The Nation Newspaper

Category: Lekan Otufodunrin

  • The limits of pardon

    The limits of pardon

    President Goodluck Jonathan seems to like courting unnecessary controversies which keeps denting the image of his government. If not, how can he or his aides justify the surprise state pardon granted the impeached governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha?

    From one controversy to the other by him or his ‘born again’ wife, Dame Patience, the President continues to fritter whatever is left of the goodwill he initially enjoyed when he was elected.

    He has a way of sometimes leaving many of his sympathisers, including myself, speechless with some of his controversial decisions, which make one to wonder if he really cares about the implications of his actions.

    With the various challenges the federal government is battling on all fronts and the need to enjoy the support of as many as possible, the presidential pardon for his former boss, who was convicted for money laundering and other serious corrupt offences in 2007, is uncalled for.

    The President must know something we don’t all know to justify the surreptitious manner of getting the Council of State to endorse his hidden agenda of granting the pardon to Alamieyeseigha and others, which some of those present at the meeting are now faulting.

    If the president thought he could placate Nigerians by including the names of the former governor under whom he served as deputy along with some retired military officers who were jailed for a phantom coup, on the list of those pardoned, he now knows better.

    No amount of defence by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, can convince anyone that the president does not have a personal interest in exercising his right to grant pardon to those who at one time or the other have been punished for an offence against the state.

    Okupe has really been at his best churning out all kinds of justification for Alamieyeseigha’s pardon, including the laughable one that the former governor had used his political and stabilising influence in the Niger Delta region to ensure high volume of crude oil export by the country. The irrepressible spokesman is obviously stretching the truth too far for want of good reasons for the pardon.

    Interestingly, Okupe quoted Lord Denning as saying that “the purpose of punishment is not to destroy the offender but to reform him and deter others.” Alamieyesigha should be grateful that he is not languishing in jail for the offences he committed. Granting him pardon is clearly not the way to reform him or deter others from corrupt practices.

    If President Jonathan is really serious about his anti-corruption crusade, he should not have pardoned the former governor, who was convicted for stealing public fund or any other person like the former Managing Director of the Bank of the North, Shetima Bulama, who misappropriated bank funds.

    Clearly, President Jonathan is very desperate to help his ‘benefactor’ to erase his shameful past records, which explains why military officers who had earlier been granted clemency are now being pardoned.

    Time will tell what the real purpose of the pardon for Alamieyesigha is for, but President Jonathan will go down in history as one leader who sacrificed the desire of Nigerians for a corruption-free nation by pardoning his former boss who was found guilty and jailed for corruption.

  • Be warned, you can be ‘googled’

    Be warned, you can be ‘googled’

    Last Thursday, while searching for a term I was not familiar with on Google, I stumbled on an article titled: 5 Ways to spot bad employees…before they are hired

    I was curious about what it means to be a bad employee and clicked to read the article.

    One of the five ways titled Google the candidate caught my attention.

    The article by a staff of allbusiness.com stated thus: Blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and even industry articles can reveal interesting details about a person that you’d never be able to uncover in even the best interview. This kind of research can also help you uncover inaccuracies in the candidate’s résumé.

    The above advice to employers reinforced my belief that people should be careful about what they put online. In the present digital world, you are as good as what search engines say about you than your carefully prepared curriculum vitae or the positive impression you give at interviews and during your interaction with people.

    Employers want to know more about you than your educational qualifications. They want to know the company you keep, the quality of your thoughts and many other things about you which what you say or share online or is said or shared about you online can reveal.

    I remember reading a quote that cautioned against unrestrained use of the internet that said in future, some of us may have to change our names to erase our cyber past.

    With growing internet access in the country, we all seem to be too eager to share so much online at the slightest instance. Many are so obsessed with posting on facebook that they literally violate their own privacy.

    While it may be okay to indulge in some occasional sharing of information and pictures, especially on anniversaries and a few other special occasions, what many do on the social media is an abuse of the forum at their own expense without realising it.

    We don’t have to share information about everything we do. We need to realise that almost everything about us online can be found through use of search engines.

    If you are very active online, search for your name on Google and you will be surprised what you will find. Things you have forgotten about and things about you that you are not aware are online.

