Nigerian Newspapers
Veteran journalist Alade ‘Allah De’ Odunewu dies at 85
Journalism has suffered a big blow, with the death yesterday of veteran Hadj Alade Idowu Odunewu.
The late Odunewu, who wrote with the pen name Allah De, was former Editor of the Daily Times. He died at St Nicholas Hospital, Lagos. He was 85.
His Allah De column was for many years the delight of readers for its wit, simplicity and humour. His remains will be buried today at the prestigious Vaults and Garden, Ikoyi, Lagos at 3pm. He is survived by three children.
It was widely acknowledged by his contemporaries that few loved journalism like Allah De. He was one of those rare specimens born for a time and a profession.
According to Felix Adenaike, a former editor of the Tribune, “Alade Odunewu was a great craftsman who lived journalism”.
Former Managing Director of The Guardian Mr. Lade Bonuola said: “Oga was a titan, even in the fast depleting generation of the masters. The other day it was Unuegbu. He was an exceedingly gifted writer who always had very close by his armoury of humour, ranking with Baker of New York Times and Cameron of Daily Express in humour and Bernard Levin of The Times of London in seriousness and mastery of language.
“Of course, Cassandra of the Daily Mirror of whom he was a proud disciple. A product of Regent Polytechnic, he was one of the early elite that ruled our great Kingdom that the Daily Times was. He was the best all-round final student at Regent. He was a moral compass who yield, space to none in integrity.
“With the departure of his wife last year, he lost his accustomed ebullient will to live. He was kept going by his wonderful children – Ebun, Akanni and Segun. When a person like that departs, it is as if a part of you is gone. So is a part of Nigeria’s history.”
The late Odunewu was also acknowledged as one of the founding fathers of Nigerian journalism who continued to support the industry many years after his retirement from active practice of the profession. He was the chairman of the Nigeria Press Council (NPC) and Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Nigeria Media Merit Award (NMMA).
Allah De began his journalism career at the Daily Times as a reporter after his secondary education at the New Bethel College, Onitsha, Anambra State but fate seemed to have a higher calling for him as he secured a Federal Government scholarship to study Journalism at the Regent Street Polytechnic London- now University of Westminster.
He was a star in London, winning the Commonwealth New Statesman Prize for the best all-round student and also working for a number of British newspapers- a rare feat at the time and even now- before returning home.
Between 1950-56, the late Odunewu worked at the Daily Times as a reporter and sub-editor. He left to become the Managing Editor of the African Press Limited Ibadan, publishers of the Nigerian Tribune. That was 1956 and 1957. Odunewu spent four years, between 1960 and 1964, as the Editor-in-Chief of the Allied Newspapers of Nigeria before he left to become the Editor, Sunday Times, in 1964.
He rose through the ranks at the Daily Times before he was appointed editor of the paper, coming after Peter Enahoro who was initially known as “George Sharp” and later as Peter Pan. The late Odunewu’s time as the editor of the most prestigious newspaper at the time has been described with many charitable adjectives by those who worked with him. While Peter Pan was a “great writer”, Odunewu was adjured to have combined his fine writing skill with even a greater talent as an editor of the paper.
Perhaps one of the lasting legacies of the departed journalist is his “ Allah De” column, which has been described by many as one of the best satires ever penned by a Nigerian journalist. The late Nnamdi Azikwe-himself a fine writer- described the late Odunewu as the dean of Nigerian satirical writing.
“Satire is the stuff of his work, master of the well-placed innuendo. Odunewu called attention to the follies and foibles of his era without wounding the vanities of the men and women of the moment,” Journalism teacher and The Nation Editorial Adviser Olatunji Dare once wrote in 2007.
Encomiums were pouring in last night from his contemporaries and those who knew him only through his writings. Henry Odukomaiya, who took over from him as the Editor of the Daily Times said: “ I am shocked, saddened to learn from you about the sudden departure of my great boss, Alade Odunewu whose pseudonym was Allah De which was the name of the column he gave birth to when he was Editor-in-chief of the Daily Times.”
