Duro Onabule And Tunji Oyelana At 70

By Reuben Abati

Double Chief, former editor of the National Concord and former Chief Press Secretary to General Ibrahim Babangida turned 70 last Sunday, September 27, a few months younger than Prince Tony Momoh who turned 70 earlier, (all the icons who formed the landscape of this profession while we were young appear to all be growing old at the same time). Deservedly, Chief Onabule was celebrated by both family and friends as he attained "the status of an elder statesman." He is one of those figures in Nigerian journalism that younger journalists look up to, for the values that they embody: hardwork, professionalism, ethical devotion to the practice and the cause of truth, a long staying power, humanism and a kindness of spirit.

Apart from the stint with IBB, 1985-93, Chief Onabule's life has been entirely devoted to journalism. After graduating from Nigeria's oldest secondary school, the CMS Grammar School, he joined journalism very early in 1961 as a reporter with the Daily Express. He would later work with the Daily Sketch as a pioneer staff Reporter in 1964, London Correspondent, Daily Express, 1969 -74; and from 1975 - 1980, he held various positions at the Daily Times group including serving as deputy editor and acting editor of Headlines. By the time he joined the pioneer team that set up the National Concord in 1980, Chief Onabule had already earned a reputation as a diligent and reputable newspaper man and he was instrumental to building up the features pages of the then National Concord into a readers'delight. He subsequently served as member, Editorial Board, Deputy Editor, and Editor, National Concord (1984 -85). It was at the National Concord that Chief became a shining star: he was the rallying point for many of the young men at the National Concord then who worked under him and who loved his free spirit.

Even at 70, the man remains young at heart. He takes very naturally to young people, he is very progressive in his outlook, he is one old man with whom you can have an argument and not have to re-arrange your mind constantly in order not to offend him. These days, he still attends media events and younger journalists do not feel that he is out of place. The respect that he enjoys from the younger generation is derived from the reputation that he has built over the years as a sound professional. His passion for journalism is unmistakable; he is forever ready with facts and figures about the past, and he insists on accuracy. It shows in the column that he currently writes for The Sun. He is also a stickler for details, perhaps that is one reason why his columns are usually long.

In terms of his politics, Chief Onabule is entirely devoted to Nigeria. In his columns in The National Concord, he was very critical of poor leadership and he has remained even more so on the pages of The Sun. One remarkable thing about him is the forthrightness with which he expresses his views; often he sounds like a man with his own sure, un-tossable view of the coin. Take his devotion to the late Chief Nnamdi Azikiwe. Chief Onabule is an unrepentant Zikist. His party of choice is Zik's NCNC. He insists that only the late Zik articulated the best ideology for Nigeria and that he had the best qualities to provide the leadership that Nigeria needed. If you want an argument, challenge Chief Onabule on this and you will have a full day of historical analysis.

Coming from the Western part of Nigeria where supporting anyone other than Awo could be interpreted as ethnic treason, at least at a time when that was fashionable, Onabule was one of those who followed their minds. But this did not affect his relationship with the Awoists. He is not one of those persons who spew bile like poisonous snakes if you disagree with them. He is also not a man that can be used. As Chief Press Secretary to General Ibrahim Babangida, Chief Onabule was a master at the art of walking the tightrope. He remained in that government till the end in December 1993. But there is no record anywhere that in trying to serve IBB, he became disloyal to MKO Abiola from whose newspaper he had taken up the appointment. In the heat of the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election, Onabule could not be quoted abusing MKO Abiola. And instructively, although he was CPS to the Head of State (President as IBB chose to call himself), he was not the man who authored the statement annulling June 12 even if the statement came from the Presidency. When he celebrated his 70th last weekend, the Abiolas were there.

