BOOK REVIEW: Beyond Expectations, a Memoir 

On January 28, 1984, a quartet of celebrated Nigerian Journalists, Dele Giwa, Ray Ekpu, Dan Agbese and Yakubu Mohammed, launched Nigeria’s first weekly news magazine Newswatch into the vibrant Nigerian media market with a buzz of excitement accompanying it. At the news stands, the first edition sold out in no time and in many places around the country, the wild scramble to get a copy of the magazine was simply amazing. As a pioneering effort in the annals of Nigerian media history, the entry of the newsmagazine, though momentuous, was however met with cautious optimism. 

The caution was due to the fact that no one before then had ventured into publishing a weekly newsmagazine. The Nigerian print media space was dominated by tabloids that dominated and defined the content and coverage of news, features and columns. The nearest to a newsmagazine was a monthly, the Newbreed whose publisher Chris Maduabrochukwu Okolie was a lawyer and Journalist.  But as of the time of the entry of Newswatch, Newbreed was in abeyance owing to production issues following its close closure by the military regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo. 

The optimism that greeted the coming of Newswatch was because its four founders had collectively chalked up more than a hundred years of journalistic experience and in the process established a niche in the profession. It was reckoned that if any set of Journalists in Nigeria could venture into this area of publishing and make a success of it, then we need not look further than these four.

Although among the four, Dele Giwa and Ray Ekpu were easily the most noticeable for their suave, urbane sophistication, the one person that did more of the spadework resulting in the establishment of Newswatch was Yakubu Mohammed, the details of which was revealed in his Memoir titled ‘’Beyond Expectations, a Memoir’’ recently launched. His role in the establishing Newswatch typifies the persona of Yakubu Mohammed, a workhorse of a man who however elects to allow others take the limelight while he strategically and conveniently stays in the shadows where he operates best. Until he disclosed it in the book, many people where inclined to give the credit for setting up Newswatch more to Dele Giwa and Ray Ekpu. 

This much was revealed by Dan Agbese in his preface to the book. He wrote: ‘’Ray Ekpu, the late Dele Giwa, Yakubu Mohammed and I pride ourselves as co-founders of the immensely successful Newswatch magazine. But the true founder was Yakubu Mohammed. He it was who gathered us together to found the new venture as employers and business partners. But he remains modest….We answered his invitation and came together, then he took the back seat, allowing the company to be a venture of equals.’’

But if you thought the author’s modesty would some how be reflected in his other ways you are grossly mistaken. Yakubu Mohammed expresses his persona more in his relentless pursuit for stories that make the news and the no-punches-pulled delivery in the way he writes his articles. I have been reading his columns right from his days at New Nigerian Newspapers and the candour in his write ups was unique then as it is in this book under review. In his years of experience as a journalist the author has shown a proclivity of not being afraid to go against the herd instinct often displayed by many Nigerian journalists and the public affairs commentariat on issues of national import. For instance, on the contentious issue of the assassination of his colleague and friend, Dele Giwa through a mail bomb on October 19, 1986, the popular narrative is that it was done at the behest of then military president General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. But the author was Giwa’s friend and colleague and was one of the last people to see him (Giwa) alive before the incident happened holds a different view which he retains to this day. In the book in which he dedicated the entire chapter 17 running up to ten pages from 227 to 237 debunking the abiding popular narrative on Giwa’s assassination. In the chapter the author laboured to provide concrete evidence and explanation to show that it was not true that Gloria Okon who was alleged to be a drug courier had purportedly been interviewed by Giwa in London and had spilled the beans on the alleged involvement of President Babangida in the lucrative but dangerous drug laundering business. The author said that contrary to the popular narrative Newswatch was not doing a story on Gloria Okon. ‘’The fact is’’ the author stated in his narrative ‘’that Dele Giwa did not meet any Gloria Okon on the trip in question. I know this for sure because I travelled with him to London. It is difficult to fathom how Gloria Okon came to the centre stage in Dele’’s travails’’.  It is such a pity that in their news coverage and subsequent reporting of the book launch, most media platforms in the country ignored this revealing account of the circumstances of Giwa’s killing coming from one who as a colleague and close friend and had a ringside seat and view of the entire incident. I reckon that from a news perspective this gilt-edged revelation from Yakubu Mohammed should have led the stories of all media platforms in the country spiced with interviews and background stories.        The authors comments on the Giwa killing began with a rhetorical question ‘’And who, I must ask, killed Dele Giwa? This question that sounded sonorously like an anthem of sorrow when it was first asked pitifully and was sustained in nearly everybody’s lips for a long while has remained the same today even in its tamed and almost muted form, lacking in its original vigour and gravitas. 

It has remained so because nearly four decades after, the search for Giwa’s killers has not yielded any definitive results.’’

