Dimgba Igwe, The Enigmatic Born-Again Journalist

 By Onoise Osunbor

(First published in Sunday Concord, February 21, 1988)

“If there is one achievement I have successfully accomplished, it is to prove wrong the myth that you cannot be a successful journalist and be a born-again Christian.”  These are the words of Dimgba Igwe, the Sunday Concord Staff Writer among the prizewinners at the first UAC Merit Award for Journalists. 

*Dimgba Igwe 

People often perceive journalists as permissive, loving wine and women, but that is not the life of Dimgba who is deeply religious—a real born-again Christian.  Stylistically, he is an impressionistic writer who applies his pen like a brush in the hands of a painter, carrying the reader along as he tells his story.  One of his works is a masterpiece he wrote on Dakar, the capital of Senegal.  And he wrote it without talking to anyone.  He says: “The story I have done that I am likely to read over and over again is the one on Dakar.  

Dele Giwa: 37 Years After The Gruesome Murder Of This Celebrated Journalist

 By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye 

“Death is…the absence of presence…the endless time of never coming back…a gap you can’t see, and when the wind blows through it, it makes no sound” – Tom Stopard    

In the morning of Monday, October 20, 1986, I was preparing to go to work when a major item on the Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS) 6.30 news bulletin hit me like a hard object. Mr. Dele Giwa, the founding editor-in-chief of ‘Newswatch’ magazine, had the previous day been killed and shattered by a letter bomb in his Lagos home. My scream was so loud that my colleague barged into my room to inquire what it was that could have made me to let out such an ear-splitting bellow. 

*Dele Giwa 

We were three young men who had a couple of months earlier been posted from Enugu to Abakaliki to work in the old Anambra State public service, and we had hired a flat in a newly erected two-storey building at the end of Water Works Road, which we shared. My flat-mate, clearly, was not familiar with Giwa’s name and work, and so had wondered why his death could elicit such a reaction from me. 

Peter Pan: A Giant Departs The World

 By AbduRafiu

A leader and a giant in the world of journalism has discarded his earthly cloak and departed earthly life. He is Peter Enahoro more known as Peter Pan. The news of his exit has reverberated around the world. His was a distinguished career in journalism.

*Peter Enahoro

He joined the Daily Times in 1955, after leaving school, Government College, Ughelli, armed with love of reading and mastery of English language. And fearlessness. He rose rapidly and became the editor of Sunday Times in 1958 at 23, the editor of ubiquitous Daily Times in 1962 in succession to Alhaji Babatunde Jose at the age of 27.

My Journalism Journey By Ray Ekpu

*Ray Ekpu 
Permit me dear readers to stray away from the current happenings such as the petrol palaver and the naira redesign nuisance, both of which have shown the world how badly we run our lives. The excuse for choosing to write on my journalism odyssey today is the recent conferment of a Lifetime Achievement Award on me by one of Nigeria’s leading newspapers, Vanguard.

This is my fifth lifetime achievement award, two of which came from non-media outfits while the other three including this one came from media organisations. A few years ago I received one from the Nation Newspaper in Kenya when it marked the 50th anniversary of its existence. A couple of years ago I was also honoured with the award by Diamond Media run by one of the respected journalists in the country, Mr Lanre Idowu.

Dele Giwa’s Assassination: 35 Years After

 By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye 

“Death is…the absence of presence…the endless time of never coming back…a gap you can’t see, and when the wind blows through it, it makes no sound” – Tom Stopard    

In the morning of Monday, October 20, 1986, I was preparing to go to work when a major item on the Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS) 6.30 news bulletin hit me like a hard object. Mr. Dele Giwa, the founding editor-in-chief of ‘Newswatch’ magazine, had the previous day been killed and shattered by a letter bomb in his Lagos home. My scream was so loud that my colleague barged into my room to inquire what it was that could have made me to let out such an ear-splitting bellow. 

*Giwa

We were three young men who had a couple of months earlier been posted from Enugu to Abakaliki to work in the old Anambra State public service, and we had hired a flat in a newly erected two-storey building at the end of Water Works Road, which we shared. My flat-mate, clearly, was not familiar with Giwa’s name and work, and so had wondered why his death could elicit such a reaction from me. 

But later that day, as he interacted with people, he realised that Giwa’s death was such big news, and by the next couple of days, he had become an expert on Giwa and his truncated life and career. Across the country, Giwa’s brutal death dominated the news not just because of the pride of place he occupied in Nigerian journalism practice, but more because of the totally novel way his killers had chosen to end his life.   

