Osinubi: From Mangoro to Magboro, with Magodo in-between, By Steve Ayorinde

If anybody deserved to be called Mr PUNCH, it would undoubtedly be this Ijebu-born, Lagos city boy, who undeniably gave his all to an organisation that took him from ‘nothing’ to something regal and admirable… His reputation had been out there for years before I joined The PUNCH in 2003, for professional, and undeniably, for economic reasons.

Punch Newspaper Ltd was synonymous with its Ibadan roots and its amiable founder and publisher, Chief Olu Aboderin, of blessed memory.

At its old headquarters in Onipetesi-Mangoro, a suburban Lagos area, it was for a reason of heritage that the private estate in which the newspaper was located was named Kudeti Street. Ditto for why the mini mart that serviced the staff’s grocery needs was named Alatede.

Both Alatede and Kudeti highlighted and drew attention to the Matriarch of the Aboderin family, on the one hand, and Ibadan itself, the hometown of the Aboderins, of which the founder of The PUNCH, a brilliant accountant and socialite, was determined to etch in perpetual glory.

But there were two other names with which The PUNCH was also, somewhat, synonymous, almost in all of its first 50 years as Nigeria’s leading newspaper of repute.

One was its longest serving Chairman, the cerebral, business-minded, no-nonsense Chief Ajibola Ogunshola, who turned the fortunes of PUNCH around from a loud and tantalising tabloid to a lavishly creative, business-oriented, respectable and profitable national daily.

The other, is the decent, unassuming, fine and refined gentleman, Ademola Osinubi, who had the good fortune of holding practically all the important editorial positions in the organisation, before capping it with the enviable position of Managing Director and Editor-In-Chief.

If anybody deserved to be called Mr PUNCH, it would undoubtedly be this Ijebu-born, Lagos city boy, who undeniably gave his all to an organisation that took him from ‘nothing’ to something regal and admirable.

His reputation had been out there for years before I joined The PUNCH in 2003, for professional, and undeniably, for economic reasons.

I had taken the tough decision to leave The Comet (now defunct, or shall we say now transfigured into The Nation) when salaries had become a mirage. As a family man with a baby on the way, one had to be pragmatic. Returning to The Guardian, which I had left in 1999 to work at The Comet as a foundation staff, was hardly an option.

Vanguard, with its office in Apapa, I considered a bit too far; while ThisDay, my kind of a newspaper product, had its own peculiar issues.

Everything, therefore, pointed in the direction of The PUNCH and after so much consultations, the verdict was that once you could exhibit and sustain brilliance (including passing entry and periodic English language tests), be hardworking and of impeccable integrity, it was the place to be.

Everyone, the warnings were undiluted from multiple sources, would ultimately, unavoidably have to contend with the very high standards of The PUNCH; that is the standard and supervision that the Ogunshola-Osinubi combo represented.

I met The PUNCH and Osinubi as I had heard and envisaged.

I was lucky to have joined the organisation at Onipetesi-Mangoro, where I would spend my first six years with the organisation.

While Chief Ogunshola was the Alpha male who was rarely seen but whose image loomed large, Osinubi was the face and voice of The PUNCH on the ground.

But he was never in your face!

He was one who didn’t have to scream or draw attention to himself before you knew that he was the true custodian of the core values of The PUNCH – brilliance. Hard work. Integrity.

He was the model for those virtues without creating a runway of noise and sensation.

Editors, Controllers and Executive Directors may be visible and influential. But Osinubi’s power was different.

He was in silent, stealthy command of all the operations.

He didn’t write a column. He didn’t call staff meetings to show that he was in command. He didn’t run to television or radio stations for interviews that were self-promoting. Nor did he ever try to show off at media or non-media events to market himself as a super brat in need of external validation.

The PUNCH was sufficient for him. He simply kept his cool and delivered on his mandate of running one of Nigeria’s biggest and most profitable newspapers of the last few decades.

Although the top management was a collage of efforts, it was apparent that Osinubi’s imprimatur was undeniable as the Head of all Operations in all of the company’s affairs.

He created effective clusters and coordinated every unit with passion and precision. Yet, he had a panoramic view of practically everything going on within the organisation – from editorial to advertorial, production, and circulation departments, as well as the administrative and accounting/auditing departments.

