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Tag: Onukaba

  • Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo (1960 – 2017)

    Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo (1960 – 2017)

    •Journalist, biographer, playwright, politician, administrator and gentleman

    It was tragic enough that he died four days to his 57th birthday. The tragedy was deepened by the likelihood that he might have lived longer but for Nigeria’s lamentable security issues.

    A report said: “One of his relations, Mr. Yusuf Itopa, who broke the news on Monday, said the 57-year-old died at about 6pm on Sunday at a village near Akure, Ondo State capital. The spot is said to be about 10 minutes to Akure. He said the late veteran journalist-turned-politician was knocked down by an oncoming vehicle while running into a nearby bush to escape an armed robbery attack. Itopa said that three of them, including his driver, were travelling when they ran into a blockade mounted by armed robbers.”

    Dr. Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo had attended the inauguration of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, Ogun State, and was on his way back to his base when the tragedy happened on March 5.

    He made a name for himself as a journalist, and those who knew him in that line of work described him as “brilliant” and “incorruptible.”  His journalism career started in 1983 when he joined The Guardian where he soared as aviation correspondent. It was on this beat that he met and befriended a number of important figures, including former head of state and ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo. He wrote Obasanjo’s biography, In the Eyes of Time. He also wrote a biography of former vice president Atiku Abubakar, The Story of Atiku Abubakar. Apart from these books on political players, he co-authored Born to Run, a biography of a media celebrity, the late Dele Giwa.

    He became News Editor of the newspaper before leaving the country in 1989 for graduate studies at New York University, USA. In America, he worked as a Research Officer at the African Leadership Forum; and also served as the Information Officer, Division of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM) between 1994 and 1995.

    In 1996, he earned his PhD from New York University, and became Adjunct Professor of Mass Communication at the School of New Resources, College of New Rochelle, New York, in 1997. Between 1997 and 1998, he worked as Press Officer, Department of Public Information, United Nations, in New York. In June 1998, he was sent to Iraq as an Information Officer, United Nations Office of the Humanitarian Coordinator.

    Against the backdrop of his personal and professional progress in America, it is interesting that Adinoyi-Ojo chose to return to Nigeria in 1999. He became Special Assistant on Media Relations to Vice President Abubakar. In the same year, he attained his highest position in journalism when he was appointed Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Daily Times of Nigeria PLC. He had another stint at the presidency as Senior Special Assistant to Abubakar on Public Communications between 2003 and 2005.

    His involvement in government at the federal level inspired him to aspire to govern Kogi State. His political ambition reflected his passion for social progress, and his self-belief, particularly considering that he didn’t have the kind of wealth expected of political aspirants in Nigeria’s money-driven politics. His enduring dream of occupying his state’s governorship seat was unrealised. His last try in 2015 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) ended when he lost in the primary.

    It is a reflection of his creative dimension that he never strayed too far from Theatre Arts, which he studied at the University of Ibadan where he got a degree in 1982. His play, The Killing Swamp, was shortlisted for the prestigious NLNG Literature Prize in 2010.

    Perhaps the ultimate statement on his writing life is this report: “Just before his sudden transition over the weekend, Mr. Onukaba had completed manuscripts of a new book Peoples of Nigeria, detailing in short crisp language the historical outlines of the many ethnic groups our country is blessed with. He was the co-editor of the forthcoming publication.”

  • Tinubu pays tribute to Onukaba

    Tinubu pays tribute to Onukaba

    ALL Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has lamented that with the demise of former Managing Director of Daily Times, Adinoyi-Ojo Onukaba, the media has lost one of its best and brightest.

    He added that with Onukaba’s death, the community of creative writers has been robbed of one of its leading dramatists and the rank of progressives has been depleted.

    Tinubu, in a special tribute to the late Onukaba, said the late foremost journalist was full of life and “ever bristling with ideas”.

    The tribute was entitled: “Onukaba: Never in the Past Tense”. It was personally signed by Tinubu.

    The former Lagos State governor said: “Since I was apprised of the heart-rending news of the sudden and unexpected demise of my very good friend and associate, Dr. Adinoyi-Ojo Onukaba, I have been unable to bring myself to conceive of him in the past tense.

    “Onukaba was so full of life, ever bristling with ideas.

    “Following the recent Day of Tributes and Eighth Day Fidau Prayers held in his honour by his professional colleagues and friends in Lagos and Abuja respectively, I find myself unable to live in continued self-denial.