Odukomaiya had a flattery reminiscence of the character of the writer. “The Allah De that I knew was one of the most accommodating bosses that anybody could have, I mean every word of what I am saying. He never offended anybody, he did his job to the best of his ability and his ability was quite high. He was very jocular and that reflected in every of his writing. He was elegant too. He didn’t take life too seriously. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a good matrimonial life.
Adenaike remembered the late Odunewu as a great mentor to the younger generation of journalists and a great craftsman. “That was the father of journalism. Nigerian journalism has lost one of its founding fathers, and he was a great mentor to the younger ones. He wrote a column Allah De. He was a great humorist and satirist. He was a great craftsman. He lived journalism; he published two books – Winner takes all which was the compilation of his columns into two volumes.”
Sam Amuka Pemu, publisher of The Vanguard said of the late Allah De: “He was a fine fellow; we will miss him.” Mr. Femi Kusa former Editor of the Guardian, described him as a great columnist who was very careful and diplomatic in his writings.
There were others too who paid glowing tributes to a man who gave his life for journalism. The chairman, Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Lagos State Council, Deji Elumoye, said the late Odunewu was a foremost journalist who never did anything else but journalism. “He talked about proper practices of journalism and was always willing to advise the NUJ. We will miss him,” he said.
Former Editor of The Sunday Times Gbolabo Ogunsanwo believed the profession has lost one of its heroes. “Alade Odunewu was the uncrowned dean of newspaper columnists.”
Perhaps, few can be said to have matched the passion and the talents of the late Odunewu, his devotion to the cause of the journalism profession would be a model that the profession may find hard to fill. And as he is committed to mother earth today, the encomiums may have just begun.
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Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. A DisNaija.Com network.
Source: The Nation Newspaper
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•Deploy more personnel as army chief vows to wipe out terror group
•Security beefed up at N’Assembly
Deji Elumoye and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power, is under a massive security cordon following threats of attacks by insurgents and the increasing wave of banditry in the contiguous states of Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.
There has been a wave of kidnappings in the outskirts of the federal capital, notably Pegi, Tuganmaje and Kuje among others, which the police have battled in recent times.
The security situation in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was heightened by the pronouncement of the Niger State Governor, Mr. Sani Bello, that Boko Haram fighters who he said sacked 50 villages in the state and hoisted the terror group’s flag, were about two hours drive away from the FCT.
Security has also been beefed up at the National Assembly as operatives, yesterday, thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
The deteriorating security situation nationwide prompted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, to warn that the 2023 general election may not hold, demanding the declaration of a state of emergency as well as the convocation of a national conference.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, yesterday restated the Nigerian Army’s determination to annihilate Boko Haram.
But the Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari, cautioned against declaring a state of emergency, saying doing so isn’t the solution to combat the security challenges facing the country.
The security of the nation’s airports was also in focus yesterday as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said there was no threat to them.
THISDAY’s investigations showed increased presence of troops, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel and intelligence operatives at the three strategic entrances to the city notably, Keffi, Zuba and Gwagwalada.
More checkpoints were also mounted around Gwagwalada and Keffi.
THISDAY also observed increased intelligence deployment at the entrance and the borders of FCT with contiguous states.
Beyond the borders, there were more deployments and police patrols inside the city and increased intelligence deployments as well.
Security sources told THISDAY: “There are deployments here and there but they are routine. Alertness is key to a secure environment.”
It was also learnt that security agencies were involved in frenzied meetings throughout yesterday.
The meetings, coordinated by the office of the Chief of Defence Staff under the new joint operational strategy of the armed forces, were aimed at coordinating a joint response to possible threats of attack to the FCT.
“I understand the security teams have been meeting for some days now and if you look around you, you will notice that there are increasing patrols and numbers of security personnel. The threats are not been taken lightly,” a source said.
