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Gentleman of the Press: The Press on Tunji Oseni’s passage
We remember
Lanre Idowu
One year ago (2004) when he answered his Lord’s call, the press, in rare unanimity, rallied together to celebrate the passage of one of theirs. The verdict was: here was one journalist who seemed to have gone when least expected. Here was one true gentleman of the press whose passage will be sorely missed.
For Tunji Oseni was no ordinary journalist. He symbolised the best in us. He was one of the best educated, one of the most committed and certainly one of the most principled. He was one of the best dressed, one of the most approachable. He was good looking. He was very modest. A good ambassador of family life, he carried himself with great dignity. So Oseni approximated some of the best qualities you can find in a human being.
To be sure he was no angel. He could be stubbornly awkward. He could be slow in taking decisions. But there was no denying that in his heart, he breathed journalism, he lived journalism and died with the best interests of the profession in his heart. For on his sick bed one of his frequent topics was that his manuscript, Media All the Way, should be ready for presentation on his 62nd birthday on January 5, 2005. That wish was granted, posthumously for Oseni passed on 37 days earlier on November 29, 2004.
Beyond his personal qualities, what are those things Oseni stood for that we should not forget? How can we harness the positive thoughts on Tunji Oseni for the growth and development of our profession? Why is it important to memorialise his legacy or any legacy for that matter?
From the testimonies of his friends, bosses, peers, and subordinates Oseni was a good man, who earned the respect, if not love, of the young and old, male and female he came in contact with in his rich 36-year career as a journalist. Oseni’s decency and modesty are loud reminders that as journalists we are no more than mediators of reality for the public. We are not newsmakers; just interpreters of the world around us. Our strength then should be in the respect our work commands; in expanding frontiers of understanding, in having a healthy regard for the other person’s point of view. Not in unnecessary buffoonery and self serving grandstanding.
Oseni has been celebrated as one of Africa’s renowned public intellectuals. An intellectual is someone who brings rigour to thought, who is fastidious about facts, whose analysis is grounded on facts. The challenge of that is to ensure that knowledge underpins everything we put out as communicators. Comment, we are told, is free while facts are sacred. Yes, but even commentary has to be informed to be meaningful and appreciated. Formal education is important but continuous self improvement through reading and research is crucial in playing the role of a public watchdog creditably.
A believer in the Press as a strong pillar of democracy and development, he argued that a vigilant press should uphold not just highlight the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people. He rightly understood that for journalism to attract and retain bright and young entrants it must foster a sense of future hope among them and develop a sense of self reliance among veterans. He frowned at any attempt to glorify the unethical or demean the standing of journalists. He didn’t just talk about it. He worked to remove temptations that propelled it by initiating a scheme which later became known as the Nigeria Media Foundation Endowment Fund. His idea was to “start a scheme under the auspices of the Nigeria Union of Journalists into which all practising journalists will contribute an agreed sum….The scheme will be properly launched. There is enough goodwill for journalism and journalists for the launchings to attract Nigerians of goodwill from all sections of our national life. Journalists will have to demonstrate by their own total involvement, and contribution that they want the scheme to succeed.”
That was in 1991. The Fund was launched on October 13, 1992. N33 million was collected at the launch. To date there is no satisfactory explanation of how the money realised was utilised despite Mr. Oseni’s regular exhortations to the Sani Zorro administration to do so. Succeeding NUJ administrations have not shown enough seriousness to educate members and indeed the public on why journalists should be trusted in future with similar schemes. The real need for having the Fund remains sadly unmet. That is a tragic disservice to the memory of Oseni who dreamt the need for it. It is important to come to terms with the past so that we can forge ahead with the future with journalists’ interests being uppermost in our hearts.
A life of commitment, decency, and principles is one that stands out the giant from the Lilliputian. Oseni struck the press as a giant because he approximated the best in us. He said the right things on our behalf. In asking us to carry ourselves with dignity he knew that impressions open the lock into the mind. A shabbily dressed journalist conveys the impression of a shabby mind, one a good source should avoid. A hungry looking journalist comes across as one to be wary of who would put stomach considerations above everything else. In being decent, we pay tribute to our persons as to the other person. In his last published work, Let’s set Nigeria a-GOG, published October 1, 2004, Oseni captured the attributes of a gentleman: decency, integrity, selflessness, non violence, strength of character, respect for principle, fair-mindedness, dependence on hard work, keeping to one’s words and quiet disposition as opposed to unrestrained noise making. He called for the emergence of more of such tribesmen. He observed: “Oftentimes, the gentleman is mistakenly perceived in Nigeria as a weak person given to not forcing his way through in a situation in which only force yields results. To believe in the non persuasive approach is itself a weakness, especially in the democratic era which we have been operating. It is no weakness to be respectful of the other human being who has as much stake in the country as the leader and who put the democratically elected leader in place in the first instance.” Adding: “I am so convinced that in every state of Nigeria, we have gentlemen of merit. They may have been pushed aside by what the on-going “carry-go” requires that they have adopted a wait-and-see attitude. But now we have seen enough of the damage done by the non-gentlemen that we have to whittle their number or cause such improvements on them that they retrace their steps.”
In still thinking about Nigeria on his sick bed, barely two months to his transition, Oseni demonstrated his concern for the future, his abiding interest in public affairs—where it was and where it ought to be. Without principles, without decency and without people of honour and valour to promote them, society will hardly renew itself. Oseni demonstrated as the testimonies in this collection show that he was a man who lived to assure a better tomorrow.
In a land with few authentic heroes, the nation needs to celebrate the exploits of our good ambassadors. That, more than anything else, is the raison d’etre for this collection. For the profession of journalism, it was both an honour and privilege to have had Tunji Oseni as one of our flag bearers. May his soul continue to rest in peace!
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Soft Cover $10 (N1,000)
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