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  • Jola Ogunlusi (1934-2025)

    Jola Ogunlusi (1934-2025)

    •Although he contributed more to unionism, he was nonetheless a versatile journalist, having worked in several newspapers of his era

    The Nigeria Union of journalists (NUJ) as an industrial union has produced several leadership stars since its founding in 1907. What has now grown as an industrial union started off as one of the unions associated with the advocacy for Nigeria’s independence in 1960. The association seemingly birthed many other protest groups that felt that the colonial government of the then British empire had overstayed its welcome. The union has grown exponentially to more than 30,000 members with influence and grit in a post-independence Nigeria.

    For the union to have grown to its present size and influence can be linked to the dedication of the various leaderships that have headed the association in its history. The union has had sparks of stars in unionism and core journalism as well. Among them was the Late Pa Jola Ogunlusi, who rose from an Assistant Secretary of the Lagos State Council of the NUJ in 1976. In 1977, he served as the protem secretary of the union without pay. This exemplary sense of voluntarism marked him out as a unionism gem for decades.

    Born on September 25, 1934, in Esun Ekiti, Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Pa Ogunlusi had his early education in the state. On his 90th birthday in 2024, he had revealed that he actually set out to become a medical doctor but was unsuccessful. It seems then that he poured his dedication and humanity into being the best he could be in both unionism and journalism.

    Ogunlusi was one of the pioneer practitioners of journalism in Nigeria, having started off as one of the pioneer staff of late Rev.Henry Townsends’s, Iwe Irohin, the first Nigerian newspaper founded in 1859. From there he crossed over to Nigerian Tribune, then to Daily Sketch and from there to New Nigeria newspaper. For one that joined the profession in his own word, “by accident”, having had his eyes on medicine, the late Pa ogunlusi left an indelible mark in the field of journalism and unionism, even if his imprints are deeper in the latter than the former.

    Pa Ogunlusi, through personal dedication, training and deliberate ambition to be the best in anything he set his mind on became a poster-child of unionism for a very long time. According to records, he became the soul of the NUJ, running the secretariat as a full-time employee. As pioneer secretary, he worked with a string of NUJ presidents most of who were not even born before he started practicing journalism.

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    He did not just revel in becoming one of the notable journalists of his time or the pioneer secretary of the NUJ whose track record would be celebrated for years as long as the union exists, he documented his experiences in books and interviews one of which is , “A History of the Nigerian Press”.  As controversial as the book was at the time of publishing, it is as riveting as ever, as it was what he saw as his factual documentation of his role as NUJ secretary under some NUJ presidents.

    As the great NUJ secretary transits, he goes with eternal pride to his legacy as the pioneer secretary of the union, known for his dedication to duty and love for journalism. He is a vivid example of the value of dedication and integrity in leadership. He is not just being celebrated in death, he had always attracted admiration and celebration amongst other trade unions, journalists and affiliated unions like the Veteran Journalists Association that kept celebrating him, even last year during his 90th birthday.

    He was as dedicated to his unionism as he was to community service. He was not just the face of traditional journalism in Nigeria, doing the yeoman craft before better qualified journalists with the help of better education and technology joined the profession. He excelled in community service also, marking him out as a humane veteran with the vintage African value of community involvement.

    He was a sterling president of Festac Residents’ Association. Through his community activism, the association got the government to create the Amuwo Odofin Local Council Development Area (LCDA) which has metamorphosed to a full local government council serving the community.

    Pa Ogunlusi’s legacy in unionism outweighs his journalistic exploits but that is the hallmark of dedication and sense of service. For one whose heart was with the medical profession but was sadly thwarted by his failure of chemistry, he nonetheless served humanity through unionism and community service.

    He left the stage at 91, but his footprints remain indelible. Adieu!

  • Doyen of NUJ politics Jola Ogunlusi turns 90

    Doyen of NUJ politics Jola Ogunlusi turns 90

    One-time National Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Jola Ogunlusi, is 90 today (September 25). LAWAL OGIENAGBON pays tribute to him as he joins the exclusive Club of Nonagenarians.

    When he started journalism in 1963, Comrade Jola Ogunlusi, who turns 90 today, did so without forgetting his first love of medicine. To him, journalism was just a stopgap, pending his becoming a doctor. For several years after his first job as a reporter at Iwe Iroyin, the first newspaper in Nigeria, which was printed in Yoruba, Ogunlusi tried to become a doctor. He wrote the ordinary level examinations in chemistry and physics on many occasions in order to obtain the requisite qualification to study medicine at the university.

    According to him, he sat for chemistry more than seven times, and on each occasion, he flunked the examinations. He then gave up and faced journalism, where he left indelible marks after decades of service.

    Many of today’s journalists were not born when Ogunlusi started journalism. Many also were still in nappies when he took his exit from the profession. He left after serving as pioneer National Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) for about 15 years. It may not be wrong to describe NUJ as the baby of Ogunlusi and others like the late Alhaji Lateef Jakande who midwifed the birth of the union on March 15, 1955.

    Ogunlusi did not go into journalism by choice.  Circumstances beyond his control forced him into this business of “he said”, “they said”, “according to”, “meanwhile”, and “all efforts… proved abortive.”