    “Indeed, Onukaba died, in very painfully sad circumstances, on Sunday March 5, 2017, four days before his 57th birthday.

    “I had known Onukaba over the years, since the early days of his most illustrious journalistic career. Our relationship, however, grew stronger with the advent of democratic rule in 1999.

    “As Lagos State Governor, operating from the Government House in Alausa, Onukaba, who served as Managing Director of the Daily Times of Nigeria Plc, was a shouting distance down the road in his Agidingbi office. Our paths crossed regularly as he sought to breathe a new lease of life into the nation’s foremost newspaper conglomerate.

    “He kept in touch even after our exits from government and we usually shared views on his political project in his bid to lead Kogi State.

    “The tragic demise of Adinoyi-Ojo Onukaba leaves a humongous lacuna not only in his biological family, but in the minds and psyche of all of us who knew him and interacted with him in his brief but eventful life.

    “The media has lost one of its best and brightest; the community of creative writers, where he was a luminous figure, has been robbed of one of its frontline dramatists; the rank of progressives has been depleted by the exit of this unyielding optimist.

    “With the outpouring of grief and pledges of support for his young family and legacy, I am reassured that Onukaba will not die in our minds and in our thoughts.

    “May God forgive him his sins and grant his soul peaceful repose, Amen.”

  • Onukaba: Wasted by a sick nation

    Onukaba: Wasted by a sick nation

    News of the sudden death of the irrepressible journalist, Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo, hit me like a bolt from the blue on Monday last week. I cannot now remember who actually broke the news to me. But what I can remember is that the news drove cold shivers through my spine and left me wondering how life can be so cruel.
    The Sunday Onukaba met his death at the hands of rampaging armed robbers who had laid siege to the notorious Ilesa-Akure highway, vivacious Eric Osagie, the Managing Director of The Sun Newspapers and I had discussed him briefly in our chat. It was at about 4:30pm on that fateful Sunday when I put a call through to Eric on my way from Ikoyi to Ikeja. He asked me if I could still lay my hands on Born to Run, a book co-authored by Onukaba and Dele Olojede in 1987 in commemoration of the first anniversary of the brutal murder, through the instrumentality of a parcel bomb, of the founding Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch magazine, Dele Giwa. I told Eric that I gave my copy out to someone who never returned it to me. He said he had also contacted Onukaba who said he had none left in his library. Then we briefly discussed Dele Giwa and agreed to meet within the week.
    You can imagine waking up the following day to be confronted with the sad news that Onukaba had passed on in such a gruesome manner. That is to say that by the time we were discussing him the previous day, it might have just been some few, fleeting minutes to his death. Like a cosmic joke played on us that Sunday, our friend came to mind so easily after many months and we discussed him fondly, oblivious of the events that would unfold. More bizarre is the remembrance of Dele Giwa that the book naturally occasioned. Who would have thought that Onukaba was soon to join the illustrious late Dele Giwa in the great beyond? Was it a sign that we missed? All of this played through my mind within seconds of hearing the news even as I tried to recover from the shock that it brought.
    Onukaba and I met in 1985 and we bonded. The last time I saw him physically was recently when I ran into him at the Abuja airport on my way to Lagos. He had accompanied one of his friends to check in on a Lagos-bound flight when we met, hugged and exchanged banter. I spent a few minutes with them at the ticketing area before I disappeared into the departure lounge. It is sad that our next meeting can only be in the bosom of the Lord.
    The sad and unexpected news of death always carries with it a reminder of our mortality as men and the inevitability of an end to our dance with death. It is a pity that the end of Onukaba’s dance was at the hands of criminal elements that have lost their humanity in the quest for quick riches. As the story goes, he had been accosted by the vicious robbers and had somehow managed to escape on foot when he was crushed by a luxury bus that came under attack and skidded off the expressway into the bush where he was hiding. It is not the way such an amiable fellow should have met his end, but death, they say, knows no one. It is no respecter of persons and I doubt that Onukaba had any inkling that he was on his final journey as he left Abeokuta earlier that fateful day.
    The agony of Onukaba’s demise, for me, is made even more painful by the realisation that the men responsible for his untimely death may still be out there, free as birds, perhaps planning their next evil activity against unsuspecting members of the public innocently going about their daily life. They may have relegated the memory of that incident to the back of their minds and moved on already. That is the tragedy of our sick nation. They have tainted our memory of Onukaba’s life with a bitter end, but he was a giant of a man, in character and manner, and all the good things he has done will overshadow the truth of how he went away in years to come.
    For those who were close to him, he had grace and the milk of human kindness in him. Onukaba had the grace of being genuinely friendly, open and free with whoever he came across. He was nice to a fault. If there is one final thing that we can do for our beloved Onukaba, it is to remember him fondly, celebrate his life as best as we can and believe that he is in a better place. We can shed tears because he is gone, but we can also smile because he lived and lived well.
    One can lament all the factors that led to the death of our dear friend: a lack of security to protect the lives of Nigerians, economic hardship that has turned otherwise moderate people into lowlife criminals and the disregard for life that accompanies penury and desperation. All of these are responsible for Onukaba’s death and the painful part is that every time news of this nature is reported in the media, one will always remember the loss of a great friend. Onukaba is alive in our memories now and his memory shall be cherished.
    This time, the devilish robbers have caused the death of someone dear to the nation as a whole; a rare gem, seasoned journalist and complete gentleman. It is my hope that his memory will be honoured with a rejuvenated security drive in the cities and along the expressways. A war on robbers and other related vagrants in the wake of his demise will be befitting. It will not bring back our dear friend or the many others that have met their end from wicked criminals, but it may somehow bring succour to families and friends left behind.
    I have read all the tributes by some other people who were close to him. From Taiwo Obey (TO), Rueben Abati, Solana Olumhense to Atiku Abubakar, his former boss, and others. One common thread in their narrative is the fact that he lived an exemplary life worthy of emulation. Onukaba was such an easygoing man who lived above board. He was more concerned with his integrity and not how to make money by all means as is common among many of his peers today.
    Adieu Onukaba, your memorable footprints shall remain indelible in our hearts. Good Night!

