A tribute to Stanley Macebuh
When I published my first newspaper article with the title “Region and Religiosity: The Cross Case”, in The Guardian of July 28, 1986, Stanley’s comment was “Well, it’s okay” I thought – although I did not say it out – that he was arrogant. But after a series of editorial board meetings during which I […]
When I published my first newspaper article with the title “Region and Religiosity: The Cross Case”, in The Guardian of July 28, 1986, Stanley’s comment was “Well, it’s okay” I thought – although I did not say it out – that he was arrogant. But after a series of editorial board meetings during which I knew more about the man, it became obvious to me that he was, indeed, generous to me in that assessment. For those drawn from the universities, the Editorial Board of The Guardian was like a bridge connecting the utopian world of ideals and the practical world of reality. The Board was lucky to have Stanley as the Head Teacher. Among us were Lade Bonuola who later took over from Stanley as Managing Director, Onwuchekwa Jemie, the late Andy Akporugo, Effiong Essien, Jide Oluwajuitan, Femi Osofisan, Sally Abu, Yemi Ogunbiyi, Amma Ogan, Edwin Madunagu, Olatunji Dare, Femi Otubanjo, Fred Onyeoziri, Emevwo Biakolo and many others.
Stanley was intellectually versatile; he wrote and spoke the English language in its finest form. And we stole terms and phrases from him. His first degree and doctorate were in English but he veered, confidently, into areas such as philosophy, jurisprudence and political science. He would often conduct a discussion in political science as though that was his area of specialization. At editorial board meetings, we quibbled, almost endlessly, over fine distinctions such as between “scholar” and “intellectual”, “state” and “nation”, “human being” and “person”, etc. Stanley once confronted me on the interpretation of Kant’s “categorical imperative” and we went on to have a very animated debate on the concept. With Stanley, every editorial meeting was an academic seminar of some sort. It was, indeed, a meeting no one, who had experienced it before, ever wanted to miss. It was always a rewarding intellectual experience, enriched by the worldly wise insights of consultants such as John Odigie-Oyegun, the late Aliyu Dasuki, Sam Oyovbaire Patrick Dele Cole, Ambassador Hamza, Ambassador Otunla, Professor Tyani Kyari and many others. But while the intellectual exercise went on between the extreme left and the most conservative members of the Board, Stanley never forgot that, at the end, an editorial had to be written; he never neglected his administrative responsibilities as the Managing Director.
It was Stanley’s pioneering work that earned the Guardian its title of “flagship” which has remained till today. His period succeeded in heralding the nation into a new level of intellectual journalism, qualitative reporting, research and analysis which have, now, spread from the Guardian to other newspapers.
I must confess, I wasn’t in Stanley’s social circle. After an editorial board meeting, usually on a Wednesday, the Ibadan visitors would head towards the expressway while his friends around Lagos, Yemi Ogunbiyi, Eddie Iroh, Wole Soyinka and others, were congregating in Stanley’s office for a drink. Trully, Stanley had a unique ability to cultivate and sustain friendship. In spite of his rich intellectual endowment and towering achievements, he was humble, modest and unassuming. Above all, he had an engaging sense of humour which we will all miss.
Adieu Stanley!
Professor Godwin Sogolo is based in Abuja