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A brief encounter with suave, soft-spoken media chief, Kayode Soyinka, in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, during the burial of his father-in-law, Pa Samson Odukoya Odugbesan, was not enough to decipher his personality. But stepping into his posh, serene office in one of the high-rise buildings in central Lagos immediately gives you a peep into the enigmatic nature of this international journalist. Dotting every available space in the office are pictures of him withgreat men and women in several parts of the globe.

A picture of the journalist and Nelson Mandela welcomes you to his office.

"Yes, that was Nelson Mandela with me inside his office in Cape Town when he was president of South Africa. It was at a time when the whole world wanted to see Mandela and he was gracious enough to give me an audience for one hour at his official residence. I was showing him in that picture how the maiden edition of Africa Today would look like, with his picture on the cover and the world exclusive interview I just had with him," he explained as he was showing this reporter around.

On another wall in the office’s boardroom is a picture of him and the former Archbishop of Cape Town, Desmond Tutu.

"Yes, I also met him," he explained. "And that picture was taken inside the Bishop's Court also in Cape Town. You can see him pointing. He was showing me the spot where Nelson and Winnie Mandela had their first breakfast together the morning after Mandela was released from Victor Verstor Prison, Cape Town, in 1990.

The Bishop, after this visit, did me a personal favour. I had to gatecrash into a private meeting he was having with Church of England bishops in London to beg him to have audience with Doyin Abiola, wife of Chief M.K.O Abiola, who needed the bishop to add his influential voice to the global pressure to get Chief Abiola released from prison. It was shortly after General Obasanjo himself had been condemned to death by Abacha and the bishop was furious as we spoke privately later on inside his room at the London Hilton. He agreed to meet Doyin."

In his office were also pictures of the seasoned wordsmith with other renowned world personalities, including the former British Prime Minister, James Callaghan; Chief Emeka Anyaoku, and Sir Shidrath Ramphal, a former Commonwealth Secretary-General, among others.
Kayode Soyinka’s consistent zest for journalism is amazing after spending over 30 years in the profession. For 18 years, he served as foreign correspondent for the defunct Daily Sketch, the Concord Group and Newswatch, where he was almost killed in the bomb blast that snuffed life out of Dele Giwa on October 19, 1986.

In this interview, he spoke about his life in journalism and steps that can help re-define the face of journalism in Nigeria. He also mentioned the scars left in his heart by the gruesome death of his bosom friend, Dele Giwa through that parcel bomb 22 years ago.

Journalism, my destiny
When I was growing up, I had three options of what I wanted to be in life. The first was to be a lawyer. The second was to be a political scientist, followed by the wish to be a journalist. The first opportunity that came my way immediately I left secondary school was to be a journalist, and I grabbed the offer with both hands. I was trained in-house by Daily Sketch Newspapers in Ibadan. That was the way it was done in those days. I was employed as pure rookie in the profession, a cub reporter and attached to a senior reporter. I was a typical example of a boy picked up from the classroom and trained in the newsroom by experienced reporters. Veterans like Segun Osoba, Peter Ajayi, Henry Odukomaya, Peter Enaharo (Peter Pan) and many others were my mentors. Having started like that, I learnt from their wealth of experience.

Daily Sketch actually gave me my first foreign correspondent job. They also trained me at the College of Journalism in London. From Sketch, I joined Concord Newspapers as pioneer London correspondent. Concord group was one organisation that gave me another good opportunity to excel. I set up the Concord London bureau from the scratch. The Managing Director of Concord then, Henry Odukomaya, was one of the greatest editors of Daily Times. As a refined writer, he influenced me greatly in writing and management.

After putting in many years, I moved to Africa Now as the General Editor. It was at Africa Now that I had the rare privilege of working closely with the great Peter Enahoro (Peter Pan). I gained so much from him, in terms of Nigerian politics of the 60s of which he became a victim because he had to leave Nigeria after the January 15, 1966 coup and lived for a long time in exile in Europe. My exit from African Now led me to Newswatch Magazine, where, again, I was the pioneer London Bureau chief. It was while there that I survived the October 19, 1986 parcel bomb that killed Dele Giwa. After the incident, I went into exile for eight years. Practising journalism after the experience was quite scary, but rather than it frightening me, it strengthened me. I believe journalism is my destiny.

New challenge
After 10 years of working with Newswatch Magazine and 18 years of working as a foreign correspondent, I needed a new challenge. That adventurous spirit in every journalist emboldened me to set up Africa Today Magazine. It is a news magazine that reports Africa in terms of news reporting, analysis and features, not just for the benefit of Africans but for the whole international community. The magazine is passionately African, geared at changing the way we are perceived globally. The things I learnt over the years stood me in good stead for my future career, because today, I am a publisher and editor-in-chief of an international/national magazine of repute. Africa Today will be 14 years old this year. It has been a long struggle, but I believe I am not there yet. I have dreams which I have not fully realized for Africa Today. My dream is for the magazine to outlive me.

Frustrating
Journalism in Nigeria can be very frustrating, but I would advice the new crop of reporters to be professional in their duty. Don’t cut corners. Don’t take brown envelopes. The brown envelope is an age long malaise and sore spot in the image of the profession in Nigeria. Don’t get yourself involved, work hard on your stories and build up good contacts and reputation. The good contacts you have would determine the kind of stories you can do.

Instrument of last resort
In places where Freedom of Information Bill exists, it is useful for professional journalists to know that it is there as an instrument of last resort. I believe most journalists do their job not based on the mindset that FOIB is lurking somewhere in the corner, but because they feel it is their duty. It is only when they hit a stumbling block that they resort to the bill.

Journalists should do their job first before thinking of the bill. In an environment like Nigeria where many people don’t want their evil deeds to be exposed, it might look obvious that they won’t want the bill to see the light of day. But not wanting yourself to be exposed when you have done something bad, challenges journalists’ sense of professionalism. This is because a good journalist would always want to carry out his duty in the interest of the public. But even at that, its absence has not prevented us from conducting in-depth investigations.

Motivational factor
Journalism in Nigeria and abroad is two worlds apart. The environments are different and there is job satisfaction. In the western world, once you are employed as a newspaper reporter, the first two tools that would come your way is a laptop and company’s credit card. With the card, you can move about with ease and do your work from any part of the globe. The salary scale is far higher than what we have here.

I even learnt that some media houses owe their employees wages. It is bad. But then the standard of living in those places compared to Nigeria is obviously higher. In the 70s and 80s, media houses in Nigeria had the wherewithal to provide good condition of service for its staffs. I was a beneficiary of such condition. The fat salaries international journalists earn don’t make them indulge in unwholesome practices that degrade the profession. They do their job and they cover their beats effectively.