By Onochie Anibeze, Saturday Editor

1990: I was already seated in the plane when I saw Uncle Sam walk in. He took his seat in the First Class area. I quickly walked up to him to greet him before take-off. He was surprised to see me on board. “Where are you headed?” he fired after warm pleasantries.

“I’m going to cover the league match between NNPC and ACB in Warri,” I answered. “I’ll see you when we land,” he told me. I went back to my seat. We were on Okada Air Lagos-Benin Friday evening flight.

On landing in Benin, he asked me when the match would take place and I told him Saturday afternoon. “Then follow me,” he ordered. Two people were with him and two cars were waiting. They all entered into one car and I got into the second one. Destination was Sapele. We went for dinner somewhere in town, in a big man’s house.

I was a rookie in the profession and didn’t know the men with Uncle Sam and whose house we had dinner. But I didn’t need anybody to tell me that they were wealthy.

The atmospherics confirmed that. Uncle Sam is known for exposing his reporters. He mixes with everybody – the low and the mighty.

His simplicity creates some conviviality that makes you part of him. Dinner over, the journey continued to his house in Sapele. I sat in one corner of the living room while he chatted with his friends. It was getting about 10 pm when his steward came to take me to the guest room where I would pass the night. Uncle Sam reached for his wallet, drew out some cash and told the steward: “take this, go find entertainment wey go make Onochie sleep well.”

What would that ‘entertainment’ be? More drinks? A woman? I didn’t know but the gesture overwhelmed me. Till date, Uncle Sam’s hospitality knows no bounds. “No need, sir. I’m fine. I will sleep well,’’ I protested against handing money over to the steward for my ‘night entertainment.’ Uncle Sam was smiling and had to repeat “are you sure you will be fine?”. ‘I will, , thank you so much, sir.’

 At day break, on my way to Warri for the match, Uncle Sam bid me farewell with an amount of money almost same with what Vanguard had officially given me for the assignment. That’s a slight picture of the generosity that defines Uncle Sam. Fast forward to 1994. I was in London to cover Super Eagles friendly match with England. Uncle Sam was in his guest house in London at the time and I decided to visit him before checking into any hotel.

“Wow, you’re here,” he said excitedly, helping me to remove my winter jacket and hanging it where others were. It was in November and the cold was really biting. He quickly made two cups of coffee and offered me one. “This place is better than any hotel you would want to stay. I’m leaving for Nigeria tonight. I’ll tell you where you can drop the key after your stay.” He took me round the house, showed me my room, the kitchen and the things I would need throughout my stay in London. I settled down immediately and quickly made calls to Chidi Nwanu, Daniel Amokachi who was at Everton then and some other players who were yet to arrive London for the match.

Right there, I started writing my reports and sending them to Lagos. Kingsley Onye who had retired from football but living in London gave me an insight that enriched my preview. “If Eagles would win, it would be 2-1 or 3-1. I say so because David Platt would surely score and he would do that with a header,” Onye, nicknamed ‘Mature’ said to me. I added it in my report. Nigeria eventually lost by a lone goal, headed in by David Plat. My respect to people who follow the game.

Uncle Sam left me in the house and again parted with some pounds that took care of my stay in London. Huge bonus for me as Vanguard had officially paid for the trip.

Uncle Sam’s kindness, mentorship, the camaraderie he displays, the professionalism he promotes combine to make Vanguard Newspapers the family it has remained 40 years down the line.

I have experienced this sweet experience and still living it at the Canal (as Vanguard premises is known) since I joined the stable. That’s why I’m one of those who could claim to be the Franco Baresi of Nigerian journalism. Baresi played all his football in AC Milan, lasting up to 20 years, 15 of which he was captain. He never played elsewhere. He started in AC Milan and retired there. He won everything there – six league titles, three Champions League titles and even the World Cup.

Uncle Sam exudes the kind of spirit in Vanguard that kept Baresi in Milan. The goodies I mentioned above are extended to all. He is not just your publisher, he is also your mentor, a counsellor, a father and most importantly, a friend. It is his nature that has made Vanguard the family it is all these years. People who have left the company still talk about the family life in Vanguard , thanks to Uncle Sam who chats and eats with everybody in the Canal (our restaurant), no matter how lowly placed.

Emma Huesu was doing a good job for us on the sports desk. His French background helped our sports coverage tremendously. Radio Gabon truly lived up to its name, Numero Une (number one) of sports coverage in Africa. They ran live commentaries of many sports events in Europe. Their daily sports programme covered African players in Europe. Chris Okojie and Ikeddy Isiguzo, who succeeded him as Sports Editor of Vanguard had set an unbelievable pace in sports coverage.

We were unarguably the best. I was determined to sustain that sports culture when I became Sports Editor in 1992. If we were beaten to any story it was that sourced from Radio Gabon or Radio France. Of course, this was the era before internet. We sourced foreign reports mainly from VOA, BBC and Radio Gabon.