It was something akin to a mythical reality, especially at Onipetesi, with the belief that Osinubi’s Big Brother eyes were always watching everyone. You just had to pray that you were not summoned into the ‘diary room’ for explanations. So much so that when staff members needed to be offloaded, and that was a fairly constant occurrence in the company, a fair assessment would tend to show that the company had done its due diligence on you before your ‘love letter’, as sack letters were known by staff members, would be delivered to you in those days.

When I had the opportunity to play a similar role at the National Mirror as MD/Editor-in-Chief, what informed my values and guided my actions, included the invaluable lessons that I learnt from Mr Osinubi, as indeed those that I picked from Mr Lade Bonuola (at The Guardian and The Comet), Mr Eluem Emeka Izeze (at The Guardian) and Mr Muyiwa Adetiba (at the defunct Today’s News Today).

As such, when one realised that Mr Osinubi had risen from the lowest ebb, as a trainee and cub reporter all the way up to News Editor, Daily Editor, General Manager and ultimately MD/E-i-C, one was bound to appreciate that he didn’t derive his power and influence as “Mr PUNCH” from discipline and integrity alone.

But also from experience, functional teeth-grinding experience that keeps you one step ahead of almost every situation. It is said, and it deserves great acknowledgement, that Mr Osinubi had all his adult work experience at PUNCH Nigeria Ltd.

However, I developed more respect and admiration for him in my first year at The PUNCH, in 2003, when close friends and colleagues like Olumide Iyanda took me to a ‘buka’ across Punch estate, just by Mangoro bus stop.

The owner, an elderly woman, took interest in our discussion and wanted to know if a certain Demola was still a staff of The PUNCH. When she described the person she had in mind, we gladly told her that was our ‘Oga Patapata.’

She was pleasantly surprised. She then took us on a short history lesson, when she used to run a small canteen in the 1970s and 80s, and top among her customers were Chief Olu Aboderin and his partner, Mr Sam Amuka-Pemu (before he left to float Vanguard).

Mama, the canteen owner, told us how Osinubi was the young, good-looking boy, that would be sent by Aboderin and Pemu to collect their food order from her canteen.

Her recollection of those days was awe-inspiring.

Her message to us: Learn from your boss; be focused; don’t cut corners; be ready to serve others, so that you can be served too!

As Editor of The PUNCH, I didn’t have the privilege of wining and dining with Mr Osinubi that much. But he didn’t present himself as someone who was opposed to socials and the good life. He lived and preached moderation. His wit was sharp but measured. He had enormous respect for the seat of the Editor and his office was always open for consultations, whenever necessary.

I was a bit lucky as Editor, given that his influential Executive Assistant, Mrs Folake Gbemuotor, was married to a big brother and buddy of mine in the motion picture industry. Access, on very few occasions that it became necessary, therefore, was a given.

Even when he was not a direct partaker in the constant look-ins that many journalists and advert executives had at Mama Oma’s joint (a very modest bar and restaurant), inside the PUNCH estate and on Babaponmile street, just outside the premises, Mr Osinubi had no qualms about us stepping down, as long as work was not affected.

On a number of occasions, he would stroll past Mama Oma’s place or simply wait around the entrance of the newsroom just before daily production commenced to tease those returning from their daily dose at the two well-known St Bottles’ Cathedral inside and outside of PUNCH premises at Onipetesi.

PUNCH was reputed for strict rules, especially as they concern staff members going on study leave or writing and launching books.

But I encountered Mr Osinubi’s kindness on both scores, when my immediate boss, Mr Azu Ishiekwene, made recommendations to him on my behalf.

First was in 2005 when I applied for a study leave for a Master’s degree programme in the UK. Even though I had not spent three years that would have qualified me for such privilege, Mr Osinubi granted a waiver, based on Mr Ishiekwene’s recommendation, to travel with half salary approved, provided I would continue to work for PUNCH on a part-time basis while I was in the UK. That was how my weekly Thursday column, “UK Reportage” was born, with a cool UK Correspondent designation in tow.