Ibrahim Babangida Years: Despotism In Full Sail

 By Tony Eluemunor

Please take your mind back to 1990 when Sadd­am Hussein’s Iraq invad­ed and annexed Kuwait; the price of crude petroleum jumped because the ensuing war disrupted oil supplies. A totally unforeseen windfall, earning for Nigeria $12.1 billion. But did the windfall benefit Nigeria? A re­port put it thus: “Fiscal discipline broke down once more (because) established budgetary proce­dures were by-passed and the strategic planning processes that had been established under the Structural Adjustment Pro­gramme were largely ignored. Of major concern was the expendi­ture of the oil revenue without any budgetary authorization.”

*Babangida 

This huge amount of money was fluffed away though Nigerians had by then been suffocating under SAP for four whole years! And wait for this; the 1991 budget suffered a defi­cit spending of N35.5 billion. It was as though that oil bonanza never happened.

I know that those who celebrat­ed former Military President Ibra­him Badamosi Babangida (IBB) as Nigerians best ruler as he turned 80, never failed to mention the Na­tional Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND) the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) Peoples Bank of Nigeria (PBN) the Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DIFRRI) and others as programmes and bodies he established. But have they told us how such benefitted Nigeria?

Nigeria: How Not To Gag The Media

 By Dan Amor

It is a sad story to tell but telling it we must. Before the advent of the present "democratic" dispensation, Nigeria was literally run by buccaneers who plundered the nation’s till into private use and built empires over the painful anxieties of the oppressed people. Upon assumption of office, the present crop of leaders (since 1999 till date) promised to make Nigerians put the pains of the past behind them as they were poised to embark on massive people-oriented programmes. 

Consequently, therefore, Nigerians who had long been living in penury and deprivation felt that the only option left to them was to hope for better days ahead. This is more so as the beauty of any government is its ability to bring together human and material resources and use them for the uplift of society. It would be recalled that during those dark days in our nation’s annals when the military usurped the polity to breaking point, the Nigerian media stood firmly on the side of the people. 

Chuks Iloegbunam: Restless But Peaceful Soul

 By Tony Eluemunor

When I think about my big brother, Mazi Chuks Iloegbunam, what readily comes to mind is the timeless Abba song, “Move On”. Its opening lyrics truly capture the essential Chuks Iloegbunam.

*Iloegbunam 

Here we go: “They say a restless body can hide a peaceful soul. A voyager and a settler, they both have a distant goal. If I explore the heavens, or if I search inside. Well, it really doesn’t matter as long as I can tell myself I’ve always tried”. 

The Iloegbunam many know could be that one that never, never, repeat never, suffers fools gladly. As we all know, if you do not suffer fools gladly, you are not patient with people who you think are stupid. 

Chief Bola Ige: 19 Years Without Justice

 By Dan Amor

A calculated insult and the guilt preceded his death, stealing from the actual murder all its potential impact and drama. There never was a crime more dramatically rehearsed, and the tale only provides it could not have been otherwise. Yet there are no clues to be uncovered, no enigmas to be revealed; for this was a murder almost predicted like its predecessors. 

                                                               *Bola Ige 

As a principled and astute politician, even though he agreed to serve in former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s cabinet, Chief Bola Ige did not preach to Nigerians. But he provoked questions and left us in no doubt as to where he stood. He shared none of the current tastes for blurred conflicts, ambiguous characters and equivocal opinions. Nor was he disdainful of strong dramatic situations building up for firm climaxes. From the critic’s point of view, the plot of Ige’s senseless murder in December 2001, in its high velocity treachery, summarizes modern Nigeria in one word: “shame”. 

End-SARS: The Big Picture

 By Ray Ekpu

Since 1992 when the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) was established its modus operandi has been basically kill-and-go. This was during the military era where a military ruler arrogantly told Nigerians during a peaceful protest that they were trained experts in the domination of their environment.

When a leader says that to the hearing of people who carry weapons they take that message to heart. The SARS people may have fought armed robbers viciously but they also fought – and killed – many innocent persons. The reports of their atrocities which include extortion, torture and extra-judicial killings have appeared in the media regularly but it has never been manifestly clear to the public that the offending personnel are often brought to justice. Perhaps, some victims with high visibility or influential connections have had their cases pursued to a logical end.

