Last Sunday, Sunday Dare, journalist, ace communicator, Chief of Staff and Special Adviser (Media) to former Governor of Lagos State and All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, clocked 50. He relives his practice in an encounter with ROBERT EGBE.
You were 50 on Sunday. Would you say you’ve achieved your goals for this age?
No one ever achieves everything in life, even if you live beyond 50; and 50 is regarded as a milestone, at least, that’s the general perception. In 50 years of your life on earth you should be able to thank God for being alive for that long. But also at that point in your life you should be able to look back and say: “Wow! I’ve achieved this much.”
I thank God that I’ve not achieved all I set out to do, but I’ve achieved appreciably much, whether in my family life, career-wise or in academic growth and development.
But, beyond that, on the lessons of life and the experiences I’ve gained from interactions beyond the walls of the institutions I attended, I hold extremely valuable the relationships I’ve had and interactions with people in my political life and professional life. They’ve added so much value to my life and I thank God for those I’ve met on my journey. I thank God for the experiences I’ve had: some pleasant, some unpleasant. It’s been a medley, and here I am, 50 years down the road.
In other words, you have no regrets?
There are regrets, but I don’t dwell on my failures or my expectations that were dashed. I use each setback as a launch pad to propel myself to achieve my goal. I see every delay, every unmet expectation as a challenge to my intellect to try and find another way to turn things around. So, are there regrets? Yes. Have I dealt with those regrets effectively? Yes.
You look barely 40. How do you maintain your youthfulness?
I run a very busy schedule. My genes could also have something to do with it.
Your first degree wasn’t directly related to the media. How did your journalism career begin?
I think I’ve been lucky. I didn’t set out to be a journalist; I set out to be a diplomat. In the course of studying to be a diplomat I saw that I had a talent for writing. So, I’m an accidental journalist. From International Relations – International Studies was my first degree – I moved on to International Law and Diplomacy. So, my first two degrees were not even in journalism, but I was always writing until I went to the New York University and the other university.
Flowing from this, I’ve had opportunities, you know people from international organisations, media organisations and groups, saying, ‘there’s this opportunity, take it.’ I’ve applied for so many. I’ve won virtually all I’ve applied for. I was able to get a job in America, right out of the Harvard University, to work with The Voice of America in Washington D.C. for nine years.
During the period of military dictatorship, we were in the vanguard of really investigative and radical journalism and the European Union, DFID and other groups brought in money for media development and that’s how some of us, as activists and journalists, were able to work under the EU to produce a magazine that promotes democracy and human rights.
You were born and lived your early years in Jos, a city that has been in the news for tragic events in recent years. What are your memories of that city?
I have very fond memories of Jos until the early 2000 to 2003, when it was seized by religious convulsions that destroyed and shattered the peace of the city. That convulsion affected my family and that changed my love for Jos. The fond memories now became sad ones.
The family house we had in Jos was burnt down. My only elder brother was attacked in the house; he was basically butchered on a Sunday morning and burnt with the house. My immediate younger sister’s husband, while scaling the fence to escape the attack, was stopped and hacked to death. My childhood friend while running away was stopped on the street and butchered to death on the spot.
I can go on and on; and this went on for four to five years. Just terrible memories. I did write a piece when my brother was killed, titled ‘From peace home to killing field,’ because Jos for me had moved from a home of peace and tourism.
There are many stories out there, of bloodletting, killings, and I wrote critical articles about them and the government of that day that never did enough to stop the carnage. We don’t know the body count, but what happened in Jos was a near genocide and the government of that day let it go on. So, Jos? I have mixed emotions. The early part, I have the good memories and the latter part I have the bad memories.
You’ve held very high profile positions outside the country, why did you leave all of that to work with Asiwaju?
I’ve known Asiwaju Bola Tinubu for over 15 years. I’ve not just admired him from a distance, I’ve also studied him up-close. I’ve worked with him in between time; and even though I left the country for 10 to 11 years, I was still in touch. The relationship dates back to almost my advent into mainstream journalism. By the time he came on the scene as a senator from Lagos in charge of the Appropriation and Finance Committee in the Senate, he was one of those that gave us a lot of materials and documents that enhanced our coverage of the political economy of this country. I’ve known him that far back. And then, when June 12 happened, we were all there; when the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) was formed, we were all there. I was part of the founding team of The News and Tempo magazines, and if you go back in history you will know what The News and Tempo were in this country. We stood at the barricade; we practised what was known as guerrilla journalism at that time, because we were operating from unusual places. We couldn’t stay in the newsroom. We were meeting in beer parlours, stadiums, and a couple of other places. But we made sure we got the stories out. It was courageous journalism, radical to the core, but with a people focus.
