By Olujide Olusola and Martha Unuigbe
The name Nyaknnoabasi (abbreviated as Nyaknno), meaning “I leave you in the hands of the Almighty God”, acted as a foundational blueprint for Nyaknno Osso’s life.
Given to him by his mother, Mama Edina, after she tragically lost seven consecutive sons, the name carried a profound psychological and spiritual weight. It transformed him from a mere survivor into a purpose-driven pioneer, deeply shaping his career as Nigeria’s premier archivist, biographer, information and knowledge management expert, researcher and documentalist, profound resilience, and his magnetic attraction to powerful historical figures.
The specific ways his name directly influenced his personal and professional trajectory include:
1. Overcoming devastating disappointment and discouragement
A shield against trauma: Growing up as the sole survivor out of eight children, Nyaknno inherited a subconscious mandate to survive.
Navigating high-stakes losses: This hardwired resilience proved vital when his close friend and Newswatch co-founder, Dele Giwa, was brutally assassinated by a parcel bomb in 1986. Instead of letting terror paralyse him, Nyaknno buried his grief in work, ensuring Giwa’s intellectual legacy was preserved.
Weathering career hardships: In his autobiography, Against All Odds: My Testimony, Nyaknno outlines surviving severe hardships, including cancer, a kidnapping attack, and working closely with former President Olusegun Obasanjo for 25 years only to walk away without a formal pension. The spiritual submission embedded in his name allowed him to let go of bitterness, maintain peace of mind, and pivot toward creating independent legacies.
2. Career direction and creative vision
The calling to curate legacies: Because his own life was viewed as a miraculous extension of divine preservation, Nyaknno dedicated his entire career to preserving the lives of others. This directly inspired his groundbreaking creative work, the Newswatch Who’s Who in Nigeria.
The “human search engine”: His creative drive led him to digitise 157 years of Nigerian history through the Biographical Legacy and Research Foundation. His name gave him the long-term stamina to build Africa’s most robust biographical database entirely from scratch.
3. Attracting the “Right People at the Right Time”
The humility and aura of absolute destiny associated with a “divinely surrendered” child made Nyaknno a trusted confidant to fiercely protective and powerful individuals:
Prof. Felicia Adetowun Ogunsheye: As his Head of Department at the University of Ibadan, the first female Professor in Nigeria, recognised his unique spirit and became his lifelong career mentor, laying the foundation for his academic career.
Ray Ekpu and Dele Giwa: When the iconic journalists were conceptualising Newswatch magazine, they didn’t just hire Nyaknno as an employee; they appointed him as the first member of senior management. They trusted him completely with the “brain” of the organisation—the research library.
General Olusegun Obasanjo: Trusting a librarian with a president’s personal archives requires total faith. Nyaknno successfully “sold” the concept of Africa’s very first presidential library to Obasanjo. Because of his absolute integrity, Obasanjo appointed him his Special Assistant on Library, Research, and Documentation (1999–2007) and tasked him with coordinating the multimillion-dollar Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL).
4. Capacity expansion and global footprint
Stepping onto the world stage: Leaving his life “in the hands of God” pushed Nyaknno out of local boundaries. To build the OOPL, he studied 13 presidential libraries in the United States and spent time learning about information management systems within the White House.
Meeting global titans: This capacity expansion brought a boy from Ikot-Abasi into direct contact with leaders such as Ted Turner, Robert McNamara, Lance Morrow, Neil Armstrong, Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and George W. Bush.
Ultimately, his name shifted his mindset from fear of failure to an unshakeable faith in his assignment, transforming him into what Nigerian media history regards as the ultimate human search engine.