Dele Giwa: 34 Years After His Gruesome Murder

 By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye 

“Death is…the absence of presence…the endless time of never coming back…a gap you can’t see, and when the wind blows through it, it makes no sound”         – Tom Stopard    

                                              *Late Dele Giwa 

In the morning of Monday, October 20, 1986, I was preparing to go to work when a major item on the Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS) 6.30 news bulletin hit me like a hard object. Mr. Dele Giwa, the founding editor-in-chief of Newswatch magazine, had the previous day been killed and shattered by a letter bomb in his Lagos home. My scream was so loud that my colleague barged into my room to inquire what it was that could have made me to let out such an ear-splitting bellow. 

Miss Uwaila Omozuwa: Rape And Murder So Gruesome!

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

“One life taken in cold blood is as gruesome as millions lost in a pogrom.”—Dele Giwa (Nigerian Journalist assassinated in 1986)

After five whole years of seeking admission into the institution of higher learning, Miss Vera Uwaila Omozuwa was eventually admitted to read Microbiology at the University of Benin.

*Late Uwaila Omozuwa

Obviously a very serious student, she was in no mood to joke with her studies, probably, after considering how long it took her to secure the admission. So, she would always go to the serene environment of her Church when worshippers were not around to read her books. The Church environment should be both safe and devoid of distractions. 

But on this particular day, May 27, 2020, some wicked, callous and barbarous assailants gained access to the Church auditorium where she was immersed in her books, brutally raped her and ended her life by hitting her on the head with a fire extinguisher which gave her a very deep cut. They then fled leaving her in the pool of her own blood. She was only 22 and in her first year at the university.

Dele Giwa: Lingering Echoes Of A Murder

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

 “Death is…the absence of presence…the endless time of never coming back…a gap you can’t see, and when the wind blows through it, it makes no sound”.    – Tom Stopard, German playwright. 

*Giwa 

 

In the morning of Monday, October 20, 1986, I was preparing to go to work when a major item on the Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS) 6.30 news bulletin hit me like a hard object. Mr. Dele Giwa, the founding editor-in-chief of Newswatch magazine, had the previous day been killed and shattered by a letter bomb in his Lagos home. My scream was so loud that my neighbour barged into my room to inquire what it was that could have made me to let out such an ear-splitting bellow. 

We were three young men who had a couple of months earlier been posted from Enugu to Abakaliki to work in the old Anambra State public service, and we had hired a flat in a newly erected two-storey building at the end of Water Works Road, which we shared. My flat-mate, clearly, was not familiar with Giwa’s name and work, and so had wondered why his death could elicit such a reaction from me. But later that day, as he interacted with people, he realised that Giwa’s death was such big news, and by the next couple of days, he had become an expert on Giwa and his truncated life and career. Across the country, Giwa’s brutal death dominated the news not just because of the pride of place he occupied in Nigerian journalism practice and but more because of the totally novel way his killers had chosen to end his life.

18 Years Without Justice For Chief Bola Ige

By Dan Amor

A calculated insult and the guilt preceded his death, stealing from the actual murder all its potential impact and drama. There never was a crime more dramatically rehearsed, and the tale only provides it could not have been otherwise. Yet there are no clues to be uncovered, no enigmas to be revealed; for this was a murder almost predicted like its predecessors.

*Bola Ige

As a principled and astute politician, even though he agreed to serve in former President Olusegun Obasanjo's cabinet, Chief Bola Ige did not preach to Nigerians. But he provoked questions and left us in no doubt as to where he stood . He shared none of the current tastes for blurred conflicts, ambiguous characters and equivocal opinions. Nor was he disdainful of strong dramatic situations building up for firm climaxes. From the critic's point of view, the plot of Ige's senseless murder in December 2001, in its high velocity treachery, summarizes modern Nigeria in one word: "shame".

2018 – Trouble Settles In Nigeria

By Kole Omotoso

It started small, like all big things.

Little drops of water

Little grains of sand

Make the Gobi Desert

And the sea by the strand.

As part of his settlement Mr. Trouble married Miss Rachelle Palaver. Miss Palaver was a gentle woman and although she now became Mrs. Trouble she remained an oasis of peace and tranquility in the midst of Palaver and Trouble. She wrote her name as Mrs. Rachelle Palaver/Trouble. It was later corrected as Mrs. Rachelle Palaver-Trouble. But this is not the matter of this piece, but for later on. For now, it is 2018 and the coming federal elections of 2019. Not about them either but about what it caused to happen in the country – carpet crossing. 

