By BENJAMIN NJOKU
Biographers are sometimes said to fall in love with their subjects. And this explains why the duo of Mike Awoyinfa and Dimgba Igwe recently embarked on a trip into the past to rewrite the story of Segun Osoba, the turnaround media manager and all seasons reporter who blazed many trails and discovered new grounds during his over four decades career in journalism.

Osoba was a two time governor of Ogun State and a seasoned journalist who  left his footprint in the sand of time. He distinguished himself as a reporter, editor and newspaper manager par excellence. During his time, he “paved the way for  the  flourishing modern day journalism in the country.

*Awoyinfa

He wasn’t just one of the finest journalists and media Chieftains that this country ever produced in the past 50 years, but also, Osoba blazed many trails and discovered new grounds that stood him out amongst his contemporaries in the journalism profession.

His journalism career, which  spanned four decades was proof that God puts men in deep oceans, not to drawn, but to cleanse them in preparation for  greater challenges ahead.

Mike Awoyinfa and Dimgba Igwe, two respected journalists and media chieftains in their own rights setting out to document Osoba’s amazing foray into the field of journalism in their new work titled “Segun Osoba: The Newspaper Year’, demonstrate to some extent how much they are prepared to preserve the stories of great men whose dreams and accomplishments can provide a ready prospectus for emulation. The book will for a long time remain the most dazzling history of modern Nigerian print journalism.

The 396 pages book, due for public presentation on Thursday, March 22, at Muson Centre, Lagos, is not only a celebration of the journalistic achievements of the man, Osoba but also, a celebration of modern Nigerian journalism.

The book covers the era described as the golden years of Nigerian journalism-from the 50s to the 90s. It was an era that saw Nigerian print media soar to its highest height, giving birth to media patriarchs like Alhaji Babtunde Jose, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, Peter Enachoro, Adamu Ciroma, Segun Osoba , Sam Amuka and host of other media chieftains.

While Alhaji Jose was described as Nigeria’s greatest media mogul, Osoba, the great reporter and turnaround media manager, emerged as his professional son who inherited his large shoes and valiantly strove in diverse ways to sustain the grand legacy.

Starting with the notion of a media biography of Osoba, the biographers indirectly ended up with a collection of the biographies of the finest newspapermen from Nigeria in the last half of the century.

“In recounting their media encounters with Osoba, each icon starts with personal recollections of their own newspaper odyssey and in the process reveal seminal tips, famous encounters and anecdotes about the craft and practice of print journalism in Nigeria which one probably may not find in any written material anywhere.” they narrated to Vanguard Arts.

According to the seasoned journalists, the need to document in print form the journalistic exploits of the man, Osoba, for posterity inspired them into writing this book. For them, Osoba represents the new phase of modern day journalism in Nigeria.

“Osoba is a man who we have been looking up to; we just feel that his legacy should be preserved in a book form. And what he stands for should be captured in a way that Nigerians should know what he did during his time as a newspaper hero.

“In a way, Osoba is a hero, because we usually don’t write about everybody. Before we write about you, you must be somebody who is heroic by our own standard; somebody who has the same values that we also share in.”Awoyinfa narrated

Speaking further on the essence of the book, Awoyinfa posited that writing about Osoba is like celebrating ourselves, adding that “ what Osoba accomplished in his time, we tried to do same. In our days, we tried to do our best, by breaking stories, and creating a newspaper product that is history now, yet a reference point when you talk of modern journalism in Nigeria.”

According to Dimgba Igwe, they approached the book from two standpoints of looking at Osoaba’s great skill as a reporter and also as a turnaround manager, adding that “in searching for an answer regarding the characteristics that makes Osoba a reporter led us into writing this book. And in the quest for the element, we are in effect, trying to capture the nuances of modern Nigerian journalism.”

Awoyinfa and Igwe are two distinguished journalists in their own rights, who have in a rare collaborative endeavours written other books, such as The Art of Feature Writing, 50 Nigeria’s Corporate Strategists: Top CEOs Share Their Experiences in Managing Business in Nigeria and Orji Uzor Kalu: The Strategist” amongst others. In their new challenge, they are taking journalism to a higher notch by reinventing book business in Nigeria.