The author had scathing and dripping sarcastic remarks about people who still retain the popular narrative on the unfortunate demise of Giwa labelling them as ‘’those who seem to know us at Newswatch more than we know ourselves’’.                

The author may have intended the memoir as an account of his experience in the media and public office but we are also provided us with an adequate insight into his life background and his foray into politics and university administration.

The book therefore contains a rich vein of information on some of the momentous events that occurred from the 1980’s to date which has influenced contemporary Nigerian politics. 

The author writes from the authoritative point of a commentator with deep knowledge of some of those events which he covered or gleaned from those in the know of such developments as a journalist. He also talks from the point of a stakeholder and participant especially in his brief but tumultuous foray into the byzantine ways of Nigerian politics with its intrigues, betrayals and dark arts. 

This certainly makes the book a compelling reference material on Nigerian contemporary issues. 

It chronicles the life of the author from his humble beginnings in his native Igalaland in the present day Kogi state where fortuitous circumstances saved him from a fire that engulfed his mother’s abode in his infancy. She had lost all her belongings but rather than wail at such a loss she was instead full of joy that her son survived such an inferno. When sympathizers gathered to lament at her loss of properties, she had countered by saying ‘’No! That is my cloth, my belonging, my all-in-all. I have not lost anything. Yakubu is my cloth, he is my God-given garment and that is enough for me’’. (P.5)

From the moment of the author’s infancy to his journey through primary, secondary and university en-route to becoming one of Nigeria’s highly celebrated journalists, his life has been dogged by fortuitous happenings on the way. 

From the book we gleaned that his pathway to journalism was laid right from early years in primary school where he used to write essays that attracted the attention of his teachers.

In secondary school too, he continued this streak and again here fortune came to his rescue as he wrote a critical article about the school that riled the strict and disciplinarian principal of the school that would have earned him instant dismissal. Instead he found himself being appointed member of the school’s editorial board! From then on, his fate to becoming a journalist was sealed. And when he was admitted to study Mass Communication at the University of Lagos, it was more or less honky dory. In the author’s words, ‘’And when I did arrive in Lagos on September 16, 1972, it was more than a grand step towards acquiring the much-coveted golden fleece. It was in furtherance of my professional career, practically and intellectually. A degree in Mass Communication which was my mission in the university was to arm me intellectually for the profession and equip me with the theory of journalism the philosophy and psychology underpinning the practice of the profession’’. (P.67)         

From his account in the book, the author was clearly destined to be a journalist. He had shown glimpses of this in his earlier years in primary and secondary school. Coming to UNILAG this was reinforced by not just his academic studies but also by his working for the Kaduna based New Nigerian Newspapers as a student/stringer. The paper had opened a plant in Lagos to cater for its southern readers and the author found himself stringing news and feature articles for it even as a student. The highlight of this was when he got a ‘’scoop’’ for the paper blowing wide open an admission racket in UNILAG. He added this job for the paper with his position as editor of the campus publications the UNILAG Sun and Kobo respectively. 

With his association with New Nigerian it came as no surprise that he will end up working there after graduation from UNILAG. The paper had taken the unprecedented step of influencing his posting to do his National Service at its Kaduna headquarters as a prelude to his joining them on full employment after completion of his mandatory year of service. 

So, began the author’s entry into the real and practical world of journalism, politics and public service. It was in New Nigerian that he first ‘’earned his Spurs’’ in journalism rising steadily to become the paper’s editor. Along the line as part of the paper’s succession for its staff plan he underwent a training programme in Scotland to prepare him for the higher positions he was to occupy. It was also at New Nigerian that through his column he began to attract a steady growth and interest from readers. 

But his tenure at New Nigeria was not without challenges. Like any establishment, New Nigerian had its own internal factions and more often outside influences and preferences intervened rather negatively in matters of competence, merit, appointment and promotion of staff. As someone who got his appointment through merit naturally the author was not happy about these developments although he tried to navigate through it deftly often with gritted teeth. 

But things came to a head and following constant pressure, he succumbed to the entreaties of Chief Moshood Abiola to become the editor of the chief’s Concord Newspaper in 1982 after working for 10 years with the New Nigerian. Chief Abiola had a grand plan to restructure and reorganize his publishing empire and in this regard, he recruited the likes of Dele Giwa to be the editor of the Sunday title and the author as editor of the daily. Ray Ekpu came in as Chairman editorial board. This array of seasoned journalists who were well remunerated and provided vehicles not given to journalists in the industry led to snide remarks. The New Nigerian the author’s previous employers called them ‘’Benzy Journalists’’ in reference to the Mercedes-Benz cars given to them by Chief Abiola the publisher. 

But in due course, the glitter of the author’s appointment as editor of Concord started waning. Yes of course the trio of Giwa, Ekpu and the author brought a number of changes to the paper. They attracted some of the best journalists in the country and also trained some to fit into the new wave of journalism that made Concord newspaper the best in the country at the time. 

