How Friction With Abiola Birthed Newswatch – Yakubu Mohammed

Mr Mohammed, who together with Messrs Giwa, Ekpu and Dan Agbese founded Newswatch in 1984, said this in his memoir, “Beyond Expectations.”

Veteran journalist Yakubu Mohammed says an unexplainable friction between late MKO Abiola, the publisher of the defunct National Concord, and late Dele Giwa, Ray Ekpu and himself led to the founding of Nigeria’s first weekly news magazine, Newswatch.

Mr Mohammed, who together with Messrs Giwa, Ekpu and Dan Agbese founded Newswatch in 1984, said this in his memoir, “Beyond Expectations.”

Before Newswatch was formed, Mr Mohammed was the Editor of Mr Abiola’s National Concord, while Mr Giwa was the Editor of Sunday Concord.

Mr Ekpu was a member of the Editorial Board of the newspaper, while Mr Agbese was the Editor of the New Nigerian Newspaper.

According to Mr Mohammed, Mr Giwa’s famed iconoclastic journalism inevitably became a source of friction in his apparently cosy relationship with Mr Abiola.

He wrote: “But was that the only source of friction? It was difficult for me to pinpoint what it was.

“All I can recall now was that there was a cold relationship.”

He recounted how the trio formed a team whose visibility and professional contribution were positive developments for National Concord.

“Out of office, we sometimes moved together and attended social events together.

“We became poster boys for the improved public image of Concord.

“That was when the famous Candido column of the New Nigerian referred to the trio of Dele, Ray and Yakubu as Benzy journalists wearing Gucci shoes, ” he said.

Mr Mohammed also said that an in-house fashion competition created by a staff writer, late May Ellen Ezekiel (MEE), also exacerbated the frosty relationship between Messrs Giwa and Abiola.

“While learning the ropes at Concord, she (MEE) introduced an occasional competition for best-dressed men.

“It was open to the readers who usually voted for men who showed class and displayed sartorial taste.

“One of the instalments grouped MKO and Dele together, and Dele was rated higher than MKO.

“What the editor and his staff did was in bad taste. It was like committing incest.

“Why would you feature anybody connected with the newspaper in a contest it was organising? And of all persons, the editor and his publisher.

“This bad judgment did not sound funny to MKO, who literally stormed my office to say that Dele’s cup was full,” Mr Mohammed said.

He said that the three of them were later queried by Mr Abiola for an exclusive interview they had with Muhammadu Buhari, the then military Head of State, in January 1984.

According to him, rather than a commendation from Mr Abiola for the scoop, the three editors got “cold shoulders.”

“Unknown to us, the new military regime had fenced him off, and the duo of Buhari and Idiagbon were not relating with him.

“When we returned from the interview and told the publisher of the warm reception General Buhari gave us, he was rather glum,” he said.

Mr Mohammed said that Mr Abiola was later pushed by some vested interests to issue the trio a query, preceded by an anonymous letter describing them as “stranger elements.”

He said that the unending friction motivated them to start seeking investors for a weekly news magazine to be fashioned after Time and Newsweek magazines.

He listed some of the early investors in the Newswatch project to include businessman Ibrahim Yusuf, late Alex Akinyele, Nuhu Aruwa, Ime Umanah, Abdulaziz Ude and Mike Adenuga, among others.

(NAN)