But it is his mentoring role in the profession that is even more remarkable. The journalism landscape is blessed with a number of old practitioners who act like official ombudsmen. They read the newspapers closely and continue to guide younger journalists. It is a long list including Onabule himself, Henry Odukomaiya (who occasionally sends notes correcting grammar and style), Uncle Sam Amuka Pemu, Segun Osoba, Tony Momoh (who writes and distributes books on aspects of media practice), Chidi Amuta, Yemi Ogunbiyi, Lade Bonuola, late Pa Mac Alabi, Alade Odunewu, Mohammed Haruna, Dan Agbese, Felix Adenaike (he once sent me a book to correct a historical viewpoint on cross-carpeting in the Western Region House of Assembly in 1964), Pini Jason (two books to argue a point about Biafra), Victor Oshisada, Alhaji Kola Animashaun and so on.

It is perhaps the involving nature of journalism that is reponsible for the continuous interaction between the young and the old, between serving and semi-retired practitioners. Although their level of involvement varies, it is the profession that is further enriched by this dialogue across generations. I was once invited by Chief Onabule to his home in Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi a few years ago. He had just returned from a vacation abroad. He gave me a book gift. And then he took me through the challenges of being a journalist in a country such as ours and what pitfalls I should watch out for. I was moved by his kindness.

Onabule's engagements in the private and public spheres have brought him a lot of recognition: he is the Jagunmolu of Ijebu Ode, Officer of the Order of Mono, Republic of Togo, Ofiicer Cross of the Order of Merit, Federal Republic of Germany, and Member of the Victorian Order, United Kingdom. He is 70 but he is not tired, he continues to write a column every Friday for The Sun newspaper titled Duro Onabule today; we wish him many more years of penmanship, journalism being a profession that one can practise till death parts the man and his pen. In his speech on the occasion of his 70th birthday he had said: "I am always confronted with enquiries from friends and well wishers on the secret of attaining membership of the club of septuagenarians. There is nothing secret about ensuring good health, through moderation in every aspect of human desire. I mean moderation in every aspect of human desire, spiced with contentment in your lot." That is food for thought for many young men and women who have problems being contented with their own lot.

One other man who can look back with contentment at his lot is Mr Tunji Oyelana, actor, musician, theatre instructor and entrepreneur. He is 70 today, October 4, and his family will be rolling out the drums in London to celebrate a truly distinguished artist who has remained true to his art. In my other life as an artist, Mr Oyelana or Uncle Tunji, as we called him, was one of those memorable figures who linked the past to the present for curious young ones. He made a great mark on the public imagination for more than two decades as an actor, and musician and instrumentalist. In the 60s, Tunji Oyelana was one of the original members of Wole Soyinka's 1960 Orisun Masks. He calls Soyinka "Oga." He was one of the original Soyinka actors travelling all over the world to interprete roles in such plays as Kongi's Harvest, The Road, Madmen and Specialists and Opera Wonyosi, to the delight of audiences.

But he also later burst out on his own as an ethnomusicologist, producing folk music which ruled the airwaves in the 70s and 80s with a group famously known as Tunji Oyelana and The Benders. Many of his albums would qualify as classics in their genre, deploying native wisdom, folklore and wit, mixed with sparse syncopation and antiphony, relying heavily on the human voice and its inflections to lift the spirit. Radio stations loved to play his music and listeners derived much pleasure from them. In the 80s, Tunji Oyelana also acted on television (NTA Ibadan particularly), perhaps the most famous of his engagements in this regard is a sitcom titled Sura de Tailor in which he played the lead role. Many would recall the theme song of that programme which soon caught on with viewers: "Sura de tailor, oko Adunni, the friend of Major, expert in Toro, danshiki, and buba, also English coat and trouser o.... Sura de Tailor is your frie-n-d."

As an actor on stage and on the screen, Tunji Oyelana took his art seriously and he enjoyed his choice. In the 80s at the University of Ibadan, he was an artist in residence in music at the Department of Theatre Arts. Mr Nelson Oyesiku was in charge of classical music, Mr Oyelana, folk and comtemporary music, and Dr Esi Kinni-Olusanyin (formerly E. S. Kinney) taught the theory of music. Professor Adelugba handled Performance Theory as part of a course at the graduate level titled Theatre Arts Theory and Criticism. It was an impressive mix of theory and praxis. In those days, there was quality interaction between town and gown and in the professions, students gained an opportunity to be taught by both scholars and practitioners.

