By Nehru Odeh
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the onew less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference -Robert Frost
He has been hailed as a prose stylist. He has also been described as a master satirist. He has been acknowledged as a quintessential journalism teacher. He has been praised as a humourist. He has also been confirmed as a scholar and public intellectual of no mean repute. And above all, he has been honoured as a man of courage who, as the spelling of his surname, Dare, boldly pinpoints, chose to dare when many couldn’t.
This indeed is the intriguing story of Professor Olatunji Dare, Emeritus Professor at Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois, United States who turned 80 on 17 July 2024; but who on these shores is fondly called ‘Prof’ and had been decorated for his incisive weekly essays variously as op-ed Editor and Chairman, Editorial Board of the Guardian as well as for his weekly column in The Nation.
Still, like the elephant and the six blind men, Dare defies description because of the many hats he wears and elicits awe and reverence due to what he has been able to achieve not just with his brains and pen but also as a result of his strength of character and the courage of his convictions.
The courage of his convictions? Sure. Dare chose to dare at a time and in a clime when many chickened out. Many will never forget easily how he resigned from his appointment in The Guardian after its publisher Mr Alex Ibru led a team to apologize to the military dictator Sani Abacha. Many will never forget how rather than kowtowing to the powers that be, he decided to toe the path less traveled. Many will never forget how he relocated to the United States and started life afresh at Bradley University, where he still operates.
Dare refused to join the team organized to go burnish Abacha and instead opted to resign because according to him a newspaper that had always harped on the importance of the rule of law should not enter into a bargain that obfuscates the rule of law. “Since I didn’t participate in the resolution of the crisis,” he was quoted as saying, “I think it will be unfair to those who did if I benefit from the gains of the trip.”
Though Dare never benefited from the gains of the trip, he of course has gained immensely from the courage of his convictions and strength of character. It was indeed for this and other reasons that friends, family, colleagues and former students converged on Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja GRA, Lagos on 17 July to celebrate a man who has spent his life, teaching, mentoring others, speaking truth to power and interrogating social ills through his satirical essays and incisive weekly columns, a man who, as his name implies, dared to dare, a man who, as the cliche goes, bearded – and continues to beard – the lion in its den.
The event was organized by Vintage Press, where Dare has been a columnist for the past 18 years and the Nigerian Guild of Editors. The theme of the colloquium was Dare at 80, Same Craft, Changing Times – The Columnist as Societal Conscience. Aremo Olusegun Osoba, former governor of Ogun State was the Chairman of the occasion. Mr Sully Abu and Mr Lanre Idowu were the lead speakers, while Mr Lanre Arogundade, journalist, activist and founder International Press Centre, anchored the event.
Mr Victor Ifijeh, Managing Director, Vintage Press set the tone for the event with the opening address. “We are gathered here to celebrate him because he is one of our own, one of our very best. A renowned academic, distinguished practitioner, respected public intellectual,” he said.
Ifijeh, who has worked closely with the distinguished professor since the Nation Newspapers were founded, went further to extol his rare qualities. “Dare, fondly called ‘Prof’ by many of us is self-effacing. He relates freely with the high and low, with his contemporaries as well as his juniors. He gives everyone his due, a rare quality.
“He is a man with a great mind. You only need to read his writings to appreciate his mastery of our medium of communication. He leaves the reader with uncommon words, words that you never knew were in existence until you read him. You may even think that he made a mistake. And you reach out for the dictionary to check, only to find that you are the ignorant one.
“For us at the Nation, Prof has been a guardian. And he remains one. He knew us before we hit the newsstand before we were born. He was part of the beginning He crafted the mission statement. We gave him a draft and that was all. And when he returned it, it was a masterpiece.
“He has been with us in our 18-year-long journey, holding our hands to keep us from falling. He has never left us, not even for a second. The distance between us may be far in terms of location, yet we are so close that the communication lines are always open. No day passes without him calling to praise or rebuke us. Praise when we deserve it and rebuke when we fall short of expectations. We face his admonitions but we cherish his interventions. And those interventions have made us stronger. He has kept us on our feet,” Ifijeh maintained.