Bola Ige: Sixteen Years Without Justice For The Justice Minister

By Dan Amor

A calculated insult and the guilt preceded his death, stealing from the actual murder all its potential impact and drama. There never was a crime more dramatically rehearsed, and the tale only provides it could not have been otherwise. Yet there are no clues to be uncovered, no enigmas to be revealed; for this was a murder almost predicted like its predecessors. As a principled and astute politician, even though he agreed to serve in former President Olusegun Obasanjo's cabinet, Chief Bola Ige did not preach to Nigerians. But he provoked questions and left us in no doubt as to where he stood . He shared none of the current tastes for blurred conflicts, ambiguous characters and equivocal opinions. Nor was he disdainful of strong dramatic situations building up for firm climaxes. From the critic's point of view, the plot of Ige's senseless murder in December 2001, in its high velocity treachery, summarizes modern Nigeria in one word: "shame".

*Late Bola Ige

In his epic novel, Shame (1983), Salman Rushdie, the Indian born controversial English writer, paints the picture of a disconcerting political hallucination in Pakistan, which he calls "Peccavistan" - existing fictionally as a slight angle to reality. The major thrust of the novel is that the shame or shamelessness of its characters returns to haunt them. Yet the recurrent theme is that there are things that cannot be said, things that can't be permitted to be true, in a tragic situation. To this end, fiction and politics ultimately become identical or rather analogous. That so banal and damaging an emotion could have been so manifestly created from within the Yoruba nation itself, is a ringing surprise to us keen observers of that macabre drama. But the truth or falsehood of the accusation or counter-accusation is not of the first importance.

Alex Ekwueme: The Architect Who Made A Difference

By Dare Babarinsa

Dr Alex Ekwueme occupied a unique space in Nigerian history. As the first elected Vice-President, Ekwueme was the face Nigeria advertised to the world that indeed the Igbos were back into the mainstream of Nigerian politics after the gruesome Civil War that ended in 1970. After that war, he made more money and decided to show the way to other Igbos who had come into wealth. By the time he was made the Vice-President to Alhaji Shehu Shagari, his philanthropy was well known. He single-handedly built the vocational centre, in Oko, his home town which has now been turned into The Federal Polytechnics, Oko. He was highly educated and knew the language of money. In the cacophony of the old National Party of Nigeria, NPN, during the Second Republic, his was a Voice of Reason. Now the voice is stilled.

*Dr. Alex Ekwueme

When Ekwueme died Sunday, November 19 in London, it was at the end of a long farewell. When I met him in his country home in Oko, Anambra State, in 1986, it was for him, the beginning of a new life. In July 1986, my editors at Newswatch, sent me to Oko with the good news that Ekwueme, who had been in Ikoyi Prison since Shagari was toppled on December 31, 1986, would soon be freed. I broke the good news to his mother, Mama Agnes and his younger wife, Ifeoma. Everyone was ecstatic. I met the late Igwe Justus Ekwueme, the traditional ruler of the town who welcomed me with open arms. Few weeks later, Ekwueme rode to Oko in triumph. I was one of the hundreds of people who joined him and his family at the thanksgiving service in the Anglican Church in the town.

Dele Giwa: Lingering Echoes Of A Murder

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

“Now, I think no riches can compare with being alive…”

–      Achilles, Homer’s Iliad.

“One life taken in cold blood is as gruesome as millions lost in a pogrom.” – Dele Giwa

*Dele Giwa 

Death is one appointment which every being must keep. And as we know, appointments can either be brought forward or moved to a later date or cancelled altogether. In the matter of life and death, any changes in appointment schedules should be the exclusive prerogative of the Creator. No man, therefore, has any right to arrogate to himself the role of bringing forward any other person’s appointment with death. In fact, it is abominable to even use one’s hands to hasten one’s own appointment with death. Laws of God and man hold such actions highly condemnable. So, suicide bombers and their sponsors, supporters and cheer-leaders should, therefore, get it into their heads that they have no mandate whatsoever from the Creator of man to either take their own lives or that of another, no matter the beliefs that fire their unholy zeal and action.

Death, however, is unavoidable, though loathsome. There is hardly anyone that wishes to die. Not even the most valiant of men would embrace death so willingly. Even those people who had been compelled by very harsh, unbearable circumstances to wish for death have had to shudder, cringe and shrink back when the icy hands of death sought to grip their throats. Deep down the heart of every man and every woman, and beyond the facade of all apparent fearlessness and bravery, lie this cold loathing and resentment for death. The survival instinct is there and also the desire to avoid danger and death, and the longing to postpone one’s date with death, temporarily at least, if not forever, hence the struggle and fight at many a deathbeds.