The second privilege was when my book unveiling was approved within my first year as Daily Editor. Earlier that year in 2008, Mr Osinubi had donned me with the toga of ‘Events Coordinator of the Organisation’, apparently impressed with my role as the Team Lead for the Committee that planned the book unveiling by the Executive Director (Publications), Mr Ishiekwene, at MUSON Centre.

The book, The Trial of Nuhu Ribadu highlighted The PUNCH’s strong anti-corruption stance and how the organisation could look inwards to utilise its own assets maximally.

The event went well at MUSON Centre without any external event planner engaged.

And so when MUSON, as an organisation, approached me later that year to compile my front-page reviews of classical music concerts at the prestigious centre to mark its 25th anniversary, Mr Osinubi nursed little hesitation in granting approval to honour MUSON’s request, given that most of the articles had been published even before I joined The PUNCH.

Not only did he grant approval, he also personally attended the event that was chaired by the doyen of accountants and former chairman of MUSON, Mr Akintola Williams.

When he saw that the ushers that were used at the book unveiling were all gorgeous PUNCH ladies – journalists, lawyer, advert executives and a secretary, Mr Osinubi winked at us, did a thumbs up and quipped “You are doing well”, long before Debo Adebowale (Mr Macaroni) made that expression a viral phrase.

I should credit Mr Osinubi for a few other life-changing considerations. Top among which was his insistence that as Daily Editor, my official residence must be in Magodo GRA, even though the company was only picking half of the bills.

Magodo bawo, among the elites and the two or three power brokers of PUNCH?

I was stunned!

But he explained to me at his Onipetesi-Mangoro office that it was a decision that I would come to appreciate much later.

He was right!

His other advice was that as the Daily Editor and a Senior Manager, I was entitled to a land and house construction loan. The only caveat was that it must be a government allocation. He was thorough in explaining that the same way that senior civil servants, army generals, senior police officers and clerics do apply for and are allocated government lands that will be fully paid for, senior journalists in The PUNCH are also entitled.

I consider myself privileged to have been the Editor on seat when PUNCH moved from Mangoro to Magboro area, on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, in 2009.

But then that period was surreal!

It was like a plane climbing into higher altitude but with attendance turbulence. But Mr Osinubi, remarkably, stood on the path of truth and honour when the headwinds came calling.

I shouldn’t be surprised, given that at least once or twice, I saw him take a different stance from other senior management members; choosing to stand in favour of the three editors and Chairman of the Editorial Board, when the top management decided that a rebuttal that The PUNCH published against a certain politician, who had made an unfounded allegation against a top management staff of The PUNCH, be re-written and re-published.

Mr Osinubi would have none of that. He insisted the rebuttal that was jointly written by the editors with the editorial board Chairman and approved by him (Osinubi) was good enough. He stormed out of a heated meeting and was not part of the second rebuttal that was written and published.

There was at least another time at a management meeting, where he spoke out in defence of the three editors when there was a hot debate that bordered on editorial judgement and consideration for commercial interests.

In March 2024 when I was invited to curate the commemorative exhibition to celebrate PUNCH’s 50th Anniversary, I was happy for the role that Mr Osinubi played in making the event memorable and successful, even though he had retired from the company and I had left 14 years earlier.

I was happy to share the glory of the cover picture with him, his successor and current MD/E-i-C, Mr Adeyeye Joseph, together with the current Chairperson, Mrs Angela Emuwa, and other top management of The PUNCH.

That was thoughtful and historic, in my view.

And I was doubly proud on his behalf when he was singled out by Chief Ogunshola at the subsequent anniversary dinner at Eko Hotel in Lagos, as the man whose special role in the success of The PUNCH as a super brand can never be wished away.

It is unlikely that any other person, as an individual staff member, will be able to do as much for The PUNCH as Mr Ademola Osinubi did in his capacities as staff member, director on the Board and chief executive officer, over several decades.

Happy 70th birthday, big boss.

May you live long and be celebrated the more.

Steve Ayorinde, a former commissioner for Information & Strategy and Tourism, Arts & Culture in Lagos State, had the privilege of working for PUNCH Nig. Ltd as a Line Editor, UK Correspondent, Editorial Board Member and Editor (Daily) between 2003 and 2010.

This article was published as part of an e-book – ‘Osinubi: The Forging Of A Media Icon’ released last month to celebrate Mr Ademola Osinubi @ 70.