  • Adieu Onukaba, the gentle artiste

    Adieu Onukaba, the gentle artiste

    He was a man of immense character; humble, cool, benign, intelligent and humane.  He had this exteriority that made him appear approachable and friendly.  He was everything a leader, a mentor, a seasoned administrator and more, to those who encountered him while he held sway at The Daily Times as its Managing Director between 1999 – 2003.

    Dr. Adinoyi Ojo Onukaba, a former Managing Director of The Daily Times, Nigeria Plc who died in a car crash last week on Akure – Abuja highway, was indeed a thorough-bred scholar whose love for perfection earned him the nickname the “gentle artiste”.  All his life he lived for the art; he worked and wrote to ensure that stage plays did not suffer dearth of materials.

    At every point, he’d say to you, ‘Oh, art should be up-held not just for the sake of art, but for us to keep our cultural values ever alive.’  To justify this, he wrote extensively to keep that dream alive.  When he found himself in politics, Onukaba did not lose grip of his knack for theatre.  Before he returned to Nigeria in 1998, he had already written over five plays most of which were staged in different parts of the world.

    His foremost play, A Resting Place – A play, published in 1992 which deals with the conflict of burial in his native home of Ihima in Kogi State, was staged in London in 1992.  Directed by Onukaba himself, the BBC described the outcome of the play as one of fundamental clashes between ancient and modern ways of burial in a typical Nigerian setting.  Besides its hilarious and perceptive nature, the author used that play to showcase the extent of family squabbles when it comes to selecting a conducive place to bury a member of a clan, be he a man or a woman.

    One cannot conveniently talk about Onukaba’s numerous scholarly exploits without reference to his play written in 2010.  Titled The Killing Swamp and dedicated to the Late Ken Saro-wiwa, the Ogoni human rights activist and author killed by government in 1995, the book made the final list of the Nigerian Prize for Literature.  In the play, Onukaba traced the genesis of Saro-wiwa’s encounter with the military hierarchy as he fought to safeguard his life.  He made the scenes into play, creating avalanche of scenic views that touched on human sensibilities.  It was one work that exposed the existence of theatre in human life where death is eulogized to suit the whims of human consumption. All the sentiments expressed in the work which point to the exploits of Saro-wiwa as a dogged fighter, fearless and brave, made it one of the faronties of the Nigerian literature prize in 2010.  Even though the book did not make the final prize, Onukaba did not budge.  He was more focused to write more epoch-making books that explored the ditactics and dynamisms of theatre.