    To regulate use of social media for instance, some organisations abroad have social media policies. There are things employees must not do online for the sake of the image of their organisations. Since I first posted a part of this article on facebook last week, I have read various responses with some saying it may be better not to share anything online. The solution is not about staying offline. No one who wants to be taken seriously in this age should. What is necessary is a lot of caution in deciding what we should and should not publish online. Google must be able to say something about you however little. The issue what will it say about you. The option is yours.

    The next time you’re online, remember you are documenting for scrutiny the kind of person you are. My advice: Know what to post online. It could make or mar your opportunity to get that job or position you desire or retain your present one.

  • Advancing media career

    What does it takes to advance a media career in Nigeria despite the various challenges faced by journalists in the country?

    I recently asked Jenifer Ehidiamen, a former Young Nation columnist with this paper to share her thoughts with a group of journalists in Lagos. She was very reluctant, claiming to be too young in the profession to be advising her seniors.

    Ehidiamen may be young in the profession but she has learnt and accomplished a lot to qualify to speak on the issue of succeeding in whatever career one chooses. Her prescriptions are not only good enough for media profession but for anyone who wants to make a success of his or her career.

    Trainings and Fellowship

    In my final year thesis that was focused on The Factors the Influences Journalist’s Productivity, one of the findings in the research was journalist’s interest in embracing training opportunities. However, most journalists who were surveyed in the Vanguard and the Nation admitted that most of the trainings they have been to are mostly self-sponsored. The management rarely provide training opportunities that can advance their career. However, as journalists we must not limit ourselves to the limited training opportunities provided by our organizations. If we really want to move ahead in our media career then we must be ready to maximize every training opportunity available. Popular online resource where we can find training and fellowship opportunities include: www.ijnet.org; www.internationalreporting.org etc.

    Embrace the New Media

    The new media is changing the face of journalism. But how many of us here are maximizing the tools to advance our media career? A lot of people I know who are active on social media and very proactive in reproducing news contents from the news professional journalists publish have no prior training in journalism. Yet, they are the ones making the best of the new media tools. What are professional journalists doing? There are different tools we must be willing to embrace in order to become more visible online. Some of the tools I use most are: Twitter, FaceBook, GooglePlus, Blog, LinkedIn etc. Each of these tools has a strong way of helping us have a more impactful online presence. We must not settle for just creating news contents for our traditional media alone. We each can own a website or create a free account on Blogger or WordPress and use them as channels to amplify our voices on issues we are passionate about. The more people know that you are actually a journalist and not just another blogger, the more they are likely to visit your blog for original and accurate reports you publish. We can use the new media to engage others, network, collaborate and advance our career.

    Profile: Tell your story right

    Journalists are very good story tellers. We do a very good job telling the stories of others but not our story. The other day my former classmate was having a challenge with filling a space in an application that required her to tell her story. The space required over 700 words. But all she had was some 390 words or so. I was perplexed after I read through the profile. “You are more than this,” I said to her. I could not figure out if she was trying to be modest or she was just too timid to tell her story. As journalist we need to have an audacious voice in sharing our experiences with others. Our profile should speak for us. How is your current LinkedIn page, is it up to date? Is the picture you used on point? People are interested in learning about where we have been and why we do what we do. Without an up to date profile that accurately tell of our work, they cannot learn this. Don’t get me wrong, this is not same as blowing out own trumpet. I think we are each shortchanging ourselves from possible opportunities that might come knocking if there is nothing about our story that draws those opportunities on.

    Ehidiamen is a 2013 IRP New Media Fellow reporting on issues of global health and development in Nigeria to the International Reporting Project (IRP) at Johns Hopkins University SAIS

     

  • Time to be like Awo

    Time to be like Awo

    Those who speak of the good old days in Nigeria, especially the pre-military regime years sure know what they are talking about.

    Former Governor Omololu Olunloyo of Oyo State must have shocked many participants at the just concluded South-West Expo held in Osogbo, Osun State when he disclosed that he got two scholarships from the Western region government headed by the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and in his own words, was granted the indulgence of using the two to study Mathematics and Engineering abroad.

    Using his case illustrate the benefits of regional integration which was the theme of the trade exhibition and seminar organised by Vintage Press Limited, Chief Olunloyo noted that the major source of income for the old western region was Cocoa which was not grown in Ibadan, the region’s capital but in Idanre, Akoko and part of the present Osun State.

