The frst time I met Prince Emeka Obasi was over the phone.
My frst Editor in the defunct Comet who later became my big sister, Mrs Victoria Okere, called me on phone sometime in early 2007 to say that she was with the Publisher of the National Mirror and would want me to say hi to him.

The next second, I heard what came off as a female voice saying,”Hello! How are you? “ I screamed with excitement from my end, “Wow! A woman is the publisher of a national newspaper!” He ignored the comment and went on to say that Mrs Okere spoke highly of me, that he would like me to come and see him at his offce.

When I eventually met Obasi, he was straight-faced. I chalked it up to my previous comment. He asked me a few questions and told me to resumed immediately. So, every Monday morning both reporters and editors of the weekend and daily titles of the National Mirrror would converge at his expansive offce at 2 Obasa Close,Ikeja, for the editorial meetings. I soon found out that most people(except a few in the team) dreaded those meetings as you dare not show up with story ideas that were not water-tight. The sessions were rigorous as they were mentally stimulatiing.

For me in particular, I would go with an extra ‘bullet proof’ because once I entered his offce, he would quip: “This one that I don’t like.” I would keep a bland face unfazed, then return to my desk to do my job. Publisher did not know that this one though she looked fragile, is an ‘azụanụka’. He repeated
that comment every single meeting for the next few weeks.

Then one day, about three months later, someone came to tell me that the Publisher sent for me. I went to his offce expecting the usual tease but I was surprised when he told me to sit down and for the frst time since I joined the newspaper spoke to me in Igbo Language. He asked me where I am from, said that he has seen my works in the paper in last few months and was impressed! That he had instructed the HR to give me a pay raise! I was blown away!

Not so much by the pay raise but by the fact that Publisher was impressed with my work. In another three months I got another raise, then a promotion after six months!

One thing going for Obasi was that he recognised and rewarded hardwork and he never had to like your face, ethnicity or religion to appreciate your commitment.Unlike some leading national dailies where despite the pretensions to intellectualism, ethnic politics dictates who gets what, in Prince Emeka Obasi’s National Mirror ( and later Business Hallmark) anybody could become anything if you prove your mettle. That was why a Joshua Suleiman could be the Daily Editor, an Afolabi Adeyemi, the Saturday Editor, Uche Chris the Sunday Editor and an Osemendamen Isibor, the News Editor.

The National Mirror newsroom was a miniature Nigeria, to say the least. The frustration of the fnancial struggles notwithstanding, there was so much camaraderie and one always looked forward to going to work, to the burst of political discourses that punctuated the intense evenings when most reporters returned from the feld to the newsroom.

I owe Publisher thanks for life and professional lessons I learnt from working with him for over 13 years. He would squeeze you until he got the juice you never knew was in you. There was so much to learn from him; politics, economy, journalism practice, human relations, just name it. Obasi was an encyclopedia of sort. He loved reading and daily preached it. To him, you cannot be a good writer or reporter if you do not read. Obasi preferred to refer to himself as a ‘reporter” and he was a damn good reporter! He got the gift of the pen so much so that even those who did not like the bearer acknowledged the gift.

As a publisher, he operated an open-door system, a personal connection with each of his staff and would encourage them to feel free to come to his offce if they get ideas to explore.

The last time I saw him was at his home in 2020 (after the lockdown). He was already battling with ill-health. What I found intriguing about him was his never-say-die spirit. Besides the physical burden of his health challenge, he was his usual burly self. We discussed practically everything; journalism, Business Hallmark, Nigeria’s steady decline, his relationship with God. I left feeling very happy that he had re-established a personal relationship with God and was looking forward to when he would
bounce back physically. Thereafter, we did exchange SMS once in a while and phone calls in-between.
I got the news of his passage when a message popped into my phone in the morning of March 17, 2022, (a day after he passed on) while somewhere in Victoria Island for an interview session and for some seconds, was hit. I didn’t know when hot tears started dropping down.

My subject was understanding enough to give me time to compose myself. From being an employee, I didn’t know when I became family with the man who usually called me, “Uche be anyị.”
Rest on, oji mkpịsị ede obodo jijiji.

Your memories live in our heartsI

Uche Akolisa