That was then when the school was ahead of industry, but today, one evidence of the collapse of the education sector in Nigeria today is how the industry in many professions is now ahead of the universities. Graduates arrive in their chosen fields of practice only to discover the sheer outmodedness of the instruction that they had received. At Ibadan in those days, Mr Oyelana as a professional artist helped to provide practical instruction in music. He was the music director for many of the departmental productions, scoring lyrics to beat and putting young students through; he was a great collaborator in the production process. I recall working with him in a number of productions where I was either an actor or stage manager including Opera Wonyosi, Another Raft, Eshu and the Vagabond Minstrels, Red is the Freedom Road... and so on. He was a very patient instructor.

We used to have special rehearsals for songs and in the Osofisan productions in particular, there was always either palmwine or beer for the directors, or a trip to the staff club later, and in-between play and work, the songs would suddenly find rhythm on the tongues of actors with Oyelana's guidance, making the entire production process so delightful. Oyelana's ability to work with playwrights and directors to bring songs to life for performance was commendable. Once the songs became rehearsal anthems, he would quietly withdraw, his job having been done. Of him Dr. Muyiwa Awodiya, a theatre teacher writes in his book, The Drama of Femi Osofisan: A Critical Perspective: "Tunji Oyelana's originality and creativity in music have won him great admiration and patronage among Nigerian dramatists. His ancient rhythms are inventively blended with modern melody to give authentic tunes, devoid of any cheap popular jargons. Tunji Oyelana has inspired and collaborated with great Nigerian dramatists like Wole Soyinka, Femi Osofisan and Bode Sowancde to record theatre music."

Professor Femi Osofisan, in 1989, also paid tribute to Oyelana as follows: "Tunji Oyelana's voice has to be heard to be directly savoured. It is mellifluous. It seems to flow from ancient sources. It recalls a time from very long ago. It is the voice of a poet, and that is perhaps why each of his songs is a poem. It is this quality that has given my plays their splendid assets, and made Oyelana one of my principal collaborators...Tunji Oyelana taught me the usefulness of music in the theatre...he became my preferred musician, the one I gave my working scripts to spontaneously fill in the music for me. That is why his music signatures are all over my work..."

Osofisan is right about the poetic candour of Oyelana's music; he is not a commercial artist seeking cash for talent, but a composer and musician using music to prod the memory, to entertain and to dignify culture. And yet in the late 80s, this man of talent packed his baggage, wife and children, and relocated to London where he now lives. He and his wife, Kike Oyelana, run a restaurant/cultural centre known as EMUKAY on Camberwell/Albany Road in South East London. Many of the young men and women who throng EMUKAY probably would not know who Oyelana is, and nothing about his life as an artist, what they probably see is the old man by a corner of the entrance door, tapping the keyboard and belting out soulful and inspiring rthyms until the early hours of the morning, with only a short break in-between.

In better organised societies, a man like Oyelana would not have been allowed to emigrate. He will still be at home in the university environment helping to nurture the younger ones, or on television and the stage doing what he enjoys doing as an actor and theatre musician but alas, Nigeria continues to donate many of its best people to other countries where they are in many cases under-utilised as I think Oyelana is in England even if outside EMUKAY, he is a much sought after speaker at cultural events. Many of the young ones at EMUKAY these days may not know who he is, but EMUKAY is an active rendezvous for many Nigerians visiting London. It is where you are likely to run into Professor Wole Soyinka, Oba Adewale Osiberu, the Elepe of Epe, Chuck Mike, Dr Yemi Ogunbiyi, Dr Bode Sowande, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, Peter Badejo, OBE, Rufus Orisayomi, Segun Odegbami, MON, Tunde Fagbenle, Golda John, Sola Sobowale, and other artistes all in one night!

The likes of Duro Onabule and Tunji Oyelana who made their mark within the space of the last 49 years and whose lives point to great possibilities of the Nigerian land, continue to keep the hope alive that whenever this country begins to function again, the harvest could be even more bountiful. Happy Birthday sirs.

Robot  # 1 | 04.10.2009 06:44

...Read the full article.