Newswatch: Sad End To ‘A Way Of Life’!

By Abdulrazaq Magaj

My first major assignment for Newswatch, once Africa’s most cited and best known news magazine, was to do preliminary work ahead of the 50th anniversary of the golden rule of late Sultan Abubakar Siddiq III. It was one assignment that took me to many parts of the north to talk to people who had one opinion or the other to express about Sultan Abubakar Siddiq and the Sokoto caliphate.

In line with Newswatch house-styles, the Editor-In-Chief did a short take on me in the Editorial Suite, a half page reserved for the EIC or, in his absence, one of his lieutenants to whet the appetite of readers. After commending me for what he said was a good outing, Ray Ekpu took one long look at me and asked whether I was surprised at my being signed on by Newswatch.

‘No, sir!’ I blurted.

‘Our Ray of hope’, as many called Ray Ekpu, Newswatch’s EIC, must have been pleasantly surprised by my candour

Prior to Newswatch, I had actually done some rudimentary writings for some local and international publications in my undergraduate days in Zaria. The trend continued during my days as a lecturer in Contemporary World History. Though I was not a rookie in the real sense of the word, Newswatch, for very obvious reasons, proved to be a different ball-game!

My midday encounter with Ray was a replay of a similar one on the day I encountered the three musketeers who interviewed me for the job 30 years ago. At issue was how I was eased out of my former job, an account which provoked a general laugh. Was it the laughable reasons given for my being eased out? Or was it the way it was narrated? What struck me most was the conviviality that surrounded the interview session. It was great to feel these Newswatch greats were not spooks, after all!

I had actually applied for an advertised position of deputy editor of Quality magazine, a soft-sell in the Newswatch group. But I guess the trio was impressed by my humble credentials. I had a job, I was told, not with Quality but the highflying Newswatch. Though, I was to get eased out of Newswatch, I guess the eight years I spent remain the most exciting in my career in journalism. I have seen a handful of newsrooms but Newswatch’s was unique!

Bola Ige: Fifteen Years After

By Dan Amor

A calculated insult and the guilt preceded his death, stealing from the actual murder all its potential impact and drama. There never was a crime more dramatically rehearsed, and the tale only provides it could not have been otherwise. Yet there are no clues to be uncovered, no enigmas to be revealed; for this was a murder almost predicted like its predecessors. As a principled and astute politician, even though he agreed to serve in former President Olusegun Obasanjo's cabinet, Chief Bola Ige did not preach to Nigerians.

*Bola Ige 

But he provoked questions and left us in no doubt as to where he stood . He shared none of the current tastes for blurred conflicts, ambiguous characters and equivocal opinions. Nor was he disdainful of strong dramatic situations building up for firm climaxes. From the critic's point of view, the plot of Ige's senseless murder, in its high velocity treachery, summarizes modern Nigeria in one word: "shame".

In his epic novel, Shame (1983), Salman Rushdie, the Indian born controversial English writer, paints the picture of a disconcerting political hallucination in Pakistan, which he calls "Peccavistan" - existing fictionally as a slight angle to reality. The major thrust of the novel is that the shame or shamelessness of its characters returns to haunt them. Yet the recurrent theme is that there are things that cannot be said, things that can't be permitted to be true, in a tragic situation. To this end, fiction and politics ultimately become identical or rather analogous. That so banal and damaging an emotion could have been so manifestly created from within the Yoruba nation itself, is a ringing surprise to us keen observers of that macabre drama. But the truth or falsehood of the accusation or counter-accusation is not of the first importance.

The critical issue that must enlist our concern here is Nigeria's sick criminal justice system and the poverty of integrity of its police force. Fifteen years after the well-planned assassination of the Chief Law Officer of the world's largest black nation (Chief Bola Ige was a Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation when he was killed), his killers are still walking the streets of our cities without challenge. In this sense, Nigeria is back in mediaeval times. The Orwellian qualities and nightmarish implications of the investigations make one sick since the whole exercise is as absurd as it is puerile. Only in Nigeria that a patriotic, brilliant and hardworking lawyer who turned in a prime suspect to the police for prosecution, be arrested and arranged by the same police before a court of law just to engage our false sense of judgment. Did the police not declare Fryo wanted in connection with Ige's death? Only in Nigeria would a prime suspect in such a heinous crime be declared winner, released from detention and sworn in as Senator of the Federal Republic in an electoral contest he did not even campaign.