During that time, while we led the journalistic advocacy front, he led the pro-democracy wing of that era. He went on exile. He took many people along that joined him in exile. He led meetings; he was organising, arranging, and we were also here doing our work. So, we formed a solid synergy and we learnt so much from him in terms of his fierce commitment to democratic principles, refusal to compromise. His boldness to confront the authorities. He convened a sitting of the Senate outside Abuja. Babangida declared that government illegal and he was arrested and charged with treason.
What effect did he have on you?
For us, he was our kind of hero. So, we said if this man can take that risk, as journalists and editors, we would also not compromise our stories, we would not be bought. When I joined him five years ago, I was just ready for another phase, it was a transition. I’d been a journalist for long. I’d worked in the pro-democracy movement, I’d partnered with top political activists like him. So, working with him brought together all of those experiences. Much of what I do is a lot of writing, speeches, press statements but also a lot of brainstorming, sitting together looking at developments in the country, looking at resources that can be used to make policies, develop political strategies. But I can tell you that working with him has brought together, brought meaning to all of my academic and professional skills. I’ve had the opportunity to operate in a political environment of opportunity, of creativity and inquisitiveness that have enhanced my skills as a thinker and writer, deepened the depths of my intellectualism, expanded my network within the professional group and political class. But, above all, it has also put me in a vantage position to see the government and how it operates; to see how the operators of government operate.
Asiwaju Jagaban’s title appears to have mass appeal, especially among young people, with R&B artistes even singing about it and some adopting the title. How do you manage to keep the Asiwaju brand socially relevant?
If anyone lays claim to building the Asiwaju brand, they would just be lying. The person that owns the key and the patent to the brand is Asiwaju himself because of the way he has conducted his politics, because of the way he has also developed people, teamed up with people. Those are part of the composites that built this brand and he alone deserves the credit for that. People like me come along to help that brand flourish and to add what is necessary to make the brand continue to remain virile and impactful. When he got the Jagaban, I’m not even sure I was in the country. The timing was just perfect. He had achieved so much up to that point and he needed a title. People were just expectant to see one, it is a title that resonate, the way it sounds, its meaning captures the very essence of the man. Since then, Jagaban has almost overrode the Asiwaju title. But then the only person that has the patent to that brand is the man himself. He is the very essence of that brand.
You’re obviously a very busy man, how does your family cope with your lifestyle, especially since they live so far away from you?
My wife and kids live in the United States of America, I moved back about five years ago, not willingly, but Asiwaju said, ‘Sunday, you have to come back.’ And I said, okay, I’ll come for one year, but he said ‘No, it’s a long distance journey. Just come home. Why are you putting a time limit on it? Why do you think you can’t work for this country? Why do you want to sit there in America? You don’t want to develop your country? He didn’t give me an option, I had no option. So, without even checking in with my family, I started work here. I look back five years and I thank him for leaving me with no option than to return home and work here — to learn at the feet of one of the greatest and articulate minds I have ever known. And I’m not patronising here. At 50, I can look back and say how many people have really impacted me this strongly? If I were to name just three of them, he would be one of them. Of course, my father comes first. I’ve had editors, I’ve had managers and the rest, but he comes second. I’ve learnt so much, even in the silent moments when I just watch him talk on the phone or take decisions, or when I’m writing and he says ‘No, you don’t write it that way, do it this way’, or I make mistakes and he gets angry and says ‘No, you don’t that, much is expected of you.” Or when he challenges me and asks, “Do you know something about this?” And when I say no, he asks me to go and read it up and get back to him. So, under him I’ve been able to develop some potential that were latent, I was able to bring them to the fore. I do miss my family and I know they miss me too, but I know so many professionals who left Europe and America and left their families behind so they can concentrate on doing something for this country. That’s the way it is for me. I go back as often as I can to see them and they come around once in a while to see me.
What are your plans for your future?
The future is in God’s hands. We’re allowed to dream, pray about it and then leave it in God’s hands.
What do I want to do in future? Nothing different from what I’ve been doing. I want to remain relevant in the affairs of this country. I want to have a voice in what happens globally that affects this country, my family, my community. I want to become a better communicator, I love words, and I derive a lot of joy when I write something and it hits home. The future is in God’s hands, but, eventually, I want to be able to have more time to read, and also to have more time for God and my family. I know that during the struggle my family suffered the most, so, to have more time for my family would be invaluable.
