By Ademola Adegbamigbe
Mr Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Strategy, who is marking his birthday this Friday, 20 June, has a rare gift. He can keep a straight face that is difficult to read by his enemies. He put this into use on one of those days when General Sani Abacha was Head of State, ruling Nigeria like Adolf Hitler, leader of the Third Reich.
Abacha sent his goons to our office at Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos, to arrest Onanuga, Editor-in-Chief of TheNEWS, Tempo, AMNEWS and PMNEW. His offence? He had a penchant for publishing “incendiary” stories and casting “satanic” headlines that caused Abacha sleepless nights. If he was lucky to sleep for a few hours, he was, because of what he read or what was read to him during the day, a victim of serious phantasmagoria and, in some cases, somnambulism. Abacha, a man who could order multiple arrests, detention, mayhem and deaths by merely placing a phone call, wagging his forefinger, or nodding his head, wanted Onanuga arrested by all means.
So, one afternoon, Mr Onanuga was in the office with his daughter, Tobi, when agents of the State Security Service, people trained to kill with no more effort than plucking twigs, came for him. These sleuth blockbusters thought they were lucky to catch a big quarry, a man who, like Nelson Mandela, was considered a black pimpernel because of his ability to elude arrests. Today, na today when monkey go to market, it will not return! To them, Onanuga came to office, and he would not return home in the evening to meet his wife, Aunty Toyin (nee Machado).
If they thought they would meet a vertically challenged man with an austere frame, who they could lift by the scruff of his neck, they made a big mistake. The man they came to arrest, to their surprise, is as solid as a tank; he is tall and has a chest build like a barn door. That frame of the MD intimidated them a bit, but they quickly overcame their fear.
The Editor-in-Chief wore an inscrutable face, veiling what was going on in his mind. Without losing his cool, he asked the invaders to allow him to take the poor girl to the production section, where one of the ladies would take her home. They agreed. They did not know how he escaped with his daughter and scampered out of the country.
We later learned that the escape sparked a debate among the officers who thought that because Mr Onanuga “is Ijebu, he must have used egbe (transponder)” to vamoose and land somewhere out of the danger zone. We knew what happened. There was no African mesmerism involved. Those who reasoned like that did not know him as one of the most scientifically minded senior journalists alive. He taught us to take every story with a pinch of salt and not to fall for any superstitious nonsense. He would have been born when agents of Sacerdotalism clashed with those of the Enlightenment!
A great boss. A man who teaches journalists under him with the patience of a stoic and the firm belief of a monk. Once he discovers potential in you, he makes you develop confidence that you can do better. Of course, he, a sharp dresser himself, would never cease to encourage journalists to dress well, since this is part of confidence-building.
When he listens to your side of anything, Oga would be brushing the tuft of hair under his lower lip with the back of his forefinger, narrowing his eyes behind his pair of glasses as if peering into your heart, detecting whether you are making sense or belching nonsense! His patience in nurturing people into growth is legendary.
An editor’s editor, Mr Bayo Onanuga, can turn the most egregious piece of writing into mellifluous prose. Then, he would call you to his office (he would never dress a member of his staff down in the presence of others), and tell you what you did not get right and then let you know how you could improve. He is also a simple man who could be approached by any staffer, however low in the pecking order, who has an idea. Notwithstanding this, our Oga would not spare the cudgel when necessary.
He possesses a clear professional vision, sees ahead of his contemporaries and, thus, takes proactive steps to avert disaster. For over 18 years, he had been telling us about online publication, that “this is the future of the media.” I have been a witness to how, as editor-in-chief, he navigated TheNEWS through perilous seas and balanced the ship on an even keel.
Mr Onanuga does not panic. When we wanted to have our editorial meetings with members of management, we always worried if we did not have publishable cover story ideas to present. Bamidele Johnson, my colleague, would say, “Demoo dont worry, MD will soon be here. That man does not panic at all in a situation like this.” True. With a dearth of stories from his editors, Mr Onanuga would table his usual winning formula which comes in the form of a question. It is a trade secret, I will not reveal it! Then the debate would start. Within one hour, we will come up with a smash hit.
Beyond the newsroom, this media pontiff is never afraid of any threat or blackmail. He called the bluff of Ibrahim Babangida and, instead of apologising to the military dictator over a cover story that African Concord carried, Mr Onanuga resigned. Despite an uncertain future, he and his colleagues started TheNEWS. Still on his bravery, he was always calm when people who were subjects of unfavourable stories, hired fiery Senior Advocates and slammed the company with huge lawsuits. He would dare them to go to court because “we stand by our story.” I know that his memoirs, when it is ready, will shake everywhere…
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One other virtue that he possesses is that when he calls himself your friend, you can go and relax or sleep. In other words, he is a loyal friend with the brain of an elephant; he does not forget favours however remote in time. This social capital has helped him in his life trajectory.
“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom,” so says the Psalmist.
A birthday is an exercise in numbering our days on this side of eternity. It is a moment of personal reappraisal or stock-taking, deep reflection, or a stage of counting the teeth with the tongue.
As our boss, Mr Bayo Onanuga, marks his birthday today, may the lines fall in pleasant places for him.
On this special day of yours, I rejoice with you. Happy birthday, sir. You will live long and enjoy sound health.
Adegbamigbe, Editor of TheNEWS magazine, expanded this from a tribute he wrote on his boss in the past
