember Oseni, who was our media general, let us ponder on the coincidence of Oyo and Oseni dying of cancer-related ailments. Both also died just before their 62nd birthdays. Whilst Oyo passed on 11 days before the date, Oseni’s home call was 37 days earlier. For whom does the bell toll next? Let us lend our support to honest and serious efforts to accord research into cancer, medicine, and other vital areas of human concern the deserved pride of place. That way, we can hope to drink longer from the fountain of knowledge of our worthy members.

May Remi Oyo’s legacy endure. May Almighty God forgive her shortcomings and may the heavens accept her soul!

LANRE IDOWU