Emma Huesu understood French. He spoke it fluently and even wrote it excellently. Paul Bassey read French at University of Calabar. He enriched the Champion sports pages with stories sourced from Radio France and Radio Gabon. I hired Emma Huesu to challenge Paul Bassey, my senior colleague and a contemporary of Ikeddy Isiguzo. Huesu did a pretty good job of it. Bassey would not have that. He lured Emma Huesu to Champion. I tried to stop that move by offering a better salary to him. Frank Aigbogun, our editor then backed me. We offered Huesu bigger pay to remain in Vanguard. He thanked me for my efforts but eventually left for Champion Newspapers.

I would not allow them outdo us in sports coverage. That shouldn’t happen in my time as sports editor. I went to Standard of Jos and hired Emma Epong, another guy who translated French very well. Epong did more. He would gather French newspapers and magazines and we had juicy news stories and interviews granted by African players in Europe. Those were days we had up to three to four pages of sports reports daily. Barely one year after Huesu left, he wanted to return to Vanguard. I asked him why. His reason would amaze you:

“There’s no place like Vanguard, Onochie. Vanguard is a family. I’m missing that family life in Vanguard. In Vanguard, you as sports editor could approve a trip and the IOU would be paid. In Champion, that approval may still pass through up to 10 people before payment. That’s not the only thing. You can’t beat the family life in Vanguard. I want to return to the Vanguard family.”

Huesu’s remarks are still pertinent today that we celebrate Vanguard at 40.

The sports desk once boasted, at various times, of Abimbola Akinloye, Philip Ahante, Seyi Fasugba who went to Champion too, Eyobong Ita, Tony Ahigbe, Chuks Ugwuoke , Fidelis Ebu etc.

There were photographers like McJohn, Bodise-Wise, George Esiri and Sylva Eleanya. Akinloye wrote the column AT LARGE. He would have actually succeeded Ikeddy but he left for another paper and the mantle fell on me as the third sports editor of the newspaper since it’s inception. We have only had four. STABILITY.

The family nature of Vanguard Newspapers is one of the things I celebrate most till date. It is championed by head of the family, Uncle Sam. He has not changed. He associates with everybody and makes one have a sense of belonging.

Few days ago, when Vanguard turned 40 on June 3 and we were discussing the newspaper after our pioneer editor Muyiwa Adetiba initiated the talks, we agreed to write short tributes to mark when the paper went daily. Nnnana Ochereome, current chairman of our editorial board said to me: “Some of us were reading about SportsVanguard hotline before joining. It will be nice to know if there was truly a hotline.” Well, Vanguard stood out in three major areas from the early days. Sports, Features that celebrated family and human interest stories and news.

Our sports pages were authoritative, insightful and full of exclusive stories. Chris Okojie was a master, Ikeddy Isiguzo who succeeded him was classic and in a world of his own. I was lucky to have worked with them and when the mantle fell on me as sports editor, I pulled all strings, attempting to fill their big shoes.

Internet had at that time not extended to our shores. We first transmitted stories through telex and later fax machines. Not all companies had international telephone lines. We had one in Vanguard and that became out hotline. We were calling our stars abroad. Much later, we started contacting the likes of Stephen Keshi, Peter Rufai, Rashidi Yekini who were in Europe and they fed us with stories that were exclusive to us.

Vanguard maintained a relationship others didn’t have with many of our stars. Ikeddy had sown some seeds that we were reaping from, especially from track and field. I later had contacts in FIFA, the football governing body, MIPTC and ITF, the two major bodies in tennis.

When Alex Akinyele as chairman of our sports commission held press conference to announce that FIFA had lifted their ban on Nigeria, I contacted FIFA. While others celebrated Akinyele’s statement Vanguard came out with a banner headline – IT’S A LIE, NIGERIA REMAINS BANNED. It was a red-hot exclusive that sold out the newspaper before noon.

Ikeddy was still the sports editor then. Chief Gabriel Igbinedion was spending money, preparing for the second Okada Tennis Classic, a Challenger series tourney when Vanguard published what shocked our tennis world. Nigeria had also been banned that year and Okada, one of the challenger series tournaments would not hold.

Chief Igbinedion called me personally to thank me for the information that made him to stop spending on preparation. Yes, we had a hotline that boosted our sports coverage. At a time, I was even allowed to take home a wireless IDD line I used in calling players at night. Sports remains special to us in Vanguard. Tony Ubani took the baton from me when I was appointed Saturday Editor. He is still running a good race.

All the editors know the special place sports holds in Vanguard and key in behind a publisher who likes and promotes sports so much that he could offer ‘night entertainment’ to his sports journalist not only to motivate him but also to show LOVE.

It is the love that Uncle Sam radiates that has made Vanguard the most stable newspaper in terms of staffing. In 40 years we have had only six editors – Muyiwa Adetiba, Toye Akiode, Frank Aigbogun, Gbenga Adefaye, Mideno Bayagbon and Eze Anaba. The number is even less in sports. There, we have had Chris Okojie, Ikeddy Isiguzo, Onochie Anibeze and Tony Ubani. I believe that this stability is a reflection of the professionalism and good conscience of Uncle Sam.

40 years on, we are still living his dreams amid some challenges that have affected our pace. However, our struggle TOWARDS A BETTER LIFE FOR THE PEOPLE continues in our refreshingly different ways. Happy 40th anniversary, Vanguard Newspapers. Onward, we shall continue to march.

Vanguard News