    In a 20l3 interview with the Vanguard, Ogunlusi recounted his foray into journalism: “I came into journalism in 1963 by accident. I needed something to do back then, so I took the job out of survival. My dream was to be a medical doctor. Even 10 years after my sojourn in journalism, I was still aiming to go into medicine. Sincerely, I would have left journalism if I had passed chemistry and physics. I failed chemistry more than seven times and I was in the profession till 1977 as an investigative reporter until I became fully the first National Executive Secretary of NUJ.” Three years before his exit, he had, in 1974, won a brand new Olympia typewriter prize for the best investigative reporter.

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    Ogunlusi was in Form IV at Ansar-Ud-Deen High School, Ikole Ekiti, when he left for financial reasons. As his parents could no longer fund his education, he dropped out of school to fend for himself. He left school, burning with the ambition of becoming a doctor. He became a pupil teacher and sat for the General Certificate of Education (GCE) ordinary level examinations as a private student. Ogunlusi’s first port of call for a job was Iwe Iroyin, which was founded on December 3, 1859. From Iwe Iroyin, Ogunlusi crossed over to Nigerian Tribune, then Daily Sketch, where he was seconded to Gbohungbohun, the Yoruba title in that stable, and finally, New Nigeria.

    Ogunlusi was a reporter’s reporter. He was bold, courageous and fearless. It was the season of politics and its myriad crises. With Ogunlusi practising in the west, he was caught in the turmoil in the region following the dispute between Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Ladoke Akintola. The crises consumed the First Republic, with the military taking over power in 1966.

    That military interregnum became an era that defined the political evolution of Nigeria. Ogunlusi saw it all, capturing events as they unfolded for the Nigerian Tribune, where he was then. He was not an armchair reporter, but a field man who experienced firsthand the breaking and making of stories by news makers, who sometimes, after realising the implications of their statements attempted to deny those remarks and claimed that they were misquoted.

    Ogunlusi had such an experience in the line of duty. He was saved because he got a copy of the statement read by the newsmaker at the press conference which he covered for the New Nigeria. According to him, “those days, we did not have access to portable recording gadgets like you have in present times. We did most of our reporting in long hand. In fact, we were not even advised to use tape recorders. I remember the training I got, that if you had to do an investigative story, you were not to carry a notebook or anything that will show that you were a journalist. If possible, you should hide a piece of paper and your biro such that nobody would notice it. By the time you were talking to people, they would respond confidently without them knowing who you really were. Back then, people were afraid of journalists; once they knew that you were a journalist, they would definitely conceal information…”

    His philosophy of taking whatever life throws at one has paid off. Though he did not become a doctor, Ogunlusi made a name for himself in journalism. “My philosophy about life is that whatever you do in life, do it well and make a mark. Like I said earlier, I came into journalism by accident. But I had it in mind that I would make a mark for which I would be remembered for what I achieved. I would not have ventured into journalism because I struggled to be a medical doctor, but, as fate would have it, hard work paved the way for me in journalism and I was privileged to have trained some seasoned journalists…”

    Those of us who were fortunate to meet Ogunlusi as NUJ secretary when we started practising remember him, usually clutching a folder bag everywhere he went. The folder contained mostly documents and press releases which he distributed on foot from one newsroom to the other. There were no dispatch riders then as we know them today. He was a regular face in newsrooms as he pursued one union matter or the other. He was the soul of the NUJ, and he ran the secretariat as a full-time employee. He worked with many presidents from Michael Asaju to Bola Adedoja to George Izobo and to Sani Zorro, a member of my own generation of journalists, before he handed over to George Anyakora.

    At 90, Ogunlusi has come a long way from Ayedun Ekiti, his hometown in Ikole Ekiti Local Government Area of Ekiti State, traversing many parts of the country for the cause of journalism, the country and the people. Few years ago, he had a ghastly road crash around Ijebu Ode, Ogun State. He was rushed to the General Hospital in the town unconscious. Ever the journalist, when he regained consciousness, he asked for a pen and paper.

    Under the watchful eyes of doctors and nurses, he wrote: “Please, tell Governor Segun Osoba that his brother is here and could die any moment as a result of a motor accident.” There was pin-drop silence as the hospital workers looked at one another. When the note got to Osoba, he rushed down in a convoy and directed the hospital to do everything to save Ogunlusi’s life.

    Ogunlusi survived and today he is 90. Ten years ago when he turned 80, he documented his years as a journalist and union leader in a book titled NUJ: A History of Nigerian Press. It was a controversial book which pitched him against some past leaders of NUJ, who thought that it was too revealing. As Ogunlusi joins the exclusive Club of Nonagenarians, journalists old and young are coming together to celebrate him.

    The Lagos Chapter of the League of Veteran Journalists (LVJ) will, on October 8, hold a lecture in his honour. The lecture, with the theme: “Jola Ogunlusi: Life of a Journalist after Retirement” will be delivered by Chief Eric Teniola, a former Editor at The Punch, and retired Director of Information and Press at the Presidency.

    Before this, a thanksgiving service organised by his friends and associates will be held on Saturday (September 28) at the Church of Pentecost, 21 Road FESTAC Village Lagos. Ogunlusi deserves all the accolades, honour and celebrations.

    •Happy birthday, sir