But beneath all the shine, there were simmering issues of ego and envy as well as the inevitable factors of vicious gossips. It also seemed that the glamourous life led especially by Giwa and Ekpu rubbed the publisher Chief Abiola the wrong way. As for the author who was not given to a Tinsel town lifestyle, the publisher’s grouse ironically was that he (author) was getting more accolades that was necessary for the success that Concord newspapers had become. Chief Abiola was also receiving a lot of complaints from well placed people for the daring stories that the paper carried which made him uncomfortable amongst them. This gradually led to a souring up of relations between the publisher and his editors leading inevitably to a point of no return. According to the author, ‘’The cozy relationship with the publisher, productive and beneficial as it was, did not enjoy any immunity against the negative effects of envy and petty jealousy’’. (P.190)       

Thus, the stage was set for a deterioration of relationship leading to the trio resigning from the Concord media stable and the setting up of Newswatch weekly news magazine. 

Essentially the story of the resignation of the author and his colleagues reads like a very Nigerian coup with the intrigues, deception, stealth and coup de grace at the end. They took their time to hide their intentions to resign and to plan the establishment and launch of Newswatch at the same time. This had parallel to the military coup that ousted General Yakubu (author’s namesake) Gowon in 1975. The author could be likened to Colonel Joe Garba who was the trusted Commander of Guards Brigade under Gowon securing Dodan Barracks the seat of government. Like Garba, the author had a relationship of trust with Chief Abiola very often even being invited to the man’s bedroom to discuss issues of family, professional, political and business import. 

Yet as the relationship soured progressively, there was the author planning under the radar with his colleagues to resign from the paper and set up another publication right under their publisher’s nose!

Years later when the author ventured into the murky waters of Nigerian politics to contest for the governorship of his home state of Kogi, he himself faced similar acts of betrayals from the closest of friends. The whole story of the author’s foray into politics and the shenanigans that he encountered are well captured in Chapter 26 of the book. 

Whereas the author’s venture into politics was regrettable, his appointment as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the governing council of the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, was on the whole, pleasantly memorable to him. Again, as in the previous milestones he had achieved in his life, this too was fortuitous. By his own account, he never lobbied for it, neither did he have an inkling of its coming. It was offered to him by Colonel Ahmadu Ali (rtd) who was then Chairman of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP). It was ironic too that several years back, he was offered admission to ABU to study Political Science, but opted instead to for UNILAG where he went to study Mass Communication. And there he was coming to ABU not to pursue any academic studies, but as boss of this famous citadel of learning with scores of world class scholars and professors answering to him. Suffice it to say that his successful tenure at ABU as Pro-Chancellor was made possible by the convivial working relationship with both the academic and administration staff of the University. 

This review will not end without a comment on the style, content and print quality of the book as well as the commentaries on the book. 

The book is written in the unmistakeable direct, blunt, no-holds-barred style of the author. I have been reading his works since his days as a columnist in the New Nigerian and through the years at Concord and Newswatch. There is also his penchant for attention and presentation of detail giving his readers an unexpurgated, almost surfeit of information on the subject matter he is writing on.  This has been his hallmark through the years and in the book under review, this is clearly evident. Not for him the flowery drivel that some writers often adopt when writing on a subject which goes to bore the reader. As his eminent colleague Dan Agbese said, the book is riveting and for me I daresay it is also a compelling read as a commentary on contemporary Nigerian politics and public affairs by one of its finest journalists. It is no surprising that this brutal candour and detailed presentation of hard-nosed investigation on issues rattled the Abacha military government which earned him some unpleasant time in the dictator’s gulag. 

It is also little wonder that the author’s peers in the profession and those that worked under him, including distant admirers of his like me queued up to take interest and comment positively on this book. In particular, the comments of Professor Olatunji Dare eminence grise of Nigerian journalism and to whom roads in the profession often leads either from those he had taught or worked with or been referred to for one thing or the other in the profession, was interesting. 

As the author recounted in the book, Professor Dare who was a year ahead of him at UNILAG and hailed from Kabba in the same Kogi state, had effusive positive words to say on the author and the book. I have met many people who say that for all his congenial nature, Professor Dare ever the purist is not known to be generous with his marks or assessment of the works of students under him or journalists. To write such an almost hundred per cent commentary on the author, is a tribute to the author’s worth and to Professor Dare’s ability to recognize and appreciate quality and taste when he sees one.

For what it is worth, this book written by one of Nigeria’s foremost personalities, who rose from humble beginnings to the highest pinnacle of his chosen profession of journalism to be courted by the high and mighty in Nigeria and abroad including an audience with the late Queen of England Elizabeth 11 is not only riveting and compelling, but a veritable collector’s item for all seasons and all times.