By Lawrence Akapa (Creator, ‘MR & MRS)

My sojourn in Vanguard was like a return to a family house. Of course, like most other families, that came with it some fair share of squabbles and all that. I believe it was in the early months of 1984 that I took a trip from Ibadan to the Punch Newspapers to meet with their then Sunday paper editor, Mr. Muyiwa Adetiba. 

At that time, I was a freelance with the Sketch Newspapers in Ibadan, Herald in Ilorin, and a publication of the Daily Times in Lagos. 

Mr. Adetiba looked at the samples of cartoons I came with and told me point blank that if I wanted a space in the Punch, there’s one for me, but he informed me of a newspaper called Vanguard in the making. He told me about the publisher, Mr. Sam Amuka, who was a keen lover of cartoons. To further sway me to his side, he dropped the hint that he, too, would soon be moving over to join the new paper, and as a final clincher, he enthused that I will get to work with the likes of Kenny Adamson and a host of other celebrity cartoonists. 

I took the ‘bait’!

A ‘LADDER’ CALLED UNCLE SAM 

My first meeting with the publisher of the Vanguard Newspapers took place in what looked like a make-shift office.  Nothing that hinted at the glory we now see in the enterprise. He looked over my cartoons and gave a suppressed laugh.

He looked me in the eyes and blurted: 

“We are going to make you into a star!” 

That, to God’s glory, he did.

Uncle Sam gave me the space to exhibit my talent. He believes so much in people. He was willing to be the humble ladder that others could climb to the pinnacle of their career. 

MR &MRS

From the onset of the daily, Uncle Sam planted my “MR & MRS” cartoons on the front page of the paper. He made sure my “COCK TALES” was at the back page of the Sunday edition. When I came out with a cartoon satire, “RAT RACE,” he made it a part of the editorial page political cartoon. He was even daring to place on the Sunday edition front cover, the pocket cartoon which had “AKAPA” as its brand name! What a daring man! 

STRONG SUPPORT 

I remember an incident that happened not long after the paper hit the streets. Muhamadu Buhari was then the military head of state. It was the inglorious era of the draconian Decree 4, which was a scheme to gag journalists. 

Two writers at the Guardian stable had just been hauled into prison as the first prey to enter the obnoxious decree’s trap! 

The then Minister of Information, Mr. Emeka Omeruah, had called a dinner meeting with headsof media houses. I was shocked to receive a copy of the invite. My first thought was: “I am not a media chief. I’m just a cartoonist!” 

I took the invite to Uncle Sam and he told me to go. That emboldened me. My friend, Tony Awani, drove me down to the minister’s residence in Ikoyi. Tony was to wait in the car, just in case. The meeting was obviously over since I came in late in the night. I was ushered into his spacious living room. 

When the minister was informed of my presence, he came down by a spiral staircase. His first words were something like: 

“So you are the Akapa?” 

He asked what I wanted to be entertained with, and I replied “Nothing Sir”. 

He sat down on the couch beside me and went straight to the reason he invited me. He spoke frankly: 

“He (obviously referring to the head of state) likes your MR & MRS cartoons a lot, but he doesn’t like your RAT RACE cartoons”. 

Then, with a hint of subtle threat, he concluded: 

“I think you should stop it.” 

That was the end of the meeting. The RAT RACE cartoon was a political satire that depicted the head of state and his gang as rats in military uniform! 

I guess every time the head of state saw it, he frowned and wanted to send the security folks to pick me up, but when he turned to the front page of Vanguard and saw the MR & MRS Cartoons for the day, the humou in it calmed his frayed nerves. 

Looking back now, I know it was just God’s grace that kept me from being arrested and thrown  into the dreaded Kirikiri Prison. 

On returning the very next day; I went straight to the Vanguard Publisher’s office. I told him that the Head of State was not comfortable with my RAT RACE cartoons and that the Minister of  Information cautioned me. Without mincing words, Uncle Sam yelled: 

“Is he your employer? Go on with it!” 

On the strength of the publisher’s words, I went on with it!

NOT A COINCIDENCE 

God, Who plotted the journey of my life, made me pass through the Vanguard Newspapers so I could meet an uncle that is more “Uncle” than a blood-related uncle! They say life begins at forty. I don’t know about that, but I know that, for all the pioneers of the Vanguard Newspapers, life, and I mean, the media life began in 1984! 

Happy Celebration.