National Assembly workers, lawmakers and visitors also had a harrowing experience accessing the legislative complex due to heightened security in the area.
Security operatives thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja, impeding both human and vehicular traffic.
The Sergeant-at-arm of the National Assembly and other security agencies supervised the operations, leading to huge traffic build-up inside the complex.
Legislative staff, visitors and lawmakers were seen patiently waiting for their cars to be searched so that they could go ahead with the business of the day.
Some staff and visitors at some point got tired of waiting and were seen alighting from their cars to trek from the gate to the complex.
Meanwhile, the ONSA has said there is no threat to the nation’s airports.
A statement by the Head of Strategic Communication, Mr. Zachari Usman, said the reports of threats to the airports were an internal correspondence of security threat assessment misconstrued as security threat to the airports.
PDP Demands State of Emergency
In a related development, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday demanded the declaration of a state of emergency, warning that the 2023 general election might not hold if the federal government failed to tackle insecurity.
He called on the federal government to summon a national conference to address the spike in insecurity.
Secondus added that the national caucus of the party will meet today to discuss the state of the nation.
Addressing members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, Secondus said: “We are worried Abuja is not even safe. It is no longer politics. We got alert of plots to bomb and burn down our airports.
“We urge the federal government to declare a national state of emergency in security. There is the need to call a national conference to discuss the insecurity in the country.
“There may not be any election in 2023 in Nigeria due to insecurity. This government must listen to the people. The Buhari government should call a national confab to discuss security and state of the nation. It is no longer politics. This time we are not playing politics. Let’s keep politics aside and move the nation forward.”
He said the country had been grounded, regretting that there had been no matching response from the federal government.
Secondus said in the past, terrorism in the North was confined to the North-east, but with the report of Boko Haram occupying villages in Niger State, terrorism had spread to the North-central
“Herdsmen are also menacing in the West; gunmen causing havoc in the East; and the militants in the South; all killing, looting, raping, maiming and burning down homes. The situation is bad; Nigerians all over are living in fear,” he said.
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the problem of Nigeria was outside of the PDP headquarters, while pledging the support of the Senate to the declaration of state of emergency in security.
Abaribe said he deliberately decided not to speak on the floor of the Senate but to allow the APC senators to speak so as to avoid being accused of giving a partisan colouration to the issue of insecurity.
He stated that only electoral reforms would give victory to the opposition party in the 2023 general election and ensure a democratic defeat of the APC-led federal government.
Also, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, commended the NEC and the PDP leadership for their collective efforts at resolving the House leadership crisis.
The NEC meeting adopted the position of Secondus, calling on the federal government to convoke a national conference to discuss the state of insecurity in the country, according to a communiqué read by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan.
Army Chief Vows to Wipe Out Boko Haram
The army yesterday reiterated its commitment to wipe out Boko Haram.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, told reporters in Maiduguri, Borno State that Boko Haram had been defeated in many encounters and would continue to be defeated until it’s annihilated from Nigeria.
“We will take on Boko Haram decisively, and we are committed to the focus of the operations, which is the total annihilation of Boko Haram from Nigeria,” he said.
The COAS, who was visiting the headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri for the fifth time since his appointment four months ago, said the visit was to boost the morale of the troops, reassure them and listen to any issues affecting them.
Earlier, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Farouq Yahaya, lauded the visit, which he said had continued to boost the morale of the troops.
“We are honoured, we are grateful, we are encouraged by those visits. You provided us guidance, logistics and other things we required. We are most grateful for those visits,” Yahaya said.
State of Emergency Won’t Solve Security Challenges, Says Masari
Katsina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Masari, has, however, said declaration of a state of emergency won’t solve the security challenges facing the nation.
Masari, who spoke yesterday with journalists after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at the State House, Abuja stated that he was against the recent call by the House of Representatives for the declaration of a state of emergency in the security sector as it would not solve the problem.
