The Presidency and many Nigerians were shocked last week Sunday when the news of the death of the State House’s Director of Information, Mr Justin Onuorah Abuah hit the social media.
Abuah, who died in Abuja after a brief illness, has served eight Presidents and Heads of State for 30 years since 1986.
The leaders he served included ex-military President, Ibrahim Babangida, former Head of Interim National Government, Ernest Shonekan, the late Head of State, Sani Abacha, former Head of State, Abdulsami Abubakar.
He also served ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, the late President Musa Yar’Adua, former President Goodluck Jonathan and President Muhammadu Buhari.
For holding sway for a long time and beating the records of his predecessors at the Media and Publicity Department, Abuah was specially presented to President Buhari on May 30, 2016 during the Presidential Lunch for State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
At the dinner, which was part of events marking the first 12 months of Buhari’s democratic administration, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, who served as the Master of Ceremony, had presented Abuah alongside 84-year-old photojournalist member of the State House Press Corps, Ladan Abubakar, who has put in 42 years into journalism beside being a tailor.
It was the first time Abuah and Ladan were accorded such recognition by a sitting President since their long stay at the Presidential Villa.
Abuah, at the dinner in May, however, never knew that the occasion was also going to be his last recognition alive by a President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
At the State House Media and Publicity office, Abuah was often seen as a technocrat needed to make the engine room of the media office operate effectively from one government to the other.
Many of the past governments could not do without him.
He had not only been a dependable hand in the concise and timely press statements the administrations have churned out, but he ensured members of the State House Press Corps, who needed to work on the statements, get them.
He was so good on the job that he hardly made mistakes on any press statement to warrant re-issuing a corrected version of the statement.
To get the work done, Abuah had also severally followed some late night press statements with telephone calls to some members of the Press Corps.
You will hear his voice from the other side of the line mentioning your name and asking you if you had received the press statement he just circulated.
By so doing, he had not only woken up some colleagues who had already retired to bed for the night, but also helped them in keeping their jobs by not missing out front-page stories the following day.
No wonder many State House correspondents joined some staff in the Presidency to mourn Abuah’s death.
Many of them were seen clad in black cloth, at different days from last week Monday, which was the first working day after Abuah’s death.
A good number of them accompanied the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, to officially pay condolence visit to Abuah’s family in Abuja last Wednesday.
The two buses and a jeep that conveyed the journalists to Abuah’s Apo resident were filled to the brim as some of them had to stay back for lack of sitting space.
Some of the journalists also drove their vehicles in a convoy to Abuah’s house.
Before last Wednesday’s visit, many State House correspondents had also gone on their own to pay condolence visits to Abuah’s family.
Leading the Media Department, State House Press Corps and Protocol Department on the visit last Wednesday, Adesina said: “Words failed me to actually described him (Abuah), when he passed the first thing that came to mind was that a competent man has gone.
“He related well with many people. He was an excellent man and did his job excellently. His passage is trauma to us.” He said
Shehu, who was also on the entourage, noted that Abuah wasý a pillar of support, an icon of emulation and a unique individual.
He said: “ýWe feel a sense of loss over a man who has served seven Presidents with dedication. We lost a pillar of support, an icon of emulation.ý
“We were just learning about him, we felt angry we were not in the know of his ill-health but we found out that he is a man who did not like to bother anybody with his pains”. He added
While praying to Almighty God for Abuah’s soul to rest in peace, he will definitely not be forgotten in a hurry.
He has left behind very big shoes that may take some time to fill effectively and efficiently.
His exit has really thrown up the challenge of how to replace him.
Is he going to be replaced by one of the staff in the State House who has understudied him over the years?
Or will he be replaced by a fresh Director from outside the Presidential Villa?
Experiences on the job, definitely cannot be thrown to the winds knowing that the State House is a unique place that demands special skills.