Prominent figures from Nigeria's media landscape gathered recently in Lagos to pay glowing tributes to the celebrated journalist and Newswatch magazine co-founder, Dan Agbese. The event highlighted his profound influence and the enduring legacy he leaves within the profession.
A Man of Honour and Simple Prose
The former Governor of Ogun State, Olusegun Osoba, described Agbese as one of the nation's finest journalists. Speaking at the night of tributes held in Lagos, Osoba recalled Agbese's disciplined writing style, rooted in their shared training where no sentence was to exceed fifteen words.
"I wonder why he veered into column writing because he wrote like a reporter," Osoba mused. He expressed his hope that Agbese's writings would be compiled into a book for launch at an appropriate time, affirming that "Dan is not dead" in spirit and legacy.
The Decent Royal and Founding Vision
Another co-founder of Newswatch, Ray Ekpu, remembered Agbese as an iconic journalist, editor, and columnist who was older in both age and experience. Ekpu emphasized Agbese's humility, noting that despite his royal lineage, he never displayed superiority and was always calm, even under provocation.
Ekpu reflected on the daring founding of Newswatch by himself, Agbese, Dele Giwa, and Yakubu Mohammed. "We decided to break the monopoly of government publishing in the country... It was like a gamble, the equivalent of flying blind," he said. Their interconnectedness, friendship, and professionalism guided them through the venture and numerous legal challenges.
Mentorship and Lasting Influence
Ekpu further highlighted Agbese's role as a mentor whose journalism was "admirably simple." He avoided grandiloquence, preferring short, sparkling sentences with the goal to express, not to impress. Ekpu revealed that Agbese's distinctive writing style is now studied in some Nigerian universities.
Adding a personal testimony, the publisher of Realnews magazine and President of the Group of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), Maureen Chigbo, credited her resilience to Agbese's tough discipline during her time at Newswatch. "Agbese was a man of his words. He makes promises and keeps to them," she stated.
The tribute night, held in Lagos, served as a powerful testament to Dan Agbese's integrity, pioneering spirit, and the indelible mark he left on Nigerian journalism through his work at Newswatch and beyond.
