• Abuja agog as VP, minister, others honour The Sun deputy editor
From Sola Ojo, Abuja
On Saturday, January 18, 2025, a section of Ladi Kwali Conference Hall, Abuja Continental Hotel (formerly Sheraton) was filled to capacity for the official launch of the book, ‘Personal Non Grata’ written by the Deputy Editor, Politics, The Sun Newspapers, Alhaji Ismail Omipidan.
The guests, comprising people of means and the not-too-high, filled the hall and took personal and group photographs, with the large billboard in honour of Omipidan and his debut literary offering as backdrop.
The reviewer, Dr Lasisi Olagunju, Editor, Saturday Tribune, said Omipidan’s memoir is a story of survival and triumph over adversity.
The book chronicles Omipidan’s life journey, from his childhood to his life as a journalist, facing discrimination, rejection, and harassment along the way. Despite these challenges, Omipidan persevered and eventually found success.
The book offers insights into Omipidan’s experiences as a journalist, including his encounters with politicians and principalities. He writes about his time covering Boko Haram in Borno State and his relationships with notable figures, including Vice President Kashim Shettima and Minister Adegboyega Oyetola.
According to Olagunju, Omipidan’s story was one of resilience and determination, and his book is a testament to the power of journalism in shaping politics and discourse.
He praised Omipidan’s writing style as lucid and breezy, noting that the book was well-structured and illustrated with relevant photographs.
Olagunju recommended ‘Persona Non Grata’ as a worthy addition to works on media and politics, and a challenge to others to write their own stories.
But shortly before the unveiling of the book was an eloquent speech laced with a high sense of humour by Nigeria’s number two citizen, Vice President Kashim Shettima, who urged media professionals to serve as the conscience of political institutions, standing for the truth in the discharge of their duties.
Shettima emphasised the need for courageous media professionals to speak truth to power. He distinguished between antagonising the government and speaking truth to power, noting that the latter is driven by a noble principle to serve a greater good and deserving humanity.
“While we need an army of courageous media professionals to speak the truth to power, we also need them to serve as the conscience of political institutions and individuals who influence the evolution of society, including the questions of our collective survival.
“What must be spelt out is that there is a distinction between antagonising a government and speaking truth to power.
“The latter is driven by a noble principle to serve a greater good and a deserving humanity.
“The former, on the other hand, is usually a self-serving exercise that fades into futility, and that is not the end we should aspire to achieve with the information and ideas we labour to acquire and process in our line of work.
“The real courage lies in resisting compromise in one’s pursuit of truth. True courage is being able to tell the truth even in a congress of critics and bullies,” he said.
Shettima’s call to action was echoed by other dignitaries at the event, including Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, who praised Omipidan’s ingenuity and diligence to work.
“The book for which we gather here today, Persona Non Grata by a highly respected journalist, Ismail Omipidan, is a collection of his past experiences and contribution to public discourse.
“Ismail was a professional to the core as we worked together a few years ago while I served as Osun State Governor. I encourage you to do more”, the minister remarked.
Director General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Dr Muhammed Bulama, relayed his long-term relationship with the writer.
“Ismail and I have come a long way. Part of the time he was passing through some of the battles captured in the book, I was the Commissioner for Information in Borno State under Alhaji Kashim Shettima.
“His government held Ismail in high esteem. We did not treat him as a reporter but as someone who has the development of Borno State at heart.
“We are proud to associate with him and we will support him in any way we can because he has a lot for this country. I’m also here to speak for the Minister of Information and Culture, Muhammed Idris.
“The ministry is appreciative of his work as a true Nigerian. He asked me to ask him to continue to work for peace and progress of Nigeria”, the DG said.
Also speaking, a former President of the Nigeria Guild of Editors, Mrs Funke Egbemode, described Omipidan as a go-getter and professional to the core who is always ahead of his peers in the field of journalism.
“Ismail is a very diligent professional. He is loyal and faithful to any cause he’s committed to. He never failed in giving us a cover story while I was the Editor of the Sunday edition of The Sun Newspapers,” she said.
Sharing his thoughts with the guests, colleagues and well-wishers, the author said the inspiration to write the book stemmed from the experiences he had as a correspondent in Borno State, where he was declared a persona non grata by a top security chief in the state due to his decisive and courageous stories.
On his work with Oyetola, he said, “I never knew my principal, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola from anywhere until he appointed me as his chief press secretary.
“My first interaction with him was when I needed to do a story in Osun and when I called him, he responded even though he didn’t know the phone number. Two years later, I was called upon to come and work with him, but I initially declined because I never knew him.
“They convinced me that he was a gentleman. So, I opted to work with him for a few months. But, when I saw the sincerity in him, I stayed. He said I should not write what we had never done. He asked me to publicize what his government was doing.”
On the book, he said, “Readers will read about how we missed the opportunity of having a brand new constitution under the former President Goodluck Jonathan.
“For me, I believe it is high time we stopped this annual ritual of constitution review because if we are not careful, it will get to a stage where we will lose count of the items that we have amended.
“So, rather than continue with this amendment now and then, I will advise the 10th assembly lawmakers to go back to the report put together by their predecessors and see how some of the contents of that report can come into force.
“I also recommended State Police. With the success with civilian task force in Borno so far, I believe very strongly that having a State Police is the way to go unless we want to continue to deceive ourselves”, he said.
Indeed, the book, ‘Persona Non Grata’, a must-read, will, for a long time, receive, generate and trigger controversial reactions from the media, politics and power enthusiasts within and outside Nigeria’s media and political landscapes.
Also at the event were notable newspaper editors and media executives, including Managing Director /Editor-in-Chief, The Sun Publishing Limited, Mr Onuoha Ukeh; former President, Nigeria Guild of Editors, Mrs Funke Egbemode, former Editor, Saturday Sun and Director of Media and Advocacy, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Femi Babafemi and a host of others.