News
How I saved Vanguard From Being Shut By The Military Junta
By Kehinde Olaosebikan
The annulment of June 12, 1993 Presidential election, adjudged to be the best in Nigerian history was a Pandora’s box with numerous consequences and troubles. For Nigeria, it was an opportunity, a great opportunity missed for real growth and development of the most populous Black nation in the world. It is a general belief that if the election that saw Chief Moshood Kolawole Olawale Abiola, A Yoruba man from Abeokuta flatly defeating his opponent, Alhaji Bashir Tofa in his home state of Kano without any qualms, had been upheld, Nigeria would have been better developed socially, politically and economically. By now, it would have been in the league of the developed countries of the world. But, sadly, Nigeria is today worse off than our situation before the annulled election, 31 years after.
For the media, the annulment and its aftermath, particularly the seizure of power by the dark goggled President from 1993 to 1998, the late General Sani Abacha was hell. The Nigerian Press almost totally lost its freedom.
Media houses and journalists then had to practice their trade with fear and trepidation as no one was sure of what constituted a threat to the Abacha Government. Purposely to deal with the media and other perceived enemies of the regime, the government raised a special anti-people squad made up of the nastiest of men and officers from the military and security outfits. It is called the Strike Force and they terrorized the city of Abuja menacingly.
During the period, journalists were mauled, newspapers destroyed while many newspaper organizations closed down. In fact the media suffered arbitrary detention, misuse of criminal charges and unfair trials, oppressive use of defamation proceedings , torture and ill treatment , suspected assassination attempts, arson attacks and outright banning of publications etc.,. The Punch, The Guardian, Concord, Sketch, African Concord, The News, TSM, The Source, Daily Times and 26 other newspapers and magazines published by 12 media houses were proscribed or simply closed down. Many of them never recovered from the evil visited on them by the Abacha junta.
However, Vanguard Newspapers owned by one of the best men on earth, Mr. Sam Amuka-Pemu, the great Uncle Sam, the newspaper I joined immediately after my youth corps service in September, 1988 escaped the malevolence of General Sani Abacha. Our ever refreshingly Vanguard was neither shut nor prescribed for one day; not because we were weak or cowardly, we were with many hot, brave columnists, Pini Jason, Dele Sobowale, Kola Animashaun, Obi Nwakama etc. like all other notable newspapers we were hot, audacious and always with the masses. What really stood us out then was the profound leadership and exceptional professionalism provided by the great Uncle Sam. He reads the papers diligently and gives well thought out strategies and directions and this was what actually saved us from the Abacha’s troubles.
A particular story or column that nearly got us into the Abacha trouble, when we were about to be proscribed and or shut down was pragmatically managed by the trio of our publisher, Uncle Sam, our editor, the man of clarity in all areas, Mr. Frank Aigbogun and my humble self as the Abuja Bureau Chief of the newspaper then.
Information got to our headquarters in Kirikiri Canal, Lagos that our editor would soon be picked up, detained, charged to court and our source of living, Vanguard proscribed. Expectedly, the management was worried. As their representative in the seat of power, both Uncle Sam and the Editor called and briefed me about the impending calamity. Immediately, I made some checks and confirmed with additional information which I passed on to them and they became more terrified. With my position, I officially related directly with both the editor and publisher unhindered. Uncle Sam wanted to come straight to Abuja for a possible solution but I told him to allow me handle it first which I did successfully to the glory of God.
With my rich contacts and an uncommon audacity, I approached the Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and I explained to him what Vanguard stands for, our style of operation and the fact that ours was more of development journalism. Now seeing me like his child (I was barely 30 then) and a good and bold defender of his place of work, he confessed to me the plans by the government to get the paper proscribed like others. I thanked him profusely and left his office. But, I did not stop at that as I made straight to the media office of the Abuja judiciary where I narrated the outcome of my meeting with the CJ. Being my friends, I convinced them to issue a press release on Vanguard Newspapers that Vanguard was not just only friendly to the government of the day but that Vanguard has a history of contributing immensely to the social development of the country.
I accompanied the head of the press of the FCT Judiciary to the headquarters of the Nigeria Television Authority to submit the press release to either their DG or the Director News and it made the major headline of that day Network News at 9. It was the first item beautifully delivered by the late ace broadcaster, Tokunbo Ajayi that glorious night.
So, instead of Uncle Sam and our versatile editor, Frank Aigbogun hearing about the order for the arrest of the editor, arraignment and proscription of Vanguard on the Network News, it was news of praise and commendation of the refreshingly different newspapers that came up. I was extolled by both Uncle Sam and the Editor but Uncle Sam knew that in Abuja I could pull any string.
Kehinde Olaosebikan retired from Vanguard Media Limited in 2003 and is now the CEO of Midas Communications Ltd, a global public relations firm.
…hails emergence of Bawa as state chairman
The Senator representing Taraba Central Senatorial District Senator Manu Haruna on Sunday donated five operational vehicles to Taraba Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to enhance its operations.
Manu also seized the opportunity to congratulate the state Chairman, Hon Abubakar Bawa when he visited the secretariat in Jalingo last Sunday.
The former State Deputy Governor expressed his congratulations to Chairman Bawa and the state working committee for their election, emphasizing the importance of unity and progress within the party. He commended their commitment to strengthening the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Taraba State.
