Mr. Areoye Oyebola was the editor of the Daily Times before the July 29, 1975 coup that ushered in the regime of Late Gen. Murtala Muhammed. He was removed in a controversial manner by the management of the company for failing to be alive to his responsibility as the editor during the time of the military coup. Thirty-nine years after the incident, he spoke on his experience and other issues.

Can you remember what happened on the day you were removed as the editor of Daily Times by Babatunde Jose?

On the day of the late Gen. Murtala Muhammed coup, I heard the announcement through Gen. Joe Garba on the radio. He said that the military government of Gen. Yakubu Gowon had been removed by a coup. He promised to give details about the coup later in the day. I left for the office immediately after the announcement.

At the office, I met Babatunde Jose and Segun Osoba assisting Martin Iroabuchi, who was the Evening Times editor. Iroabuchi was a graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He travelled with me to London when I went for a course, shortly before I became Daily Times editor in 1972. He was a very competent hand and I wondered why he was not left alone to do his work. Without Jose and Osoba beside him, he would have done a good job because the situation was straightforward. All he had to do was to make the coup announcement his lead.

I invited my team to a meeting in my office on the first edition of the paper. To me, it was meaningless to be monitoring the Evening Times editor, who had a simpler job to do and who was competent. Throughout the meeting period, Osoba did not show up. The rest of the editorial staff were surprised, they kept wondering why he was not there.

We produced the first edition without his input and I went back home hoping to return in the evening for the second edition. The members of staff on night shift were around with the coordinator, Ayo Adefolaju, who was a veteran on the job and a columnist at the time. The news editor (night) was also around as well as Lade Bonuola, the chief sub-editor who later became the Guardian Newspaper’s Managing Director.

Osoba did not tell the truth when he said in his interview with SUNDAY PUNCH of June 29, 2014 that I left the office and dismissed the workers on duty. As far as I am concerned, he was the one who left his job undone.

Osoba said Bonuola was trying to get money from the management to buy snacks for the staff but you dismissed them because of a curfew imposed by the new military government.

Like I said earlier, Bonuola was one of the workers around and he is alive today. Adefolaju coordinated the night’s activities. When I was acting for Sam Amuka as Sunday Times editor, Bonuola was with me. He is a man of integrity and honest character. It was a cruel and blatant story from Osoba. After three years as editor, how could I dismiss workers on a crucial day like the day of a coup?

Why would Osoba lie when he had no disagreement with you?

The truth is that he was disloyal and treacherous to me. When I became the editor on July 1, 1972, an experienced journalist came to congratulate me in my office. He said Jose had a sinister motive by making Osoba my deputy. He said he was sorry for me. As a Christian, I prayed to God and put everything in God’s hands. Osoba worked against me and he did not hide it.

Were you aware that Osoba had some vital information on the coup through his contact that made the paper juicier the second day?

The story he claimed to have got from a friend of his or his contact was a lie. It was a public announcement and all the newspapers published it. An announcement about the coup was made early in the morning and later in the day, the detailed story was released by the army. He did not have any special information. We did not publish any story better than what other papers had. Osoba was lying about the coup.

Why did you not return for the second edition on the day of the coup?

I left office after the first edition around 5pm in a hired taxi because my official car had a problem. I lived in Surulere and our office was on the Lagos Island. But when I got home, a curfew was announced which did not exclude anyone. Normally, people offering essential services should have been exempted.

The taxi driver did not come back to drive me to the office. I did everything possible including trekking to the end of Eko Bridge before I was turned back. The truth is that even if I was not there, the paper would have been produced by those on night duty. In the morning, Osoba came to my house and said that they were worried that they did not see me in the evening. He said that a scooter rider was sent to me but he was sent back by the army. I did not know that he had planned something bad for me. I went to Dodan Barracks later and told Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida that they committed serious error with the curfew declaration.

Did you notice any act of disloyalty from Osoba prior to the day of the coup?

In 1973, I travelled to the United States and during the time, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo was a guest lecturer at the University of Ibadan anniversary. He said at the event that Adamu Ciroma and I were great products of the institution who had dominated the newspaper industry. We had a reporter at the event who wrote the story but my deputy, Osoba, refused to use it, while all other newspapers celebrated it. When I returned home, I asked him why he killed the story but he had no answer.

Why was Jose not happy with your emergence?

Jose was after me because of a personal reason that is connected to his family. He was very powerful and high-handed. I later knew why he wanted me out and I challenged him. He removed me on that same night and replaced me with Osoba without investigating why I was not in the office that night. Murtala and Obasanjo were furious with him. They asked him why he had to remove me when I had never committed an offence. They queried his decision and asked him why he did not give me another chance even if I had committed a breach.

Awolowo came to Jose’s Apapa residence and asked him why he had to remove a man that had received rare commendation from everyone because of his work. Osoba lied when he said that Jose announced my removal at a board meeting. It was a ploy that he was privy to and he is now trying to defend it. There was no board meeting before my removal.

The decision was so unpopular and it caused a big protest in Daily Times. The staff formed a Joint Action Committee. The pressure was so much that Osoba had to leave after less than three months in office. Jose was also asked to resign by a committee formed by the government to investigate my ouster. The crisis consumed two of them. Osoba did not tell the truth again when he said that he was persuaded by his friend, S.B. Awoniyi to leave because of the crisis.

How did you surmount the career challenge?

I had no problem because after I was exonerated of all blames, the military government made me a commissioner in the old Western State. Two years later, I resigned to face my publishing work. For a long time, Jose’s action was the talking point in the Nigerian media. He was described as power drunk. People said since I was a graduate, a graduate should have succeeded me and not Osoba. Gbolabo Ogunsanwo was frequently mentioned as my able successor.

Have you had the opportunity to straighten things out with Osoba?

I have decided to move on with my life. It was a long time ago and God has been good to me. I am a Christian and from now on, I will not speak on the matter again. It’s not worth speaking about Osoba again. I will not react to anything he says again.

– Courtesy: The Punch