    Like other speakers including Former Attorney General of the Federation, Prince Bola Ajibola, Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun and Senator Abiola Ajimobi also acknowledged, that there are abundant resources in various parts of the South-West which has to be harnessed through coordinated efforts by State governments irrespective of political affiliations now or in the future.

    It is unfortunate that the discovery of oil has made successive governments in the country not to give agriculture the deserved priority which would have earned us additional revenue and reduced our present over- dependence on oil proceeds.

    Rather than being an additional blessing, the discovery of oil has become a curse of a sort with not only the constantly fluctuating price in the international market but uncertainty of how long we would continue to earn enough from its sale.

    One of the things the South-West Expo succeeded in doing is that it served as yet another timely reminder for not only the South West but all regions and the federal government to cooperate on how to develop our agriculture sector and fully maximise the benefits of the resources our nation has been blessed with.

    Instead of engaging in duplication of efforts, there is an urgent need backed by necessary government policies and willingness to identify the competitive advantages of each state and focus on them.

    The South-West States already have the benefit of the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) which the Director General of the Director General of the Western Nigeria Integration Commission, Mr Dipo Famakinwa spoke on during the programme.

    As he advised, South-West leaders should leverage on shared historical affiliations of states in the zone, to build synergies and economies of scale, whereby the region and its people will experience enhanced human and social development outcomes across all spheres of existence.

    Famakinwa was right as he stated in his presentation. “The world is looking in the direction of Africa for agriculture and nutrition, and for other commercial possibilities that the fast-urbanising Africa presents. There is a compelling necessity to prepare the Region for global competitiveness. It is a crisis situation and Yorubaland ( and indeed other regions in the country) cannot wait,”.

    We have to stop remembering how well the late Chief Awolowo in developing the western region. Our leaders who claim to be his disciples should do better than he did years ago.

     

  • South African experience

    South African experience

    Professor Abiodun Salawu, a former colleague at The Punch newspaper, used to be a Mass Communication lecturer at The Polytechnic, Ibadan, University of Lagos and later Ajayi Crowther University.

    I was, however, surprised to hear that he relocated to South Africa some years ago considering that there are not enough mass communication scholars to teach in Mass Communication departments in the country’s public and private universities.

    Following his recent appointment to Mazisi Kunene Chair at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, I had an online interview with him during which he spoke on his experience living and teaching in South Africa.

    Why did you relocate to South Africa?

    I relocated to South Africa because of the better infrastructure in the country. Today, it has the best infrastructure on the continent; certain aspects of these, some people call world class. The research environment is also an attraction. There are motivations and facilities for research.

    What is the difference between being a lecturer in South Africa and Nigeria?

    This goes back to my last statement. The infrastructure and facilities are there to enable you do your work without much hassles. Colleagues in the sciences appreciate this better as they require certain equipment and facilities in their laboratories to do their work. For us in the humanities, we appreciate more the abundant online resources that we have to do our work. Provision of basic office facilities is also appreciated.

    What do you miss about Nigeria?

    I miss the culture of our people. I miss the culture of respect for elders, of appreciation of good deeds, of communalism and of industry. I miss listening to high standard Yoruba on certain radio/television programmes and movies. I also miss our foods – amala, ewedu, yam, fried plantain etc.

     How would you describe living in South Africa?

    It is a more organised living.

    What should Nigeria learn from South Africa?

    Nigeria can learn organisation of higher education from South Africa. Research is a priority in South Africa and there is huge provision of funds to facilitate, motivate and incentivise it. Many of our colleagues in Nigeria do not have (regular) opportunities to attend international conferences, but this is what an average lecturer in South Africa takes for granted.

    We can also do better with little or no disruption in our academic calendars as a result of staff strikes. Since I came here, I have not heard of staff (either academic or non-academic) going on strike. May be, we can just say such is rare here. Of course, there are grievances but they hardly result into industrial actions. I guess we need to find a way of managing conflict in our public institutions. This requires sincerity. The campuses in South Africa are much more peaceful than our own campuses. The fear of student cultism is remote. Even when students go on strike, it is not usually prolonged; and the grievances may be about lack of study loans. There was a time when students at University of Fort Hare demonstrated and one of the things they were demonstrating about was lack of internet in their residences.

     

    Full interview on : staging.thenationonlineng.net/category/online-special/

     

  • Fact-checking President Jonathan

    Fact-checking President Jonathan

    One United States-based website I find very interesting is factcheck.org. The site is a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics.

