On September 25, Former National Secretary of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) , Comrade Jola Ogunlusi will be 90 years old. His friends and associates have planned a thanks giving service for Saturday September 28, at church of Pentecost, 21, road, FESTAC Village, to give praise to God for preserving the life of the man who crossed many turbulent waves, along with others to make Journalism and its practitioners get to the promised land in Professionalism and unionism.
Mr Ogunlusi has course to praise God for sparing his life. He was humiliated, suffered setbacks survived a ghastly motor accident, incarcerated and even mocked by his peers in his younger days at Ayedun Ekiti. Because of his poor background he could not complete his secondary school education. He dropped out at Ansar- Ud- Deen High school Ikole Ekiti in Form four due to financial crisis. He ended up as a pupil teacher and studied privately at home for General Certificate of Education GCE. His love for politics and late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s ideology made him to join the services of Africa Newspapers of Nigeria, Publishers of Nigeria Tribune and Iroyin Yoruba. This was in the early 60s, when political crisis had engulfed the popular Wild , Wild West and Chief Awolowo was incarcerated. Then it was a crime to buy or read Tribune titles, openely.
He joined the Iroyin Yoruba as a reporter under late Pa Olu Olofin. His passion for welfarism and trade unionism in the 1960s grew as he was influenced by comrade J. O. James to join United Labour Congress of Nigeria, as an Assistant Secretary. Because of the poor financial standing and political victimisation of Tribune workers, working for months without salary. Jola Ogunlusi, to keep body and soul together, was also a freelance reporter for Africa Arts, Magazine and LAMP Magazine. He was discovered by Chief Ayo Adedun who eventually made him to take up appointment with Western State Government newspaper,. Sketch Press Limited, where he was seconded to Gboungboun the Yoruba publication of the newspaper. Chief Mike Pearse who later assisted him to gain employment with the New Nigeria newspapers.
His journey unto full-fledged trade unionism started in the late 70s when NUJ was at its peak of leadership crisis, which led to Michael Asaju and Sidi Ali Sirajo’s factions. The union was then operating a controversial constitution luckily for Mr Ogunlusi he found himself in the camp of Asaju’s faction which became the reorgnised faction by the government.
I remember the brunt I had personally with Igwa’s group when I used the photograph of Chief Asaju to illustrate a page I planned in the Herald newspaper. At the editorial conference, the Editor, Alhaji Yakubu Abdulazeez had to put his feet down to overrule views of the likes of Dan Ikunaye and Alfred Ilenre, where were in Sidi Ali Sijaro’s camp. They insisted we must not use Asaju’s photograph While on a facility tour in Cuba, Ali Sirajo was in charged of his group, mostly Northern Journalists who were sympathetic to his course except, Plateau, Borno and Kwara States. There was no active NUJ unionism in the northern states. This was the period that Jola Ogunlusi’s NUJ Secretariat succeeded in dragging the union to full-fledged professional and trade union body, fighting for oppressed journalists. Many decrees and draconian laws like, Albatross, were hanging on the necks of media practitioners in Nigeria Despite the fact that the crisis which started in Jos was not solved at the Akure delegates conferece which led to emergence of Alhaji Bola Adedoja excutive the offshoot of Michael Asaju’s recognised camp, Jola Ogunlusi and his new boss, Adeoja . continued to forge ahead, fighting in all fronts to stablise, journalism practice which was in serious battles with the government and media owners. At the same time many journalists lacked the professional background and there was the need to look for avenues to train them within and outside the country. Having been influenced by Comrade Tunji Otegbeye and Wahab Goodluck, hard liners in trade unionism, NUJ National secretary Jola Ogunlusi succeeded in getting training facilities especially in the socialist Eastern Europe. At a go 33 Journalists proceeded in three months courses at the International Ogranisation of Journalists (IOJ), in Bulgaria. It is on record that during Jola Ogunlusi’s headship of NUJ secretariat sp….. from Michael Asaju, Bola Adedoja, Geoge Izobor, to Sanni Zoro,, 101 journalists were sponsored for various courses in Bulgaria, Cuba, Chezolovakia, Russia and United States of America as well as other facility tours, outside Africa, apart from local trainings.