Aremo Olusegun Osoba, for his part, expressed his appreciation to the organizers of the event and Nigerian journalists for celebrating one of their own. “Now we are celebrating one of our own. I am grateful to all of you. Why I am saying so is that we tend to celebrate others and we forget our own. And this is the kind of thing that Sam Amuka and I are happy to see, to see you people organize this kind of thing. It shows we are beginning to appreciate ourselves. We have to promote ourselves, instead of just doing it for everybody. This is the beginning of more things to come, for us to celebrate people when they are alive and not when they are dead… So I want to beg you. Let us always come together. Let us always support ourselves. The issue of rivalry should not arise. We are one. We should know that what touches one, touches the other,” Osoba averred.
Mr Eze Anaba, Editor of the Vanguard and President Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE, said he was proud to collaborate with the Nation Newspapers to honour the celebrant and celebrate what he called ‘an unusual birthday’. “Hitting 80 by any man or woman is a remarkable achievement in any clime. For a man that has bestrode the journalism firmament all these years, with the sturdy feat, teaching, gaining friends, students and foes, in the course of truly exceptional insightful writings and profound commentaries, such an event as this is a little way of saying thank you, Professor Olatunji Dare.
“I did not work with Professor Olatunji Dare in The Guardian. Neither did I work with him in the Nation. I was not his student at UNILAG. But I was his student and still his student as a professional journalist. Why is that so? You do not pick, starting with the Guardian on Tuesdays, without learning something as a journalist. You do not pick the Nation on Tuesdays without learning something as a journalist. From his writings as an editor, I learnt what it means to stand by your convictions.
“Permit me to say this. They say he is a connoisseur of words. He is beyond that for me. Professor Dare is one of the few people I know who rebukes you and you will take it as a compliment. But there is only one man in Nigeria, who when Tuesday approaches, will be sweating in his feat. And that man is in Minna.
“Beyond that, the man has also taught us that you can be true to your profession and still be recognized and be rewarded for it. And that is why all of us are here today. Most of us here did not work with him in the Guardian, most of us here are not in the Nation, but we respect and cherish his intellect. We celebrate a man who has fought for our profession brilliantly with integrity,” Anaba noted.
Mr Lanre Idowu, one of the lead speakers at the event also thanked the organizers for celebrating the respected academic who he described as a giant in the media industry, a Nigerian patriot and an accomplished teacher. ”When we celebrate the best amongst us we are celebrating ourselves. And we are saying to the world we are not defined by the shenanigans of the tiny few who blight the image of our country or our profession. We are also saying our country can go in a welcome direction when we are deep in the culture of appreciation in the media, in the sciences, in the arts and in other spheres of national life.
“Eighty was the age Moses and his brother Aaron, who was 83, jointly confronted Pharoah on the plight of the Israelites. In other words, octogenarians were the ones leading the people to confront their oppressor, the same way that our celebrator through his writings has consistently led the battle to confront agents of darkness, people who do not want the best for the public. And now you begin to wonder what else you will expect to get from him. But as they say, like old wine, we expect him to continue to mature, to continue to serve as a fountain of wisdom to the general public and a terror to agents of bad governance whose god is their belly, whose pastime is converting the commonwealth to personal wealth.
Mr Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy was also full of praise for Dare, his former teacher, whom he described as a good man. “Prof Dare is a good man. Unlike many of you here he was my teacher. I will tell you that most of the things I know in this industry, the professor taught me. And he is still teaching me. Many times he would call me and say ‘They are writing something about you, don’t reply to them.’ He would offer me the kind of reply I should use. So I cherish him because a teacher will always be a teacher. He remains my teacher. Growing up reading his column, his mastery of prose, and the kind of argument you read in his column, you cannot but be inspired, “ Onanuga enthused.
Mr Sully Abu, who described Dare as erudite, accomplished and a prose stylist of uncommon pedigree, said Dare “is one of the individuals we could look up to because he possesses attributes we would like to have ourselves.
“Dr Dare is a convivial personality who could hardly offend. His writings are soothing even if his views are hard. I remember the piece he wrote when Akwa Ibom was excised from the then Southeastern State. At the time it was as if all those we thought to be from that part of the country as Efik or Calabar indigenes were in reality from the new Akwa Ibom State – all government officials, professionals and even artisans were headed north to Akwa Ibom. Dr Dare duly weighed the game or the situation in his column titled ‘The Vanishing Calabar Man’. Our friends from Calabar were not amused. I remember one of them, a Federal High Court judge talked to me fuming, ‘Who the hell does Dr Dare think he is? Does he say that we don’t count for anything When he calmed down, however, he said, But I enjoyed that piece.
“The very fact that we are here gathered to celebrate Dr Dare is an indication that we recognize those who should be counted among the greats and the good. It is an indication that we still desire something far better than our present circumstances,” Abu said.
