Agbese: Celebrating the life of a journalism veteran

One never reckons with the true meaning of certain phrases until situations conduce to give it a personalised context. The passing on to eternal glory of Chief Daniel Ochima Agbese yesterday at the age of 81 is one of such moments. Though one must come to grips with the grimness of his death, it also […]

One never reckons with the true meaning of certain phrases until situations conduce to give it a personalised context.
The passing on to eternal glory of Chief Daniel Ochima Agbese yesterday at the age of 81 is one of such moments.
Though one must come to grips with the grimness of his death, it also stands as a celebration of life, for he lived a fulfilled life and, in his lifetime, gave many reasons to celebrate.
At the event marking his 70th birthday in 2014, the Awan’Otun of Agila publicly made a public solemn request to God and to the hearing of those gathered at the occasion.
After giving thanks for attaining the biblical age of three score years and ten, he made it clear that he doesn’t want his time on earth to stretch to such an extent that he will become a burden to others.
The journalism icon said he prefers to exit at a time he was old enough to appreciate a fulfilled long life, but strong enough to carry on without making others uncomfortable.
It was clear that much as many had leaned on him for support for several years, he didn’t want to inconvenience others; though he had offered shelter to many, he didn’t want to be an encumbrance to any; though he had been a pillar of strength and offered shade to many; he didn’t want to be a source of pain or a source of discomfort to others.
His traditional title of Awan’Otun, literally translated to ‘it doesn’t happen if you are not around,’ is bespoke, with an originality that speaks of his ability to add colour and zest to anything he is involved in.
At the occasion to mark his 70th birthday, I told him how his name has added colour to my life in that it preceded me wherever I went in the course of pursuing a career in journalism.
“The first question usually put to me wherever I go,” I said, “is if I’m related to Dan Agbese and that has worked for me in many positive ways.”
What I didn’t say then was that it also came with a big burden, as it came with huge expectations when people expect to see that mellifluous prose and deep philosophy associated with his ink when I write.
I have come to realise that time travels faster than expected. It was just like yesterday when he made the comment about not wanting to be a burden to others, but at that time, the real meaning appeared improbable and totally disconnected from reality.
Some of us even took it as a joke, as it was hard to imagine life without the Awan’Otun. To admit that this was possible was to suggest that he would be gone one day, and that was how, in the eleven years he lived after we forgot all that he said, until we were jolted to reality when it happened yesterday.
One of the things I tried hard to pick from him was his passion for reading. This was a quality which fervency I could say I have not seen in anyone else.
He would go to bed reading, no matter how late in the night, and you can be sure to find him in his study already awake and reading as early as you dare to knock on his door.
He packs books with him whenever he is leaving for the office and comes home with pages open, obviously to continue from where he stopped.
Same way, he commits to writing such that, apart from his weekly columns in newspapers, he was able to author several books, one of which is the Newswatch Style Book, where he succinctly addressed the recurring flaws in news writing and reporting.
Little wonder that years after stepping aside from active journalism, his passion for writing would not excuse him.
He kept on writing for many newspapers and other publications, intervening where he should and giving his avuncular guidance in the practice of journalism through the ombudsman column in the Sunday Trust, which was about maintaining the ethics of the profession.
After maintaining two columns in Sunday Trust for years, he was happy to be excused from the regimen of the weekly interventions due to age last year. He, however, assured us that this did not mean he would stop writing—only that he would do so at his own pace from then on.
He delivered the lecture at the launch of the Weekly Trust.
In what is probably his last press interview, he offered an insight into what he knew about General Yakubu Gowon in a special edition to mark the latter’s birthday on 19th October, 2024.
He was interviewed because he was on the trip to Uganda with the then head of state when the coup which upstaged Gowon from office was staged, and how they received the news in Kampala.
He was very close to the 2nd Republic governor of Benue State, Aper Aku, who appointed him as head of the state-owned radio and later Special Adviser, Director of Information, Benue State between 1980 and 1982.
He was later appointed editor of the New Nigerian newspapers and served in that capacity till 1984.
It was from there he teamed up with Dele Giwa, Ray Ekpu and Yakubu Mohammed to set up the Newswatch Magazine, which became a trail blazer in the expansion of journalism practice in Nigeria.
He was also resourceful in the development of his community. Apart from being the arrowhead in many development projects, he has kept his doors open to many.
I had written last year about how he built a church for his community in a piece titled, “The house Dan Agbese built for God.”
Let me reproduce in part what I had written then.
“The zeal by the Catholic community in Apa, Agila, to continue in worship of the Most High was such that made them convert every available space they see to a place of worship thereby putting into faith the assurance in Mathew 18:20 that says, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
“Their relentless bid to find a place to worship and conduct other church activities took them to several places, including the palace of the Otse Agila, Chief Philip Agbese Onazi, where they continued in fellowship.
“As fate would have it, that was where, as the saying goes, opportunity met preparation.
“One day, as Chief Agbese arrived at the palace, he saw ‘some people’ gathered at the Itakpa, the throne hall where his late father and later his elder brother, Chief Michael Onazi Agbese, used to sit and minister to the people.
“Curious, he asked what they were doing there, and they told him they were praying, adding that that is where they normally have their prayer meetings.
“He asked for the name of the church they belong to, and to his surprise, they said they’re from the St. Daniel Catholic church in Apa, Agila.
“St. Daniel? What a coincidence! Was that not a deliberate ploy to get him emotionally, knowing that his first name is Daniel? He decided to peek further.
“Months had gone by, and on a different day, he came to the village and again saw the same set of people gathered at the same spot. He concluded they were indeed desirous of a place to worship God and decided he would help them.
“That led to the commencement of the process that culminated in the building of the catholic church in the part of Apa, Agila, known as New Jerusalem.”
On hearing of his death, I called his former colleagues and associates, including Malam Mohammed Haruna, Garba Shehu, Jonathan Ishaku, Femi Adesina, Anthony Sani and Mahmud Jega to relay the news to them. They all expressed shock but spoke highly of him.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Rt. Hon Abba Tajudeen, in a statement, described Chief Agbese as a journalism icon, adding that the pen profession has lost one of its finest.
An editor, who used to pester him for his weekly column when he was still writing, told me she recently asked him how he’s feeling, and he responded by saying, “at my age, how am I supposed to feel?”
Chief Agbese was a graduate of mass communications and journalism from the University of Lagos and Columbia University, New York, respectively.
He was, until his death, the chairman of the Arewa Media Forum and is a past winner of the Pitman Prize Award, Columbia University and several other awards.
His wish to depart without causing pain to others, however, did not come to pass. Many would have preferred to tend to him than endure the pangs of loss. The discomfort he sought to spare us has now come upon us in another form.
May God grant Chief Daniel Ochima Agbese eternal rest in his bosom.