Tiger  # 2 | 04.10.2009 14:28

Happy Birthday to these two illustrious Nigerians. It is a sad reflection of the Nigerian situation that Tunji Oyelana is in exile in Nigeria. An artist of his stature and experience should be in his country helping to shape future artists, not in exile in a foreign country. Wishing the two gentlemen many more years of fruitful existence on mother earth. Happy Birthday!!

ariteni  # 3 | 04.10.2009 14:55

"As Chief Press Secretary to General Ibrahim Babangida, Chief Onabule was a master at the art of walking the tightrope. He remained in that government till the end in December 1993. But there is no record anywhere that in trying to serve IBB, he became disloyal to MKO Abiola from whose newspaper he had taken up the appointment. In the heat of the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election, Onabule could not be quoted abusing MKO Abiola. And instructively, although he was CPS to the Head of State (President as IBB chose to call himself), he was not the man who authored the statement annulling June 12 even if the statement came from the Presidency. When he celebrated his 70th last weekend, the Abiolas were there." There is no doubt that Chief Onabule (an illustrious son of Ijebu-Ode) deserves a lot of congratulations on this memorable occasion. To have attained the Biblical three score and ten in Nigeria's tempestous clime is great. One of his colleagues at Concord Dele Giwa was cut down at 39 in the course of professional duty. The profession of journalism remains the most hazardous of all. That said, the above refrence to Onabule's tenure as Chief Press Secretary to Babangida Dictatorship was uncalled for. In that role, Chief Onabule added one to Nigeria's Political lexicon. It was the term "RADICULOPATHY" His Master had disappeared for about one week in one of his characteristic Maradona Tricks. The whole country was concerned because the President was nowhere to be found. In the heat of the hassle, Onabule issued his famous alibi - that his Boss had travelled abroad (France) for Medical Treatment of an illness called RADICULOPATHY. Nigerians thought Onabule was joking until they went into the Dictionary and confirmed that there was indeed an illness so called by which time the "evil genious" was already back at his Presidential Desk. (Adeniyi (CPS to our current President) can learn something from his senior colleague!!!!!) It should not really matter that one served in an administration so unpopular with Nigerians. It should not also matter whether it was Babangida or Abacha or Abubakar. It is only in Yorubaland that an attempt is being made to criminalise such patriotic service. In the final analysis one's conscience is his judge. And at 70 nothing but truth is expected. Onabule indeed walked a tight rope to have served both Babangida and Abiola faithfully and loyally. Yorubas describe it as "ASOTUN SOSI MA BA BIKAN JE" meaning "playing a-little-to-the right-and-a-little-to-the-left". In the long run, Chief Onabule did well for himself and his family. I appreciate Onabule more because unlike some Yorubas he has never claimed to be a Human Rights Activist nor been at the vanguard of actualization of June 12. He was CPS when his friend Dele Giwa was executed by lethal bomb by people believed to be agents of the Administration Onabule served. The above quote from Abati's article sounds defensive. It is public knowledge that Abiola got Onabule the CPS job when the going was good between IBB and Abiola. (But onabule was more than qualified for the POLITICAL appointment). Onabule also had the choice to stay put or leave office but he chose to stay. Dr Abati notes that even though he stayed he neither abused Abiola nor signed the Annulment and that Abiola's family attended Onabule's birthday party. These are neither here nor there. Perhaps posterity will vindicate the wisdom service in those 8 horrendous Babangida years. I dont know. Dr Abati should have realised that he adds nothing positive by suggesting a defence of Onabule's role in Babangida Administration. Onabule himself would have appreciated it more if Abati had praised his journalistic career which was not enhanced in any way by POLITICAL appointment as Chief Press Secretary. For the celebrant as a devout Muslim, Abati's simple "ilhamdililah" would have sufficed. Nevertheless, I give my 70 Happy Cheers to the great celebrant and wish him many more years as a veteran of the Pen Profession. To uncle TUNJI, you are indeed a "gem of inestimable value" in the Nigerian music and cultural world. I miss your shows on TV. You are a true ambassador of Nigerian Music and Culture even in the UK. Many Happy Returns!