*The newspaper where I cut my teeth

By SIAKA MOMOH

I had made up my mind that I would be a journalist right from my secondary school days. I was encouraged by the oratory skill of my late ‘foster’ father, Francis Omo Okotete, of Agbarho clan, in Delta State. He was a London School of Economics-trained economist who had career stints with Nigerian Breweries and PZ before he set up his own business outfit.

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Some of my other mentors were  Dr Yemi Farounbi,  my Geography teacher at Oyemekun Grammar School Akure who spiced up our inter-house sports events with  his electrifying commentaries, Alhaji Alade Odunewu (AllahDe), Sad Sam ( our Vanguard’s Uncle Sam – Sam Amuka Pemu), Gbolabo Ogunsanwo, Olabisi  Onabanjo (of Aiyekooto fame) and later on Dele Giwa and his crew.

I loved them all. I loved their communication skill. I told myself I would be like them. I set out for it after eight years off education line, working in Nigerian Breweries and Metropolitan Business Consultancy Services, courtesy of Chief Okotete/Prince Aliu Ilori Momoh (my father).

In the late 1970s, I was admitted to study Political Science in UNILAG, and after one year in Political Science, I switched to Mass Communication Department and, by so doing, fulfilled my dream of becoming a journalist. After graduation in 1983 and my NYSC primary assignment in 1984, I got a teaching job in 1985, with Lagos State Government, to teach in Ibeshe Community Grammar School. That was a good one for me, for it gave me enough time to string for Vanguard.

Vanguard was barely one year old, and the editorial team was crowded in the Advert Department building. As a stringer, you must sell yourself. You must have proof that you can do it. And I did. Thanks for the opportunity given me by my editors, Muyiwa Adetiba (Vanguard’s maiden editor) and Toye Akiyode, who succeeded him. And late Ely Obasi, my features head of department, too.

Ely Obasi had a great features team, which he mobilized when big news broke. There were insightful reports that came out of such efforts: Concerning Babangida’s recalcitrant foot – radiculopathy – and his return from Paris, Ely Obasi, who anchored the story, wrote in the opening space: ‘He stood at the door of the jet that brought him home, at Wednesday’s dusk and for a few moments, it looked as though his boyish charm had gone way. His face was slightly drawn, the smile was gone, and he didn’t offer a wave. Then, as he came down the staircase, a security official pressed close to him, it wasn’t possible to tell how he fared with that recalcitrant foot which had taken him to France. But the moment his feet touched the ground of his fatherland, it was like a switch had been thrown. His lips parted into that famous gap-toothed smile, and the old bubble was back to his shoulders.’

The title of the piece was ‘The bubble is intact’ That was quintessential Ely Obasi, and team for you.

There were more: ‘Arrows for a mother’s heart’, which had to do with the killing of the  two Dawodu brothers in Lagos Island by the police; Dele Giwa’s gruesome  letter bomb murder; The Anini (‘the son of dog’) celebrated trial; Awo’s historic burial;  Children in distress; High tension blues; etc. It was all refreshingly crafted in Vanguard’s traditional style.

At Vanguard, Uncle Sam builds you. As head of desk, he feeds you with foreign magazines and newspapers relevant to your desk regularly. With these, you learn from others in the global media space.

One unique thing in Vanguard is that Uncle Sam is very friendly with his staff – low and high. At The Canal, Vanguard’s restaurant, Uncle Sam mixes freely and shares meals and peanuts with his staff.

But Uncle Sam is very stern on quality. If you get it wrong, he walks to your desk to tell you. I once got it wrong as Showtime Editor and paid dearly for it. I had to redo the week’s edition and closed at 1 am.

Vanguard is a sweet place to work. May be this is why journalists stay long working for the paper.

I left Vanguard in 1990 after putting in six years, went on sabbatical sort of,  to sales and marketing as well as  commodities warehouse management and freight forwarding. I did this for a decade and came back to journalism, spending 11 years with BusinessDay, after which I went solo. I had a short stint with my root Vanguard thereafter, anchoring RealSectorNow.

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