Our Reporter
Yakubu Mohammed presented his autobiography, Beyond Expectations, last week at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs in Lagos.
It was attended by top men of the media, including Aremo Segun Osoba, Tola Adeniyi, Soji Akinrinade. But two things stood out of the event. One was a revelation, and the other was virtual silence. The revelation to many was that Yakubu Mohammed was the man behind the formation of the magazine of his generation, Newswatch.
He it was who provided the initial investor and funding, and set in motion a magazine that must go down in history as one of the consequential acts in Nigerian history. Not Dele Giwa, not Ray Ekpu, not Dan Agbese did that.
It is a testament to Mohammed’s good grace and humility that he allowed himself to play a lower role as a managing editor while Giwa became chief executive and editor in chief and Ekpu to be the second in control.
The other revelation was silence. In his book, he made three claims that have raised some questions. One, that the military should not be accused of killing the media icon. The common belief is that it was the IBB regime that did. He had been quoted as saying of the letter bomb that shattered him, “This must be from the president.”
Major Debo Bashorun in his book, Honour For Sale, rooted his troubles with the IBB regime to his knowledge of his killers in the regime.
Two, that magazine was sleuthing for who killed Gloria Okon. It was curious subject in those days. Nduka Obaigbena’s colourful Thisweek magazine even did a cover: Gloria Okon: Dead or alive. Three, was Gani Fawehinmi the magazine’s lawyer?
Although The Nigerian Tribune’s Lasisi Olagunju gave us an erudite review, he glanced at these concerns. For a news man, the presentation left me with an appetite.
A year after Giwa’s death, Ekpu assigned me to interview media chiefs for a cover piece, Remembering Dele Giwa.
That seems all we can do right now.
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