‘I’m blind to religion and ethnicity. I only see talent’- Louis Odion, FNGE.
Posted by Onome Naomi
Culled from TheNews
I found myself in the middle of a boardroom headwinds in 2008. After resigning as Sunday Sun editor, I felt it was high time I pursued a higher dream of setting up my own organization, thus becoming my own boss and employer of labour before age 35.
But somehow, six months later, things weren’t working out financially as initially projected. Some of the star-studded team I had headhunted from across the industry preparatory to takeoff of the new outfit were beginning to grow impatient. Words reached Asiwaju Bola Tinubu about my predicament through our mutual friends (Messrs Dele Alake and Tunji Bello). He sent for me.
For several days, we chatted. After listening to his superior nuggets on financials, I was persuaded to alter the business model altogether. Why, for instance, bother erecting an elaborate printing/circulation infrastructure when I could easily and seamlessly plug into a robust one already laid by The Nation across the country?
Otherwise, as Asiwaju projected with forensic clarity, the costs of sustaining such humongous outlay would likely choke the start-up to death prematurely, assuming pesky moneylenders didn’t kill you first with high BP through relentless demands.
What however amazed me was not the spontaneity of his offer to help — for that only proved once more his reputation as mentor extraordinaire. Rather, what struck me more was the way Asiwaju defied a treacherous gossip soon orchestrated from some quarters even before the “partnership” was consummated. Some snakes posing as advocates of “Yoruba interests” would go behind trying to dissuade him against empowering another “non-Yoruba” in the media industry. Of course, Mr. Victor Ifijeh, the Managing Director/Editor-In-Chief of The Nation, hails from Edo State like me.
I got winds of this primitive whispering campaign and expressed my disappointment to our mutual friends who, as usual, told Jagaban. The next time we met, Asiwaju said: “Louis, don’t allow side talks like that affect you. By now, you should know that here in Lagos, we don’t look at where people come from. We’re blind to religion and ethnicity. We only see talent and character.”
Thus emerged National Life newspapers which I ran as Managing Director/Editor-In-Chief. Riding on the back of The Nation’s printing/circulation infrastructure, we literally took the nation by storm from day one. As one commentator put it rather jovially, we were either causing trouble or the cause of trouble all over the place. And those offended by our earth-shaking stories came pursuing us furiously.
But despite the unqualified support Asiwaju gave, not for once did he ever call me to either use or “kill” a story for him. In fact, in 2010, I had authorized the publication of a story which badly hurt his close relation, now late Reverend Wilson Badejo. It was based on a damning petition against Bedejo, then the General Overseer of Foursquare Gospel Church. So scathing was the report that an emergency conclave of church elders from across the country was convened to which we were invited and I was expected to tender a retraction. I stoutly refused. Asiwaju respected my professional judgment. In hindsight, some folks would argue that report prepared the grounds for Badejo’s removal as the G.O. of Foursquare.
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Bitter as that disagreement was, no less dramatic were the circumstances under which Reverend Badejo and I “reconciled” when we finally met physically several months after his resignation. Once Asiwaju unveiled me as the “man who published that satanic report”, the old man lounged forward in a mock attempt to push me into the swimming-pool (by which we were standing) at Asiwaju’s Bourdillon, Ikoyi home, only to lock me in an emotional bear hug. Surprisingly, he prayed for me. It was clear he had moved on, treating the past with evangelical equanimity.
Truly, men like Asiwaju are rare. Despite the wide age gap, he has always related to me not as a condescending big uncle, but a friend. A very loyal one indeed, a fellow Arian. Happy 70th birthday Jagaban!
