As I wind down on another Friday, I am thinking of two unusual activities. These were the birthday outings of two media barons – Segun Osoba on one hand and Henry Odukomaiya on the other.
The unusual feature derives from the fact that, there is the unwritten rule in our profession: that journalists report and analyse the news; very rarely do you see us making the news. It is as if we are meant to celebrate others – we should not strictly speaking do the same for ourselves. But even then, rules are made to be broken. This positive breach appears to have been obtained recently with the birthday outings of Segun Osoba and Henry Odukomaiya.
The former turned 82, while H.O. attained the age of 87 – the same age as Wole Soyinka who strictly speaking is not a member of the media. Yet and perhaps in an elastic sense, he can be considered as a member of the band. For those who may recall, Soyinka once served, as a must-read columnist in the now defunct, African Guardian. And if you are very familiar with the details of his early life, it is known that he once attempted to go into journalism. But he did not go past the test/cum writing stage at the old Daily Times.
As he himself recalled, he was so busy writing off that the white invigilator had to snatch the papers from him on the grounds that he did not want to miss his lunch. Such indeed are the mysterious ways of fate such that, an individual who was rejected by the Daily Times went on to become a celebrated writer, not just in Africa but in the world. There is a Shakespearean touch to this, since the Bard himself asserted that no one, except the gods know what is in the womb of time.
And talking of fate brings to mind one of the birthday boys under discussion -Segun Osoba. His, appears to have been a charmed life in which he moved from one coveted position to the other in the media world. It was possible to catch a glimpse of this in the memoirs of that iconic veteran of Nigerian journalism, Babatunde Jose, a former managing director of the defunct Daily Times.
In his book, Walking The Tight Rope, Jose revealed that his career was catalysed and ensured by Cecil King, his then boss in The Daily Times. According to Jose when he encountered Osoba, he was of the view that he had to put in place a similar relationship between him and the then young reporter. The near father-son relationship between Jose and Osoba was such that, in the course of time, S.O, eventually became the editor of the Daily Times. It was a situation which rocked the entire Times establishment. Some of his peers, now deceased, would not take this lying down. They kicked and in the process generated a major rumpus in the then Daily Times.
Ultimately, the incident as omniscient observers may recall, claimed the scalps of some of the top management including Jose himself. Osoba appeared to have survived it and went on to serve as the pioneer general manager of The Herald Newspaper in Ilorin where he again served with distinction. But such is the peripatetic nature of the profession that he moved once again, this time to Daily Sketch in Ibadan, where he served in the top position of managing director.
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Subsequently, he returned to the Times where he served as a top hat in the organization. It was a return of sorts for him, to his earlier professional watering hole. And this was where our paths crossed. I was serving on the editorial board on a sabbatical stint from my original base at Obafemi Awolowo University. So it was something of a brief look-in for me. And what I could sense was that as a veteran dating back to the old Daily Times, he had to adjust to a new era in which the military boys called the shots.
He therefore had to proceed gingerly till the end of his tenure when Yemi Ogunbiyi stepped in as his successor. In the meantime, politics was in the air. And as such, our man effected the transition from journalism into politics. And before you knew it, he had served as governor of Ogun State on two different occasions. And at the moment he is 82, in what can be called the winter of his life. The reader may want to note that these transitions from one position to the other did not just occur automatically. They were accompanied by trials and stress. However through it all, the gods so to say, were on his side.
A similar feature of destiny can be observed in the life of the other birthday boy-Henry Odukomaiya. This streak in him was vividly revealed when he virtually abandoned his studies at the University of Ghana in Legon, after which he birthed at the Daily Times. In the Times, he climbed the ladder through diligence and in the process he held top editorial positions.
He ultimately bowed out due to the tiff between himself and Jose. Subsequently, he served as the pioneer Chief Executive of the now defunct Concord. On this particular platform, such was his managerial acumen that Concord was able to give the older newspapers a good run for the editorial strengths and accomplishments.
He moved on to The Champion where he again ruptured the market to the advantage of this new Paper. For those who know, it will do well to recall that, at a point in time, The Champion Newspaper was making waves, especially in the world of sports. At 87, it is clear that Odukomaiya is in what can be called, the splendid and retirement phase of his life. For as the saying goes, old soldiers never die, they only fade away. It is clear that H.O is not about to die now. Even then, if and when the ultimate happens, he will continue to live on, in the professional lives of younger journalists, many of whom he has nurtured. On this note, the testimony of Lade Bonuola, the former managing director of The Guardian Newspaper is worth recalling.
According to Bonuola, his stature in journalism is largely owed to the mentorship and tutelage which he received from Odukomaiya. Evidently, this is not a one-off situation. Other journalists must have also benefitted from the experience and guidance of this formidable media man.
As things stand, the two media barons are clearly in the injury time of their respective lives. So here is wishing the two of them the very best as they journey forth in the coming years. They represent some of our best. So, no apologies for what may well amount to an incestuous exercise. But clearly, it is not. For as pointed out earlier, now and then, we as journalists have to be the newsmakers too!
