The Letterman called OBJ, By Ajibola Amzat

Premium Times’ publisher, Dapo Olorunyomi described The Letterman, a book about the epistolary writing of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, by Musikilu Mojeed, the editor-in-chief of PT, as a fine blend of history, journalism, and storytelling. History professor at Texas University, Austin, Toyin Falola, described the book as ‘an archive with imperishable quality’. No one, of course, will expect less from a highly decorated reporter like Mojeed.

While sharing his experience of how he collected materials for The Letterman, Mojeed admitted to committing a crime many passionate journalists always commit.

He ‘stole’ Obasanjo’s letters.

If a tabloid newspaper would report Mojeed’s confession at the book launch held in Abuja last month, the headline would read “How Premium Times Editor ‘looted’ Obasanjo’s Library.” I am surprised there is no such headline in circulation yet, at least, as at the last time I Googled it.

---

This reality has left me wondering: Is tabloid journalism dying in Nigeria? The type of  journalism propagated and celebrated by Michael Awoyinfa, Dimgba Igwe, and the rest.

It seems the culture of breezy prose and dramatic headline casts is disappearing fast from the pages of Nigerian newspapers.

And now that I raise this question, my answer is beginning to crystallise.

We are in the age of fast circulation of misinformation, disinformation and mal-information, a phenomenon that scholars like Claire Wardle, the founder of First Draft, have described as Information Disorder. With the aid of social media, fake news, to use a popular lingo, has caused damage to good journalism, and perhaps much more to tabloid journalism. And this may be the reason why Mojeed’s confession at the book launch did not generate dramatic headlines in the media the next day. I had argued somewhere else that tabloid journalism is essentially not the same as crass sensational journalism or yellow journalism that described the practice of American Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst between the 19^th and the 20th century.

Obasanjo’s letter writing did not start with former President Goodluck Jonathan and President Muhammadu Buhari as many believe. Or with his acerbic exchange with Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka. The old soldier has been writing since he was a young military officer. He wrote several personal letters while in office as head of state and outside the office. And some of his recipients include General Yakubu Gowon (rtd.), Chief Obafemi Awolowo, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd.)…

But I digress.

This article is not about fake news and tabloid journalism. It is rather about how a smart reporter uses the skills of journalism to recover history and tells the story of a legendary character in a way more fascinating than a history book. Through The Letterman, Mojeed shared a part of Nigerian history and the role played by one of the rounded characters in the story.

Obasanjo’s letter writing did not start with former President Goodluck Jonathan and President Muhammadu Buhari as many believe. Or with his acerbic exchange with Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka. The old soldier has been writing since he was a young military officer. He wrote several personal letters while in office as head of state and outside the office. And some of his recipients include General Yakubu Gowon (rtd.), Chief Obafemi Awolowo, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd.), late General Sanni Abacha, late President Jerry Rawling of Ghana, Margaret Thatcher, late General Adeyinka Adebayo, late Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, late President Robert Mugabe, Joshua Nkomo, and many others.

In fact, people like the late General James Oluleye, former Federal Commissioner for Establishment and Service Matters during the Murtala regime, and Chief Audu Ogbeh, former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, may never forget the abrasive words in the missives received from OBJ. While he described Oluleye as “awkward”, Ogbeh was characterised as a man of “warped perception”. As observed in The Letterman, Obasanjo does not suffer a fool gladly.

Notwithstanding, Mojeed confirmed that one message that stands out in OBJ’s letter is PATRIOTISM. In his letter to the late Senator Ibrahim Mantu and Ogbeh, Obasanjo unequivocally stated his commitment to the ‘Enterprise Nigeria’ and its people.

No doubt, Obasanjo is a man well-respected within Nigeria and outside the country. But like a prophet, he is not well-loved at home. In Southwest Nigeria, where he comes from, OBJ is not Awo or MKO. And he may never attain that status until years later, maybe after his transition to immortality.  But if many people from that part of Nigeria read Muskilu Mojeed’s book, The Letterman, OBJ indeed may assume the legendary status higher than that of Awo and MKO combined. And that is not because Mojeed sets out to beatify Ebora Owu. The Letterman only revealed the quality of statesmanship that characterises Obasanjo in truth and in deed.

Ajibola Amzat is the Africa Editor, Centre for Collaborative Investigative Reporting (CCIJ). He writes from Abuja.