    “What I did in The Killing Swamp was to expose the stages of trauma and torture Ken Saro-wiwa want through before he was killed.  It is a play that touches on the depth of the tragedy of one man who did not give up his quest for the betterment of his immediate society”.  Yet, one wondered how Onukaba was able to capture all the scenes to make them believable and convincing to the NLNG committee.

    When he finally settled down to teach Theatre art the University of Abuja, Onukaba chose Art and Media as his area of interest.  He could as well have gone for Mass Communication solely but he decided to choose an area that enabled him to handle the two disciplines he loved so much.  He got his first degree from the Univeristy of Ibadan in Theatre Arts in 1982.  Between 1991 and 1992, he got his Master degree in Arts Journalism from the New York University, USA.  In 1996 he obtained a doctorate degree in Performance Studies from the New York University.  In other word, he was a seasoned journalist, arts scholar and artiste.

    He joined The Guardian Newspaper in 1983 as one of its pioneer reporters.  He rose to the position of News Editor before he left in 1989.  Also he worked as an Information Officer in the Humanitarian Affairs division, The United Nations Office in Somalia between 1994 – 1995.  He also worked with the UN Office in Iraq on a special mission.

    In August 1999, he was made the Managing Director of The Daily Times Nigeria Plc where he held sway for four years.  Thereafter he was appointed Senior Special Assistant on Media to the then Vice President, Atiku Abubakar on whom he wrote a biography titled – Atiku Abubakar – a biography.  He also wrote the biography of President Olusegun Obasanjo titled In the Eye of Time.  In 2001, he was honoured by the then Governor of his state of Kogi the late Abubakar Audu as one of the distinguished sons of Kogi State.

    Born on March 9, 1960 at Ihima, Kogi State, Onukaba made his debut as a writer with the book – Born To Run- the story of Dele Giwa which he co-authored with Dele Olojede in 1986.  A free-flowing prose, the book immediately showcased him as someone already in the throes of history.  His other books include: Her majesty visit, The Virginity Fee, The New God, Nine Lives, The Tower of Burden, The Mbuti, The Lone Ranger, Bargain Hunting and others.

    It is really difficult to bid Dr. Onukaba farewell in the normal conventional way.  He was so full of life, imbued with plenty of dreams to conquer and discover more heights in life.  But the cold hands of death orchestrated by brutish armed robbers mowed him down a few days to his 57th birthday.  Good bye the gentle artiste.  Good bye.

  • Onukaba: Kogi suffers from bad leadership

    Onukaba: Kogi suffers from bad leadership

    Veteran journalist and one-time Senior Special Assistant to Vice President on Media Adinoyi Ojo Onukaba is a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State. He spoke with TONY AKOWE in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on the problems confronting the state and how he intends to solve them, if elected as governor. 

    Many people have argued that Kogi State is moving backward, instead of developing. What do you think is responsible for this?

    The answer is bad leadership. From Abubakar Audu through Ibrahim Idris to Idris Wada, Kogi State has had the misfortune of being led by the wrong people; people without vision, people who were clearly ill-prepared for the office, people who believe that being governor gives them an opportunity to primitively accumulate wealth and promote nepotism. This is why we have to be careful this time. We must pick a candidate with the right credentials, including integrity, vision and capacity to deliver. Kogi needs good governance. Kogi needs development. I believe that Kogi needs me to pull it out of this sorry state.

    Kogi is blessed with a lot of resources, but it still rely on handouts from Abuja. How best do you think this should be handled?

    Kogi needs to grow its internally generated revenue to a level where it can take care of all recurrent expenditure. In my policy document titled “Re-inventing Kogi State”, I have promised innovative and creative ways of raising revenue without over-burdening the people. We shall also block all loopholes and leakages in the revenue collection process. We shall invest in revenue collection through better remuneration, training and incentives. Within the first two years of my administration, we will triple the current N600 million monthly IGR.

    Kogi State is today hugely divided along ethnic line. What plans do you have in place to unite the divided state?

    I will be governor of all Kogites. The resources of the state will be used for the benefit of the entire people of Kogi State. Yes, the ethnic divide is there and that is because there has not been fairness and equity in appointments and resources allocation in the state. The architect of that lopsidedness in appointments and resources allocation is Abubakar Audu. Ibrahim Idris and Idris Wada have faithfully kept the tradition of marginalization. This is not right. It has to change. The government I hope to lead will be fair and equitable to all Kogites.