Lagos State governor Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by his Special Adviser, Media, Mr Gboyega Akosile, described Dare as a renowned scholar, an elder statesman and one of the most versatile columnists in Nigeria. “Professor Olatunji Dare, who I have known for many years through his columns in different newspapers, particularly The Guardian and the Nation Newspapers in the last few years is someone I refer to as an elder statesman and desirably so because of his positive impact and contribution to nation building. Professor Dare’s dedication to the growth and development of Nigeria, particularly the media sector is highly commendable. He deserves a lot of commendation and accolades for his courage, And in writing his insightful write-ups on topical issues about Nigeria, in his in-depth writing and analysis of issues, the communication scholar has brought positive change to our society, “ Sanwo-Olu noted.
Mr Gbenga Omotoso, Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, who was represented by Mr Ganiyu Lawal was also effusive in his praise of the satirist. He said Dare had so much influence on many journalists and was a teacher, a mentor, an uncle, an adviser and a father figure. ”To Dare, identifying with young and ambitious people comes naturally. He would never allow them to get stranded, no matter the situation.
“In Dare’s hands, words are like clippers in the hands of a barber; he can weave them together in a unique manner to deliver a fantastic submission week after week. He also wrote in very serious language to speak truth to power whenever the need arose. But some readers who could not comprehend his satire did not find it funny, and they said so. The writer would laugh and urge them not to take offence. But he was not happy with being sometimes misunderstood because of his style. I understand why this is so. Dare, as a communications teacher, would not like to be charged with being esoteric and unable to communicate in a manner that many will understand. In other words, he would not want to be accused of talking to himself.
“Reflecting on Prof. Dare’s journey, it is evident that his legacy is one of dedication, innovation, and compassion. His impact on journalism and the lives of those he has mentored is enduring. On this special day, we express our deepest gratitude for his guidance, support, and the invaluable lessons he has imparted.
“Going by his reputation. Dare deserves all the accolades that may be showered on him by those who still hold dear all the values the wordsmith represents: humility, hard work, courage in the face of daunting situations, generosity, and trust. These are some of the hallmarks of a true “Omoluabi,” which he personifies,” Omotoso maintained.
Mr Eluem Emeka Izeze. Former Managing Director of The Guardian who Martins Oloja represented praised Dare for his warmth, his refinement and the fact that he was always calm and unruffled, speaking softly but never missing an opportunity to seek new solutions to contemporary and endemic problems that bedevilled our nation. He also said Dare whom he fondly calls ‘Doc’ is arguably one of the best journalists and human beings he associated with in the course of my career in the Guardian.
“His work painstaking and deliberately challenged conventional thinking, tackled traits of deceit, confronted dictators, and their friends, showed the way forward and marshalled out points in a magisterial tone,” he said.
Professor Tola Sunday, who was the celebrant’s former student at the University of Lagos was unequivocal about how he (Dare) shaped his life and made him what he is. ”I am very proud to say that Professor Olatunji Dare is one of the blocks that the Almighty God has used to build me, to make me what I am today. I came in contact with Prof Dare when I gained admission into the University of Lagos. I never knew him. I knew that the name Dare was as famous as when you mentioned Awollowo either in Ikenne or in Nigeria, anywhere. But I never came in contact with that family until when I gained admission into the University of Lagos.
“Ever since I met Professor Dare at the University of Lagos, he has not stopped to make positive contributions to my life. And as we gather here today to celebrate him, I will just say Prof was always very punctual to his class. He lived it and it was his way of life. If you think you are brilliant wait until he gives you the first assignment and returns your paper to you. When you see your paper bleeding you will know that you have met somebody that can challenge you.
Dare, who for his part registered his presence via Zoom was palpably thrilled and pleasantly surprised at the flurry of tributes paid to him. He thanked the audience, saying he was truly overwhelmed. The high point of the occasion was when he introduced his wife who was sitting beside him and has stood by him through thick and thin. That indeed drew a round of applause from the audience. Dare’s appreciation of his wife was the icing on the cake, as his relation, Professor Bamidele, had earlier spoken about the great support she has given her husband.
“Most of us as men always forget the role of the women. I would admire the role of his wife. Throughout the time she stood beside Tunji, I knew what she went through; even at times when she would have her health condition. This often was not recognized,” Still, the fact that her support was recognized made smiles dance on her lips, and that indeed signalled a happy ending to a glorious event