In a generous move to enhance the operational capacity of the party at the grassroots level, Senator Manu donated five vehicles — one for each Local Government Area (LGA) party chapter in Taraba Central.
This donation is intended to facilitate better coordination and outreach efforts within the party.
Senator Manu praised Hon. Abubakar Bawa for his dedicated efforts to elevate the PDP in the state, asserting that Taraba will always remain a stronghold for the party.
In response, State Party Chairman Alhaji Bawa expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Senator Manu for his thoughtful visit and generous donation. He acknowledged the impact of such contributions on the party’s progress and reemphasized the commitment of the PDP to serve the interests of the people in Taraba State.
By Francesca Hangeior
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, AGF, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has canvassed for greater efforts and commitments to the Federal Government’s aspirations to produce a workable legal framework for the country.
He charged the Committee put in place by the federal government to review, revise and consolidate the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, LFN, to double the efforts and commitments to deliver on the mandate at the appointed time.
Fagbemi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, spoke on Monday in Abuja at the second retreat of the Committee put in place in October last year for the laws of the federation revision and reform.
The AGF while challenging the committee to be up and doing asked the members to remain united in purpose and steadfast in the resolve to produce a legal framework that is worthy of the nation’s aspirations.
He said the second retreat organized by the federal government was a strategic consolidation of the national law reform efforts and to provide an invaluable opportunity to come up with a better workable legal framework for the nation.
“Let me start by expressing gratitude to the Chairman, Co-Chairperson and members of the Committee for their selfless service and sacrifice, to ensure that this project is executed efficiently and effectively.
“The call to be part of this assignment is indeed a sacred that inevitably and positively affects the lives of individuals, government, businesses as well as citizens of this nation.
“The general purpose of law is to regulate human behavior by protecting lives and properties in society. The inauguration of the Committee on the 24th October, 2024 marked a historic milestone in our collective efforts to modernize, consolidate, and harmonize Nigeria’s body of federal statutes.
“The retreat successfully provides a clear framework for the structure and methodology of the revision exercise, oriented the 14 Working Groups tasked with reviewing specific legal subject areas, and fostered collaboration among key institutions and stakeholders on the project.
“Following the initial retreat, I wish to note that the Committee has recorded steady progress in its work.
“The Ministry has taken several measures to ensure that the assignment is delivered efficiently, including:training sessions for secretaries of the working groups to enhance documentation and coordination; technical meetings of the main committee and its various sub-committees; working sessions and deliberations among editors and reviewers; and ongoing technical collation of revised laws by the Secretariat.
“This second retreat is a strategic consolidation of our national law reform efforts and provides an invaluable opportunity to: review progress made since the first phase;
address any technical or structural challenges encountered during the collation process;
– Harmonize the output across working groups; and set the tone for the final stages of this important project.
“The next stage of the law review and consolidation process would include editing and proofreading the reviewed legislation, ahead of the final collation, production and printing of the laws of the federation.
“It is my conviction that these phases will be executed with even greater commitment by the Committee, with the support of stakeholders and development partners.
“I wish to commend the leadership of the LFN Committee, the Secretariat for its diligent coordination and day-to-day management as well as the Working Groups, Editors, and Reviewers, for their intellectual rigour and professionalism.
“Special gratitude to our development partners, particularly RoLAC, for standing firmly behind this national project.
“Let me urge all participants to use this retreat as a platform for robust engagement, peer learning, and practical collaboration.
“We must remain united in purpose and steadfast in our resolve to produce a legal framework that is worthy of our nation’s aspirations.
” I wish to express gratitude for your commitment to duty and I charge you to work in synergy and cooperation, in the overall interest of the nation”, the AGF said.
The Rivers State Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), has replied to the Nigerian Bar Association regarding the reason for relocating its Annual General Conference from Port Harcourt to Enugu State.
Ibas faulted the reason cited by the NBA, describing it as misleading and uncharitable.
The Sole Administrator stated this in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Monday by his media aide, Hector Igbikiowubo, and sent to newsmen.
He said while the NBA reserves the right to choose a venue for its conference, the association had yet to address the issue of the refund of the hosting rights paid by the state government for the conference.
The statement partly reads, “While we respect the NBA’s right to choose its conference venues, we find it curious that the association—despite its “principled position”— didn’t address the refund of the N300 million already paid by the Rivers State Government for the hosting rights of the 2025 conference.
“If the NBA truly stands on principle, it should demonstrate the same integrity by promptly returning these funds rather than benefiting from a state it now publicly discredits.”
It added, “The attention of the Rivers State Government has been drawn to the Nigeria Bar Association’s announcement dated 10th April 2025, relocating its 2025 Annual General Conference from Port Harcourt to Enugu.
The statement partly reads, “While we respect the NBA’s right to choose its conference venues, we find it curious that the association—despite its “principled position”— didn’t address the refund of the N300 million already paid by the Rivers State Government for the hosting rights of the 2025 conference.
“If the NBA truly stands on principle, it should demonstrate the same integrity by promptly returning these funds rather than benefiting from a state it now publicly discredits.”
It added, “The attention of the Rivers State Government has been drawn to the Nigeria Bar Association’s announcement dated 10th April 2025, relocating its 2025 Annual General Conference from Port Harcourt to Enugu.
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