According to him, declaring a state of emergency will not achieve the desired effect as the security structure and personnel to be used to execute the emergency are already overstretched in a bid to safeguard lives and property.
Sourced From: THISDAYLIVE
Tribune Online
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,110. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “55 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-21, Yobe-19, Ogun-6, Akwa Ibom-3, Kaduna-2, Plateau-2, FCT-1, Rivers-1.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE COVID-19: Nigeria Recorded […]
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Tribune Online
Sourced From: Tribune Online
By Olasunkanmi Akoni
The people of the South East region have been urged to explore the power of negotiation and mutual settlement in the face of ongoing killings and security challenges in the zone because the east can not afford another war at present.
Stakeholders from the South-East geo-political zone made the remark on Thursday, at the unveiling of the book, “Igbo, 50 years after Biafra,” written by Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Drainage Services, Joe Igbokwe, held at Ikeja G.R.A.
Speaking at the unveiling of the book, the chairman of the occasion, Mr. Cutis Adigba,
urged the people of the South-East to learn to build bridges across the country, so that they can realise their ambition of producing the next president of Nigeria.
Adigba urged leaders from the zone to discourage the move and agitation by some youths in the South East to go to war and secede out of Nigeria.
Also read: Banditry: Disregard viral video, Niger State gov’t urges residents
He said that Igbo have always found it difficult to rule Nigeria because they refused to build bridges across the six geo-political zones that made up Nigeria.
While describing the agitation as uncalled for, Adigba noted that after two decades that Nigeria returned to civil rule, the Igbo has predominantly identified with only one political party.
He maintained that remaining in one party can not advance the cause of the people of South East and cannot make them realise their objective of producing an Igbo man as president.
He maintained that the publisher of the book, Igbokwe played politics outside his state, so that the Igbo race can be integrated with one another race.
Adigba said the failure of the Igbo to reintegrate with other ethnic nationalities politically was responsible for the retrogression of the race in Nigerian politics.
Igbokwe, also addressing guests on the occasion, maintained that the Igbo are not advancing politically because they refused to be integrated into National politics, lamenting that, despite their success in business, they are not successful in playing politics at the national level.
Corroborating Dimgba, Igbokwe noted that there was the need for the Igbo people to stand up and build bridges so that their objective of producing the next president of Nigeria could be realised.
According to him: “I have decided to raise my voice, I hope my people will hear me while trying to quell the effect of the war, our people are spoiling for another war, mayhem is being unleashed in Igbo land, and there is palpable fear.
“Those who could speak have lost their voice, mindful of the consequences of their actions, I am calling on all Igbo leaders to speak up because all actions carry consequences, consequences of the silence will be too dastardly to sustain.
“Those silently supporting the wild wind should be careful or else they hand over to their children,” he said.
Igbokwe urged those spoiling for war to jettison their plan and embrace dialogue, urging them to learn from the South West region that despite the challenges faced after the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election, they did not go to war, and the region had the opportunity of producing two of her sons for presidential position in 1999.
“You have to build bridges to become president of Nigeria, but it is unfortunate the Igbo are burning bridges.”
Speaking at the event, Chief Uche Dimgba who is the coordinator of Igbo in All Progressives Congress, APC in Lagos, described Igbokwe as “a Frank, fearless and reliable leader, who based his views on issues and stand by his opinions, and we the Igbo have confidence in him and believe he can lead us aright.”
“He is a leader we Igbo believe in and we will follow him. If he can serve all the governors produced in Lagos State since 1999, he is a better man to follow because he possesses all the experience that can be of benefit to Igbo both at home and in the diaspora.”
The post Attacks on S’East: We must explore all options of negotiation — Stakeholders urge Igbo appeared first on Vanguard News.
Sourced From: Vanguard News
The government said that no worker should stay back beyond 6:00 p.m. within premises of buildings undergoing construction.
The post Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.
Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
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