SHARING OUR STORIES, DEVELOPING OUR COLLECTIVE MEMORIES

Lanre Idowu

Let me begin by saying a big thank you to all for being here today.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen

I welcome you all on behalf of the board and management of Diamond Publications, and, indeed, all members of the Media community to the public book presentation of SEGUN OSOBA: MY LIFE IN THE PUBLIC EYE.

From the title, the legitimate question to ask is if this is another memoir coming five years after BATTLELINES: ADVENTURES IN JOURNALISM AND POLITICS. And I have been asked such a question in the past two weeks when the information went out that Chief Osoba was publishing a second book in five years.

What Chief Osoba has done is to build on the public response to BATTLELINES. As Mr. Sam Amuka, OON, notes in his foreword to this book, the public response to BATTLELINES “demonstrates public preparedness to receive a well told story as apparent in the extensive media attention devoted to its entry into the market and after.”

It is that reception that provided another opportunity for the news reporter in Chief Osoba to do a follow up by documenting how he is perceived by his colleagues in the worlds of journalism and politics.

My colleagues in the media know so well how the media can bring out several stories from an event. We talk of news pegs or angles from which to approach stories. We talk of breaking stories, developing stories, untold stories, unauthorised stories, and exclusive stories. A farsighted editor can assess what impact a story would generate and plan ahead for a follow up. Chief Osoba, with our help, anticipated this follow up and has carefully put together in MY LIFE IN THE PUBLIC EYE how the public perceives him.

Not only does it tieback to BATTLELINES, MY LIFE IN THE PUBLIC EYE provides fresh and independent assessments of what BATTLELINES offers. Because BATTLELINES came out a week to his 80th birthday in 2019, MY LIFE IN THE PUBLIC EYE captures public perception of who Olusegun Osoba is. It succeeds in providing critical insights not only to his person and his politics, but his craft as a journalist and a first time author. That effort is, arguably, the first of such in book publishing in our country. It is a helpful pointer to research materials for future writers and scholars who may want to probe more into what the Osoba brand represents.

We commend Chief Osoba for his second book. MY LIFE IN THE PUBLIC EYE is his second challenge to his peers and all those who have held important positions in Nigeria’s public and private sectors of the need to share their stories. For it is by sharing our stories that we can develop our collective memories as a people. It is through our documented thoughts, ideas, and actions that we can evaluate a person’s contributions, borrow from their successes and avoid those areas where they failed. That way we can build bridges between the past and the future.

In putting this book together, Chief Osoba has drawn from the contributions of previous public officers like General Ibrahim Babangida, General Abdulsalam Abubakar, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, and the current Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun. He has also relied on such publications as the Guardian, Vanguard, and the Nation and fellow journalists like Ray Ekpu, Abdu Rafiu, Reuben Abati, Yakubu Mohammed, Bisi Olawunmi, Dapo Olorunyomi, Chido Nwakanma, Sam Akpe, Festus Adedayo, Dapo Aderinola, Festus Adedayo, Dare Babarinsa, Louis Odion, Azuh Arinze.

Of course, not all of them are here today, but may I, distinguished guests, request that we give these worthy Nigerians a warm applause.

Before I take my seat, let me put on record that it has been a delightful experience for us at Diamond Publications to work with the Author to put this book together. Anyone who knows an editor without a strong opinion, strong personality, or strong work ethic, and I will show him a failed editor. Chief Osoba was a strong-willed editor. At 85, he remains a strong-willed person. He pushes his views strongly and if you don’t do your homework well, it is easy to agree with him most times. But he also listens, and yields when you give him cause to. So, we at Diamond Publications thank him for being a good client, and for giving us the opportunity to publish his two books in five years. Who knows, if the Lord tarries, there may well be a third book.

Mr. Chairman, distinguished guests, welcome to the presentation of Segun Osoba’s MY LIFE IN THE PUBLIC EYE.

Publisher’s Address of Welcome at the July 13th public presentation of My Life in the Public Eye