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*Doyin abiola, really exceptional!
By Tunji Bello
The phrase “gentlemen of the press” used for both male and female journalists, has no known origin. But he became popular following the 1929 American film by Walter Huston, who played the life of a professional journalist deprived of the joy of ordinary life due to the needs of duty.
So, over time, the phrase has acquired a universal application in public discourse as a form of greeting in which journalists are collected. And despite the heroic efforts of “Women Liber” in the profession, the phrase lasted as a standard greeting to the meetings of the press.
Certainly, there are great women of the profession in history whose footprints far obscure this genre murmurs and whose solid contributions believe in any claim of male superiority. One of these specimens was Dr. Doyin Abiola (born Abaaba), wife of our national hero Bashorun Mko Abiola, winner of the presidential elections of 12 June 1993 who gave birth to the current democracy of Nigeria.
He had joined the profession of journalism in 1970 with a degree at the prestigious university of Ibadan with his work as director of characteristics of The Power Daily Times in Kakawa, Lagos Island.
When I joined the profession Fresh from the National Youth Service in October 1985, dr. Doyin Abiola had become one of his leading lights. With a doctorate of the famous University of New York, he was the CEO/chief editor of the group of Concord newspapers, probably the main publication in the Nigerian media industry where I started.
In my first two years in the editorial staff of Concord, I never came into personal contact with her. At best, our meetings came from afar: or that I was passing it in front of the corridor of the Council room or while I was conversations with our senior editors. Of course, I was obliged to greet her with reverence.
But over time and I intensified the scale, I saw it as a super chief who was exceptional in professional creativity and in providing editorial leadership. It was a great risk of risk in the profession and was never afraid when it was a competition and professional judgment.
I was only six months in the position of Assistant Features Editor in 1989 when I was summoned to his office. “Tunji”, asked, “the direction is thinking of making you the group’s political publisher, but some senior editors say that you are too young for such a role to almost 28”.
My answer was: “Why don’t you give me a test first?” Feeling outside, she replied: “Ok, we will go on”.
We continued to create a political desk of brilliant minds, which later became the media stars, such as Sam Oomatseye as deputy, Victor Ifijeh, Olusgegun Adeniyi, Louis Odion and Gboyega Amobonye, popularly called “governor with unlimited mandate”.
Following the excellent coverage of the team of several political news including the failed coup of Gideon Okar against the Babangida regime in 1990; Our careful forecast of Sir Michael Otedola as the next governor of the State of Lagos in 1991 – even when the then national electoral commission (NEC) was still counting the votes; The formation and possible dissolution of political parties such as the Solidarity Party (PSP), the popular front (PF) and the liberal convention (LC); the imposition of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the National Republican Convention (NRC) by the Babangida regime; visits to the United Kingdom and the United States to report on the elections of John Major as Prime Minister and Bill Clinton as president respectively; The proposal for the publication of “exclusive” in the meeting of the Council of the Armed Forces (AFRC) on the prescription of the elections of 12 June in the result of the Sunday Concord which almost led to the assassination of the publisher, deleg Alake on Airport Road by the regime’s goons, later he would have observed me: “You never disappointed me”.
And with the support of our main publisher, NSIKAK ESSIEN (National Director of the Concord), the sky was our limit.
A few months earlier, he had started what was thought was impossible: the first Saturday newspaper in Nigeria. This was achieved using another large star of the profession of journalism, Mike Awoodinfa.
Egbon Mike was my former functionality publisher and I worked as a senior staff writer below him. He had been redistributed by Sunday Concord as assistant publisher to be a director of functionality when Ola Amupitan left, and immediately after having transformed the pages of the characteristics into a reading not to be missed for the Nigerians, the legendary Mike ascended again to become the publisher of the new Saturday newspaper with the deceased Dimgba Igwe as his deputy.
The newspaper was baptized on the weekend Concord. The Concord weekend suddenly became Nigeria’s best selling on newsstands with its compelling approach to the human corner and a salace news on events and people.
He was not over yet. When the Babangida regime float the idea of privatization of public companies in Nigeria, dr. ABIOLA has convened a selected group of editors and members of the editorial council at a meeting on the need to study and report how it had been done in other countries. As a result, the editors have been distributed in different parts of the world, about 20 countries in which it had been done. I ended up visiting Mexico to do my investigations. In the end, a book was produced on that experience, studied and written by publishers of Concord and Senior staff.
He has never been a political actor in a strong sense of politics. Its land was only the media. However, the cancellation of the elections of June 12, won by her husband, transformed her. When the Concord newspaper group was closed for almost two years by a combination of Babangida and Abacha regimes (a completely different story for another day), deleg Alake (then editor of Sunday Concord and subsequently National Concord), Segun Babatope, president, editorial committee and myself have become his closest allies. It was like a confirmation of the political accident, “never underestimated a person so far apparently politically disinterested in the face of the challenge and reality of the politics of power”.
Without an office to follow the military barricade, he transformed his residential apartment to Moshood Abiola Crescent in Ikeja, Lagos, in another fortress for us. Every day, the three of us resumed there to discuss and work with some important activists in favor of democracy on daily moves, pretending that we were not monitored by members of the state security service.
We were constantly in contact with local and political exiles such as our current president Bola Ahmed Tinubu. His telephone and fax machines were at our beck and calls. Sometimes, to shake off the safety path, we had to use various baits to enter and leave the house.
When Concord was reopened in early 1996 with Bashorun Abiola still in detention, many advertisers and suppliers abandoned us for fear of General Sani Abacha and his media repressions. After being left to endure the weight, he remained standing as a leader and encouraged us to persevere.
Dele Alake has resumed as a national editor of Concord and I took on the position of editor of Sunday Concord. And when Alake left to join the Governor’s Cabinet Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Lagos in 1999, he appointed me National Editor Concord. We had thought that the return to democracy of 1999 was the point of salvation after the death of our publisher in July 1998, but it would have been the turning point for the newspaper empire. Also family policy and antagonism.
We needed substantial capital to rejuvenate concord. Fortunately, there was a significant resource in which Lagos State Water Corporation was affected and we agreed to sell it with the approval of the Governor Tinubu. Payment was about to be finalized by the Lasg when we saw a void of some members of the Abiola family in some newspapers. That was the end of the transaction. This was followed by many other frustrations. And the staff became disillusioned.
In November 2000, I approached his office to let her know that I was resigning. He discouraged himself and asked me to think about it. I asked for a month’s leave and it was from there I sent my resignation letter. My resignation triggered some others. Kayode Komolafe as an publisher of Sunday Concord also resigned. Two days after learning my resignation, the publisher of this day, Prince Nduka Obaigena, gave me a call and offered me the presidency of the editorial committee of the newspapers of this day.
Despite my departure as Concord, I approached even more to the beloved media empress, Dr. Doyin Abiola, her wonderful unique daughter, Doyin and her husband Bamise. I commissioned with them. And like a chapter of each book, it must have an end. Dr. Doyin Abiola left us to join her great husband, Mko. May his soul rest in perfect peace.
Goodnight, Aunt Doyin!
Goodbye, mom doyin!
*Tunji Bello, political, lawyer and public administrator, is a former editor of National Concord and later president, editorial committee of this day of newspapers, former secretary of the state government of Lagos and commissioner for the environment, is currently executive vice president/CEO of FCCPC.
