BY MUYIWA ADETIBA

Some thirty-five years ago, in 1990 or thereabout, I was in the office of Dr Doyin Abiola at her invitation. Dr Abiola was then the Managing Director of Concord Newspapers. As I stood up to leave after our meeting, she asked me if I had seen their new look Weekend paper. ‘Please check it out. Its our joker’. She concluded with a smile.

I needed no further invitation. I was impressed but not surprised at what I saw when I eventually had a copy in my hands. Impressed because the paper fitted what I thought a weekend newspaper should be at that time. Not surprised because I knew the inclination and ability of Mike Awoyinfa, its Editor. I had known of Mike before I met him and in fact, unknown to him, I had thought of working with him on a project. Although he was the leading light, the paper was not all about Mike however. There were some very intriguing writers I was meeting for the first time on its pages. One of them was Dimgba Igwe, the man in whose honour, we are all gathered today.

In some ways, it would feel strange and surprising to many that I was chosen to present a professional paper on the 10th year of the passing of Dimgba, given that we never worked together. Although I had followed his career and writings since my introduction on the pages of the Weekend Concord, I can’t recollect meeting him let alone having a conversation with him at any time.  Yet, it is as if I knew him well. This is because we shared a kinship. We both believed in the same genre of journalism. This perhaps, was what decided the organisers of this outing on me. It was also part of what made me to accept.

When Mr Femi Adesina called to make the request, my immediate reaction was to decline. Those who know me well enough know that I am not much given to public outings let alone, public speaking. But Mr Adesina’s polite insistence, gave me an opportunity to rethink. My acceptance two days later, was based on three things; my respect for Dimgba Igwe as a person and what he had achieved in his relatively short but impactful life, the anguish we all shared at the manner of his passing and finally, the chosen topic for the lecture.

Like Igwe, I believe in liberal journalism. I believe in anchoring stories around people and humanizing what otherwise would have been abstract facts. I loathe long, tedious write-ups and tend to push for brevity. I love photographs that can tell their own stories. I look out for empathy in stories and I seek the uncommon in common everyday lifestyles. I love interviews and the vista they allow into people’s souls. Although I am not that much into labels, I think these are the essence of what is known as tabloid journalism, which is what I have been asked to speak on today.

Culled from NewspotNigeria