    It monitors the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases. The goal of the project is to apply the best practices of journalism and scholarship. It is also to increase public knowledge and understanding.

    Considering how our public officers make all kinds of unsubstantiated claims and spread falsehood as facts, it would be nice to have a platform like this to keep them on guard.

    Listening to President Goodluck Jonathan during the interview he granted last week to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour and Stephen Cole of Al Jazeera which he has not obliged any Nigerian journalist, I find it difficult to believe some of his claims.

    One valid point that cannot be faulted in both interviews is that the Boko Haram insurrection in Nigeria and excesses of this terrorists group in Northern Mali is a threat to not only Nigeria but the whole of the continent.

    For this reason, it is understandable while Nigeria should be totally committed to the military intervention in Mali notwithstanding the arguments by those opposed to the government position on the matter.

    Responding to the  Economist reports that the death toll from Boko Haram attacks in 2012 was 1,099 – double that of 2011, President Jonathan said: “If you look at the last six months, incidents of killing started dropping,” insisting that the government is gaining control.

    This claim cannot be true considering the increasing number of people killed almost on daily basis across the country by various terrorists groups who security agent are finding it hard to contain.

    Just last week, daring unknown gunmen attacked the Emir of Kano Alhaji Ado Bayero’s convoy, killing four persons apart from about 20 others killed in Borno and Kano. It is even believed that some killings and kidnapping don’t get reported to avoid inflaming the tense situation in the country.

    The security agents no doubt are trying hard to combat the terrorist but they really need to show that they are on top of the situation as the federal government is fond of claiming each time the gunmen strike.

    President Jonathan in the CNN interview denied suggestions by the U.S. State Department of indiscriminate arrests and killings that have possibly been driving more people into the hands of Boko Haram.

    “No security agency arrests anybody just for the love of arrest. We have intelligence that enables us to arrest the people who have to be arrested,” he maintained.

    Again, available evidence does not support the President’s assertion. Much as the security agents’ efforts are appreciated, many residents of the troubled areas have been victims of indiscriminate arrests by men of the Joint Military Task Force.

    Not only are innocent members of the community arrested, they are molested for offences they have not committed and in some cases girls and women are raped.

    Is it true that Nigerians are pleased with the Jonathan’s government’s commitment to improve power? Well, it depends on what part of the country one lives. No doubt that there has been some improvement in power supply but what we have is a far cry from what we need.

    Like he did during his first interview with Amanpour, President Jonathan reinstated that improvement of power supply is a priority for his government.  ”Before the end of this year, power outages will be reasonably stable in Nigeria,” he stated. One can only hope that the President’s dream will come to pass this time.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • For Mali, for Nigeria

    For Mali, for Nigeria

    More than ever before, Nigeria has been at the receiving end of attacks from terrorists operating from not only within the country, but from members of the international network of terrorists’ organisations that are determined to make the country one of their major bases in West Africa.

    Some of those arrested for various terrorists’ related offences in the northern part of the country have been found to be non-Nigerians who sneak into the country to carry out their dastardly acts which have left thousands of persons dead and property destroyed.

    The Boko Haram members behind most of the terrorists’ attacks in the country are reported to have received weapons and training from the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb (AQIM) which has gained a foothold in Mali and is gradually spreading its influence to Mauritania and Niger.

    As The Times of London rightly noted in its January 18 editorial, titled: Today Mali, tomorrow Nigeria for al-Qaeda, the biggest prize for the al-Qaeda would be the destabilisation of Nigeria to the southeast. Evidence abound that the insurgent group is determined to accomplish their goal and everything has to be done to stop them.

    The Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Azubuike Ihejirika, during the week confirmed that Mali-trained militants are in the country and security agencies are working together to track them down.

    It is against the background that the Federal Government ordered the deployment of 1,200 Nigerian troops to join the African-Led International Support Mission to Mali. Much as we have not been able to effectively contain the various conflicts in the country, we cannot afford not to be bothered about the situation in Mali.

    Undoubtedly, we are currently facing daunting security challenges as President Goodluck Jonathan admitted in his letter to the Senate to seek approval for the deployment. But true to his claim, our proximity to the Sahel region makes the regional intervention compelling to avoid a spill over to Nigeria and other West African countries with grave consequences on the security, political stability and development efforts.

