He was well connected but never allowed that to get into his head. The Newswatch environment provided great opportunities for travels within and outside the country. There was no small story or information that could not be invested in with the reporters travelling far and wide.
There was hardly any part of the country I would visit without coming across a helpful source who would be connected to him: Yakubu Mohammed. And they would all send fond greetings to him though me. I would return to base and deliver the message. He would make light of it: ‘Oh, someone knows me in Nnewi (or Kano, Osogbo, etc). Please, help me greet him in return’. A few times, he would explain his connection with the source.
Then I went to Ghana to cover the 1992 presidential and parliamentary election through which former military leader, Jerry Rawlings emerged as civilian leader. I was away for almost a week and returned late on production night. I had thought I could relax from a hectic assignment having hardly slept for days, and do a more extensive story for the upper week’s edition. But I thought wrongly, it turned out.
‘Oga Yakubu’ was the editor on duty. He was not expecting me, as I had not been in touch with the office since the previous day. It was the pre-GSM era and telephone was a luxury. He was observing the Isha (8 pm) prayer in his office when I arrived at our 62 Oregun Road premises. The newsroom was welcoming, and the noise must have attracted Oga Yakubu’s attention.
In a few minutes, he stepped out of his office. ‘Ah! Muyiwa, you’re back?’ I was yet to respond to that rhetorical question when he followed up with what had now become his refrain: ‘So, who asked about me in Ghana?’ I replied in the negative. ‘Oh, my popularity has not extended to Ghana’, he quipped. We both laughed. Then he rattled me: ‘Now, go and write your story. It’s our second lead’. I thought I didn’t hear him well until he complained: ‘I know I’m in trouble tonight with this your tiny writing’. Computers had not arrived the newsroom and I was notorious for my tiny writing (One of my lecturers described it as ‘disappearing writing)’.
When the Yoruba say of someone, ‘o le yo’ju e fun eniyan’, they mean, in a contextual manner, that the individual being discussed exhibits extreme love, deep affection, or a willingness to make a massive sacrifice for another person. Oga Yakubu was that character. He was quite generous; a quintessential problem-solver.
When I told him I was leaving the magazine, he sat me down and wondered why. Our General Editor, Godwin Agbroko (may his soul keep resting peacefully) and I had agreed on two things: we would not disclose our next destination, and we would not weaken the Newswatch newsroom by having any member of the team join us in the mission to found what became Theweek magazine. But Oga Yakubu was so concerned and probed. I eventually divulged our destination to him. ‘If you have any reason to return, do not hesitate to call me’, were his parting words.
I was quite restless, moving from one newsroom to another. Each time I ran into Oga Yakubu and he got to know that I had moved again, he would caution that I slowed down. He never failed to ask if all was well with me. He was more concerned when he got to know about my marriage to a Kogi State woman.
He invited me to the public presentation of his memoir, ‘Beyond Expectations’ but I was out of town on that day. Days later, he called me to come and pick an autographed copy. ‘But, if you want me to dispatch it to you, send me your address’, he said.
When I didn’t see him at the celebration of the life of Oga Dan Agbese on 15 December, I asked about him from Oga Soji Akinrinade. He said he had been ill. But Oga Yakubu sounded quite well when I called him the next day. I said I would check on him, but he responded I shouldn’t bother, that he was fast recovering. That’s Oga Yakubu, never wanting to disturb anyone.
Farewell to a damn good man.
Akintunde was an Associate Editor with Newswatch between 1992 and 1994
