Travelling is good for the soul, a) especially if the place you are travelling AWAY from is a frustrating country like Nigeria. And b) especially if the places you are travelling TO are less stressful. Nigeria is deeply, deeply, deeply mired in corruption, spectacularly failing to rescue its teeming masses from hunger and being badly managed by leaders who are extremely disappointing, to put it politely. Nigeria, in a nutshell, has flatly refused to fulfil its potential! And I thank God that I am occasionally able to escape to less stressful, more ethical, more efficient and more civilized environments.
Don’t get me wrong. The relatively advanced nations I’m referring to – in Europe, the Americas, Asia, etc, – are not perfect by a long shot. But they are much more committed to progress than we are and much more committed to controlling corruption and much more committed to offering most of their citizens much better standards of living.
OK so I’ve been in the United States for nearly 2 months and arrived in London a couple of days ago. And these trips to better climes have massively boosted my sanity and physical wellbeing.
But every silver lining has a cloud attached to it. And I’m so sad I missed a great celebration of this newspaper’s 40th anniversary.
I had already bought my airline tickets when the date was conveyed to me. And I’d have had to pay penalty fees I could ill afford if I changed my travel dates, so I regretfully watched both current and past Vanguard colleagues celebrating with our dear boss and mentor from afar. Our dear boss and mentor is, of course, the legendary Sam Amuka. Once a famous columnist nicknamed Sad Sam and skilled editor, he has gone from strength to strength as a publisher since he founded Vanguard in 1984 and is now the doyen of the Nigerian print media scene.
I started to work for him when I was in my late 20s and living in the UK, where I grew up. Uncle Sam gave me a column called Londonline that enabled me to connect with compatriots who shared my love of current affairs, feisty opinions and the written word. He basically enabled me to establish professional roots in the land of my ancestors; and I will always be grateful to him for this.
I am 66 now, so I am almost as old as Vanguard!…and just one of MANY journalists who have Uncle Sam to thank for their high profiles. And each and every one of us has a special relationship with him.
When I was kidnapped in Rivers State in 2015, Uncle Sam played a key role when my captors were demanding a large sum of money; and he even flew to Port Harcourt to see me when I was released. Informal, warm, kind-hearted, brilliant, original and somewhat eccentric, several other Vanguard staffers and alumni share my view that knowing him has been one of the greatest privileges of our lives.
To commemorate Vanguard’s 40th anniversary, a book titled The Vanguard Chronology: 40 years of Nigeria’s Leading Tabloid was launched a few days ago. It is 220 pages long and is full of contributions from members of the Vanguard family. One of the editors of the book, Eyobong Ita, quoted an African proverb to explain the reason for compiling it: “Until the Lion learns to write his own side of the story, every story will glorify the hunter, so the The Vanguard Chronology was written to ensure that a wrong story about the Vanguard is not told.” The Vanguard was, as one of the editors, Deba Uwadiae put it : “a place where you can get a job without knowing anybody.” That is Uncle Sam for you. Doggedly impartial, admirably meritocratic, refreshingly down to earth, no time for nonsensical flashiness, always wedded to substance, always ready to nurture talent.
DONU’S WORLD
I have a YouTube channel. It’s called DONU’S WORLD.
https://youtube.com/@donukogbara?si=bBm_IPdFZ_wUyKYq
NIGERIA UNFILTERED – spicy commentaries on Naija issues – appears every Wednesday, while DONU’S WEEK appears on Fridays and is international as well as local and covers a mish-mash of soft and tough issues around my personal life, my work and my worldview. Two days ago,
in this week’s Nigeria Unfiltered video, I wondered why Nigerian leaders are allergic to the true love they will earn from a grateful electorate if they do the right things.
Please check out my Donu’s World library (dating back to early 2024) on YouTube, plus the new videos I produce every week. I would love to hear your opinions and any constructive criticisms you may have to offer. And I will be very grateful if you “like”, subscribe and share!
RESPONSES TO donzol2002@yahoo.co.uk or to 0805 404 6887.
(TEXT ONLY). PLEASE NOTE THAT UNLESS YOU REQUEST ANONYMITY, YOUR EMAIL OR TEXT MAY BE PUBLISHED WITH YOUR NAME AND CONTACT DETAILS ATTACHED
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