    The deteriorating situation in the north of Mali, where the terrorists had taken the law into their own hands in total disregard for the government of the country, requires swift response and the time to act is now before we all get consumed by the actions of the lawless gang who don’t have any respect for human lives.

    Good enough, Nigeria is intervening in conjunction with other African countries based on the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council in response to Mali’s request for an international military force. The best strategies must be adopted to avoid a failed mission. The troops must be well equipped and taken care of to enable them go all out to accomplish the task of routing out the terrorists.

    Minimum force except where maximum force is the only option should be applied for the sake of the people who have been held hostage under and subjected to all forms of inhuman treatment in the guise of enforcing Islamic injunctions.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Encounter with Kumuyi

    Encounter with Kumuyi

    Pastor Williams Kumuyi, the General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church, is a man of God in a class of his own. The former university don remains one of the few old time preachers of the gospel and an apostle of holiness whose call to ministry is not in doubt in these days when Church leadership has become an all comers’ affair.

    Not for him is the craze for titles, flamboyant lifestyle and other misdemeanour now associated with many who claim to be Church leaders.

    While some pastors will go to ridiculous extent to seek cheap publicity, like the current wave of churning out all manners of prophesies to draw attention to themselves, Pastor Kumuyi prefers to keep a low profile and focuses more on the teaching ministry which he believes is his major assignment.

    When I met him along with some colleagues on January 5 at the premises of the church headquarters in Ipaja, Lagos, he was his usual very reserved self. Dressed simply in shirt and trousers, Pastor Kumuyi did not jump at the opportunity to make any controversial statement for the sake of it.

    He did his best to respond to our questions on various national issues, choosing his words carefully, apparently not because he was afraid of offending anyone but to put the issues in proper perspectives from his own point of view.

    I was very interested in his response to why he doesn’t issue yearly prophesies or call to order some pastors who seem to be causing some scare through their sometimes contradictory prophesies. While not dismissing the prophesies since, according to him, God gave Christians various gifts including that of prophesy, Pastor Kumuyi thinks those who engage in this practice should avoid giving ‘situational’ prophesies which are informed by things happening in the country.

    He noted that some of the ‘doomsday’ prophesies may not be fulfilled since God is open to supplication from those concerned if indeed the revelations the pastors claimed to have had are true. While there is nothing wrong in warning against any real looming dangers, Pastor Kumuyi would rather Church leaders engage in admonishing the people to abide by God’s word and praying to avert any negative situation.

    Contrary to the impression that he is not involved in the activities of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), which has been very vocal about the plight of Christians in the country, and other Christian groups, Pastor Kumuyi said he does this as quietly as he can without getting enmeshed in the politics of running the organisations.

    Expectedly, he is worried about the attacks on Christians in the country and wants the government to take necessary steps to protect all citizens irrespective of their religious beliefs. He admits that there is cause to be worried about the state of the general state of the country and urged political office holders to ensure good governance at all levels to improve the standard of living of Nigerians.

    Not every Church leader can be like Pastor Kumuyi and they don’t have to be. But if there is anything many of them need to learn from a man like him, it is being humble despite the grace of God on their lives and whatever worldly accomplishments they have to their credit, instead of seeking unnecessary public acclaim.

  • Is journalism worth dying for?

    Is journalism worth dying for?

    Last week, I wrote about the death of late Tayo Awotunsin of Champion Newspapers who was killed along with his Guardian Newspaper colleague, Krees Imodibie, in 1991 while covering the Liberian crisis. Their death is an example of one of the major hazards journalists face while on duty.

    Every profession has its hazards known to the professionals. What is required of their employers is that necessary steps should be taken to protect them against the hazards and where it is impossible, they or their families should be adequately compensated.

    Unfortunately, this is not the case in Nigeria where journalists don’t generally get adequately remunerated despite the risky nature of their job. Some journalists don’t even get paid for months and can’t even expect any form of compensation if they get injured or killed on the job. Only few media houses have insurance policies for their staff.

    Some staff of a defunct newspaper were shocked when they learnt that apart from being owed by their former employers, the company did not remit their tax or pension to the appropriate authorities for the months they were paid.

    How are journalists expected to perform their duties as watch dogs in circumstances like this when they are not sure of what becomes of them if they lose their jobs, get injured or killed in a worst case scenario?

