Lagos: Veteran journalist Yakubu Mohammed has revealed that an unexplainable friction between the late Chief MKO Abiola and himself, along with late Dele Giwa and Ray Ekpu, was a catalyst in the founding of Nigeria’s first weekly news magazine, Newswatch. Mohammed, who co-founded Newswatch in 1984 with Giwa, Ekpu, and Dan Agbese, shared these insights in his memoir, “Beyond Expectations.”
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Mohammed was the Editor of National Concord while Giwa served as the Editor of Sunday Concord. Ekpu was part of the Editorial Board, and Agbese was the Editor of the New Nigerian Newspaper. Mohammed noted that Giwa’s iconoclastic approach to journalism was a primary source of tension in their relationship with Abiola.
He recounted that the trio’s professional contributions significantly enhanced the visibility and public image of National Concord, often making them the subject of attention at social events. However, an in-house fashion competition initiated by staff writer May Ellen Ezekiel (MEE) added to the strained relations. The competition, which rated Giwa higher than Abiola, was seen as a misjudgment that did not sit well with Abiola.
Further tensions arose when Abiola queried the trio for conducting an exclusive interview with Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, the then military Head of State, in 1984. Instead of receiving praise for the journalistic scoop, the editors were met with coldness, as Abiola had been distanced by the new military regime of Buhari and Idiagbon.
Mohammed explained that these ongoing frictions eventually motivated them to seek investors for a new weekly news magazine, inspired by Time and Newsweek, which led to the establishment of Newswatch.