Nigeria’s former military President, Ibrahim Babangida has described the former governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba as a stubborn journalist who made use of his early years to promote professional journalism.
Mr Babangida said this in a congratulatory letter he wrote to Mr Osoba on his 80th birthday.
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He said Mr Osoba also knew how to cultivate friendships and derive happiness from gloomy situations and was “embedded with various talents for solving hard situations.”
The former dictator also said the chieftain of the All Progressives Congress,
“is one of the few Nigerians who are not concerned about the tribe one belongs to before writing credible information.”
Mr Babangida said Mr Osoba practiced the journalism profession when technology was still a huge challenge.
“As young minds in those days, we socialised maximally without thinking about tribe or religion. We made good use of our prime and ensured that we left no stone unturned. Even as military officers, we had good company in our ‘bloody’ civilians who complimented (complemented) our networks. Chief Osoba was one of such ‘civilian generals’ who knew so well how to cultivate friendship and derive happiness from a seemingly gloomy situation.
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“He has a knack for unravelling the unknown. When we needed to feel the pulse of the Nation, Chief Osoba became handy. He was more like a bridge between us and the people,” Mr Babangida said.
“Despite being ‘stubborn’ with extremely brilliance, he has a boss that understands his ‘wiles’ and ‘tricks’, both in letter and spirit. All credit must go to his wife of quintessential orientation and unknown humility. Her ability to manage Osoba’s excesses till date deserves more than a golden award and a standing ovation,” he wrote.
As part of his 80th birthday celebration, Mr Osoba took a nostalgic journey to his early days as a reporter at Nigeria’s oldest newspaper, the Daily Times, in his new book ‘Battlelines: Adventures in Journalism and Politics.’
The book, a biography, will be launched in Lagos on July 8
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