One of the beneficiaries was Prince Mola Olaniyan who was NUJ Chairman in Kwara State, which I was Vice Chairman while late Chief Jide Adebayo as secretary I took over the running of the Kwara NUJ as acting Chairman when he travelled until I relocated to Oyo State, where I served consecutively as two term, secretary.
Apart from foreign courses, NUJ during his tenure as National Secretary, contributed a lot to sustain and project the Nigeria Institute of Journalism (UIJ) as well as laying foundation for establishment of International Institute of Journalism (IIJ). When some females who were not journalists in electronic media were parading themselves as journalists, George Izobor / Jola Ogunlusi executive cut them to sizes, by creating Nigeria Association of Female Journalists (NAWOJ).
NUJ is an affiliate of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) by NUJ secretariat under Comrade Ogunlusi became highly respected as affiliate of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to the extent that NLC would not go for negotiations without one NUJ members in its teams. Jola Ogunlusi secretariat on its own also, frought relentlessly injustice metted to its members. The sack of Vera Ifudu by the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) for reporting the missing 2.1 billion oil fund was a good example. NUJ declared trade dispute against the NTA management and got the Reporter reinstated.
Many journalists would have lost their jobs un-ceremonially if the Jola Ogunlusi National Secretariat of the NUJ, had not taken up their cases. They included journalists in Tide, Chronicle, Standard Newspapers, Federal Radio Cooperation (FRCN) among other Nigeria Tribune, Nigeria Television MTV and Sketch Press Limited. Whose employers were either not friendly or refused to give good welfare packages to the poor reporters. For example, when Dr. Omololu Olunloyo became Governor of Oyo State, many journalists were sacked or punitively redeployed to Cultural Centre and Ministry of Information. The NUJ has to fight relentlessly for their reinstatement. Many journalists that were laid off in the Herald in Kwara State were reabsorbed by the Tribune, Sketch and Oyo State ministry of information due to lobbies from NUJ.
Many draconian military decrees like Decree 31 prohibiting media organisations were too much for journalists. NUJ secretariat under Jola Ogunlusi formed alliance with Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) headed by Alhaji Lateef Jakande, and Nigeria Guild of Editors to form, Nigeria Press Organisation (NPO), to prepare a common front to fight the government and media employers who wanted to kill newspaper industries and electronic media.
Jola Ogunlusi, was a rigid, conservative scribe whose loyalty to his boss on many occasions was his undoing. When a reformation group moved to unseat Alhaji Bola Adedoja with a view to creating a more NUJ with broad outlook, Jola Ogunlusi with some of us form the Western zone military opposed the move which eventually, dethroned, Adedoja and paved way for George IZobor. This was the beginning of his pending exist from the secretariat. Though George Izobor and his deputy Nasir Zaharadeen meticulously accommodated Ogunlusi to run the affairs of the NUJ, after broadening NUJ secretary with creation of zones, those who came after them, succeeded in retiring him without making proper arrangements to offset his entitlement which unfortunately are still pending till today.
A cat with many lives, Jola Ogunlusi almost lost his life in a ghastly motor accident along Ijebu Ode road, Unconscious Jola, when he regained his memory at the General Hospital, asked for a pen and piece of paper, where he scribbled “Please tell Governor Segun Osoba that his borther is here and could die any moment as a result of a motor accident.
The hospital workers were disturbed by the write up. A brother to out serving governor? Was this man insane? They were ruminating until the hospital management took the badly written message to Governor Osoba, who in a convoy with blasing siren rushed down Sighting the NUJ secretary on the bed with tears rolling down his cheeks, sobbing Governor Osoba instructed the hospital management to do everything in its power to bring him (Ogunlusi ) back to life. Thank God who answered Chief Osoba’s prayer and the cooperation of Ogun State Hospital Management Perhaps this (90) years anniversary might have not been possible after all. May God bless his new age.
Bolaji Kareem, Veteran Journalist and Former Commissioner for Works and Transport in Oyo State, written from Ibadan.