    I am forced to return to the issue of condition of service for journalists this week following the report that 13 Nigerian journalists were killed last year in Nigeria while covering various assignments.

    The figure said to be the highest in the history of the country since Independence, according to the President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mohammed Garba, is worrisome.

    As Garba rightly reiterated, there is an urgent need to intensify the provision of security and safety for journalists. Comprehensive insurance policies should be provided for journalists to encourage them to take necessary risks even when their life is at risk on the job.

    Many journalists have told me that the profession is not worth dying for and I quite agree with them. Why should anyone risk getting killed on duty when employers are unable to meet their obligations to employees?

    With increasing cases of killing by the Boko Haram and other terrorists groups in the Northern parts of the country, I really pity journalists who are based in particularly some of the volatile states like Borno, Kano, Yobe and others. When I speak with some of them, they tell me how worried they are about their safety and that of their families.

    If the journalists have their way, they would have relocated to other safer locations like other residents who have fled for their safety. Media managers should not only be concerned about getting stories from the crisis states, they should be very interested in the safety of their staff.

    I am aware that some of the worst-hit states before now were not priority states for many national media organisations in terms of editorial coverage. Now that the states are in focus due to the endless killings by the terrorists, journalists who have to remain there as a matter of duty have to be protected from becoming victims of the attacks.

    They should be well-paid to justify their working in the states, insured and provided necessary gadgets to ease their work. This is one sure way to ensure that the figure of journalists killed in the country does not increase next year when the figure for 2013 will be released.

  • Awotunsin on my mind

    One of the many programmes through which the MTN has shown that it is a socially responsible company is the ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ television show. It is a very educative and good family programme.

    The ‘Who Deserves to be a Millionaire’ segment is particularly thoughtful of the producers, as it affords needy individuals and organisations the opportunity to get some funds. The guests on this segment are people, who by their contributions or that of their relatives to the society, deserve to have enough to take care of themselves but due to some circumstances beyond their control are at the mercy of the economic situation of the country.

    The last guest on this segment was the widow of , a journalist with Champion Newspapers who was killed along with Kris Imodibe of The Guardian while covering the Liberian war in 1992.

    I was very sad to hear of how hard life has been for the widow, Agnes and the children of the distinguished journalist I reverently called Mr Awotunsin when he was Ogun State correspondent for The Guardian Newspapers in Abeokuta, Ogun State and I was then with The Punch in 1987-90.

    The present state of the widow who is battling with stroke on her left side is very pathetic and I really appreciate the producers of the programme giving her the chance to earn a million naira that night through comedian, MC Abbey and actress, Toyin Aimakhu, who answered the questions for her.

    The widow and the children deserve all the support they can get considering that their breadwinner paid the professional sacrifice of being killed on duty while covering the Liberian crisis.

    Like the widow rightly noted, her husband would have taken care of the family if he was alive. I testify that the late Awotunsin was a hard working journalist who was very passionate about his job and his family.

    But for joining the print media industry late, he shouldn’t have been a State Correspondent when we were colleagues in Abeokuta. Some of his colleagues were already then on the Editorial Boards of national newspapers, but the humble Awotunsin went about his job with a high professional sense of duty. I was not surprised that he got the well deserved senior Editorial Board membership job at Champion Newspapers at inception.

    Despite the communication limitation then when unreliable analogue phones and telex machines were the only means of sending stories to the headquarters, Awotunsin did everything possible to get his stories across, including travelling to Lagos to ensure that The Guardian does not miss an important story.

    I remember a female telex machine operator Awotunsin recruited from the Nigerian Telecommunication Limited who could not send a story he gave to her and was very surprised how agitated Awotunsin was about the issue.

    “Sir I will send the story today (day after). Please take it easy; slow and steady wins the race,” the female former civil servant said trying to plead with Awotunsin.

    With his eye glasses hanging on his nose, I could feel the anger boiling in the late journalist.

    “Lekan, can you imagine what this woman is saying,” Awotunsin responded, trying hard to contain his anger.

    “Slow and steady loses the race in journalism,” Awotunsin hollered as he banged the table with the frightened telex operator looking in my direction for rescue.

    That was Awosunsin for you, who though gentle and slow talking, would not hesitate to give you a piece of his mind to anyone who messes up his job.

    That was the consummate journalist  Charles Taylor and his  cohorts wasted in Liberia along with his colleague, Imodibie. Their families deserve all the support they can get.