    How do you intend to tackle insecurity?

    Insecurity is not peculiar to Kogi State. There is insecurity generally in the country. It is being fueled mostly by youth unemployment. My administration will work closely with the police to secure the state. We will assist the state police with patrol vehicles and communication equipment. We will ensure that security vote is used to secure the lives and property of the people of the state. We will improve on intelligence gathering and have a data of known criminals in the community so that they can be easily monitored. We will have zero tolerance for crimes and anti-social behaviour.

    In the face of dwindling revenue, how do you intend to fight the infrastructure battle?

    No better illustration of the rot in Kogi State than the state of its roads. Yet, the state government claims to have spent billions of naira on roads in the state. You are right. Kogi roads look like roads in a war-ravaged territory. We will make sure that there is value for money in our infrastructural projects. Previous governments have often used such projects as conduit pipes. For example, the so-called Greater Lokoja Water Scheme has been awarded, reviewed and reawarded several times by Ibrahim Idris and Wada administrations. Yet, Lokoja has no water for people to drink.

    How do you plan to tap the natural resources that are abundant in Kogi?

    My policy document has a list of about 25 mineral resources available in Kogi State, showing available reserve and where they can be found. We will partner with the Federal Government to ensure that these blocs are leased to those who have the financial resources and technical expertise to develop them. We will also work closely with the Federal Government to resuscitate Ajaokuta Steel Company and Itakpe Iron Ore Mining Company. These two companies can create jobs and generate wealth for our people.

    Could you shed light on your blue print on agriculture?

    My administration will prioritize and reposition agriculture, Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs), Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Solid Minerals to create jobs and generate wealth for our people. We will encourage young people to go into various aspects of agriculture by providing inputs, tools, incentives and loans.

    What plans do you have for the infrastructural development?

    We will carry out a thorough audit of the workers in the state to ensure that the 28,000-35,000 workforce on the state payroll are real. We cannot be squandering state resources on ghost workers. I believe that after conducting personnel audit, we may be able to save a big chunk for capital projects. No state government can develop spending 80 per cent of its revenue on recurrent expenditure. It is the era of small and efficient public service.

    With the current salary wage bill of N3billion, will you consider downsizing or retrenchment of workers, if that appears to be the only way out?

    We will right-size to put round pegs in round holes. We will rid the state of ghost workers. I suspect that the N3 billion monthly wage bill is fraudulently padded. Using modern ICT tools, such as biometrics, it won’t be difficult to know the true workers from ghosts.

    Kogi State is known to have too many redundant local government workers who all they do is collect salary at the end of the month. Over 80% of these workers stay for months without reporting at their duty stations, what plan do you have in place considering how unsustainable this trend is?

    That is very true. I believe that a well conducted personnel audit will expose the redundant workers either at the state or local government level. Kogi State under my leadership will not be paying people who are idle.

     

  • Onukaba to provide decent homes in Kogi

    Onukaba to provide decent homes in Kogi

    A governorship aspirant in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the coming governorship election in Kogi State, Dr. Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo, has said poor and inadequate housing in the state was giving him a headache.

    Onukaba, a leading aspirant in the November 21 election, said in a statement by his campaign office yesterday that Kogi State has a severe housing deficit.

    He said: “Many of our people live in shacks and those who want to build or buy decent homes face constraints. The people of Kogi cannot continue to live this way.”

    The aspirant said Kogi’s proximity to the Federal Capital Territory ought to have encouraged the state in terms of development, had past administrations been mindful of their responsibilities to the people “in this richly-endowed state.”

    Onukaba said he will opt for the Abuja model when he becomes the governor.

    “It is my wish to redefine the concept of living in Kogi State. We will ensure that our people live in well planned and serviced communities and not the present haphazard, filthy abodes that we have now in the state. We will create a conducive environment for quality residential and business estates to spring up.

    “We will be very creative and innovative. My administration will encourage home ownership by creating site and service layouts in each of the 21 local governments and several ones in Lokoja for people to build their houses according to specification,” he said.

    Onukaba also has plans for industrial parks to service the already existing Ajaokuta Steel Company and the Nigerian Iron Ore Mining Company, Itakpe as well as the proposed Greenfield Refinery at Eviya.