Prologue to Azuh Arinze's Journalism Encounters

Encounters: Lessons from my Journalism Career

Prologue by Chijioke Azuawusiefe

      Human interactions generate memories and lessons. Positive lessons enrich and equip the individuals involved with a base for favorable future relationships. Not-so-positive ones provide them with insights on how to remodel similar experiences going forward. In Encounters: Lessons from my Journalism Career, Azuh Arinze captivatingly recounts some of the significant associations that made his career and shares the most inspiring takeaways of competence, dedication, hard work, tenacity, generosity, and gratitude which he has painstakingly teased out from those life-changing relationships in his close-to-three-decades outstanding profession as a consummate journalist. 

        For seventeen years, Azuh, whom I call “Igwe Journalism” because of the mastery and preeminent command he demonstrates in the exercise of his métier, worked at Fame and Encomium Weekly, two of the most influential soft sell magazines of their time and the Facebook and Instagram of their day. Who read Encomium in its heyday and did not eagerly look forward to Azuh’s “Potpourri” column to catch up with “the latest gist” on which celebrity showed up at which upscale hangout or club, did what, with whom, and then zoomed off in the latest model of their vehicle brand, with registration number XYZ? Yes, Azuh was (and still is) that thorough. He would go on to edit Encomium for eight years, after editing (from 1999 to 2000) its sister publication, Reel Stars—one of the first magazines dedicated to covering Nollywood and its stars, filmmakers, and marketers.

Since 2011, Azuh has published Nigeria’s most respected celebrity journal, YES INTERNATIONAL magazine. In the course of his quick rise to the top of his game, he encountered the abundance of the good of humanity that he shares with his readers in Encounters. But he also tells them that he attained this enviable height in his profession because he learnt from the best in the game. From the urbane boss and his lifelong mentor who taught him the ropes of his craft, Mr. Kunle Bakare, to the meticulous editor who gave him his first stint as a trainee journalist, Mr. Femi Akintunde-Johnson, and the flamboyant publisher who changed the face of glossy soft sell magazine in Nigeria, Bashorun Dele Momodu, Azuh received his tutelage from the most experienced hands in his line of work.

But Azuh does more than just recall and share these encounters; he appreciates, and he gives thanks. He expresses gratitude for the contributions of the individuals on whose shoulders he stood and continues to stand in order to see further. Gratitude, that singular virtue which St. Ignatius of Loyola said causes the heavens to rejoice, remains a recurring theme in Azuh’s encounter stories. Azuh always circles back to how thankful he is for each and every encounter. Without fail, he prays that God bless each individual whose kindness he narrates.

Beyond telling Azuh’s appreciative stories, Encounters also reflects current global trends in journalism. It not only bridges the old and the new of the print media and the new media, it equally signals the future of journalism in today’s Nigeria, a future connected to the state of the profession in a globalized economy. The Internet caused a seismic shift in the world of print journalism, with the new media both opening up and diversifying the playing field. It changed the game for traditional journalists within the rapidly evolving terrain. Increasingly, a lot of contemporary writing began to take place within this space. Millennials, particularly, dived in with gusto; and bloggers started cashing in real big. Content has always been king, but this time around those who guaranteed a steady and juicy supply of it became the kingmakers. The media landscape became inundated with a steady stream of new entrants and quickly turned into uneven grounds. Struggling to keep pace in the quicksand of this constantly and speedily innovating domain, some traditional media gatekeepers tried to fight off the new media trend. But it was a lost battle from the start. Many media organizations could not innovate fast enough and a lot of them closed shops as a result.

Azuh, however, embraced the shift early. He was one of the first soft sell publishers in Nigeria to make the switch. Not only does he today run an active website for his YES INTERNATIONAL, he also understands the need to interact with his readers beyond the web and print pages of the magazine. Facebook provides him the platform for that interface and connection. He has successfully carved out a niche for himself therein for a kind of personal diary journalism, sharing every week with his teeming followers the spellbinding and inspiring stories of some of the most engaging encounters of his journalism vocation. He teases out the impressive and life-changing lessons he learned from those human engagements; and because those lessons draw from relatable human stories, they speak to and resonate with his readers. So, the readers keep a date with his weekly sharing of those lessons, expectantly waiting for the next Saturday and for the next encounter. Now they wait no more. Encounters presents those Facebook-published stories as well as new materials not yet published. In total, it features 60 uplifting, inspiring, and riveting stories, all told with the mastery of Azuh’s “aka ochie”—that his inimitable old hand at outstanding journalism writing.

Readers of Encounters will, however, learn much more than Azuh’s intended takeaways. They will also learn about the man Azuh Arinze himself, the one who (with this book, his fifth) has continued to evolve “from a prolific entertainment writer to [a] prolific editor and now … a prolific book writer,” according to Tolani Abati, Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly. Beyond his hard work, the professionalism, attention to detail, and tenacity as well as the single-mindedness with which Azuh engages his duties and pursues his occupation, his readers will as well learn about his charming personality, exceptional human relation skills, and grateful heart.

More than what Azuh lets on about himself, however, the people he encounters also have beautiful things to say about him and their interactions with the ever-smiling Ichie Odenigbo from Azia in Anambra State, husband to the elegant and industrious boss of First Impressions and Yes Fabrics, Lady Nkoli (Agbara-Ichie Odiuko). Dame Bianca Ojukwu writes, for instance, in her response to Azuh’s Facebook post about his encounter with her, that “in those days when gutter or ‘junk’ journalism held sway,” Azuh remained a “cut above the rest.” The former Nigeria’s ambassador to Spain and current permanent representative to the UN World Tourism Organization continues in praise of Azuh: “Ever armed with an olive branch and with your ‘I come in Peace’ approach, you always had a disarming effect on your subjects. As a young journalist, you were both professional and tenacious, determined not to cut corners in your approach to reportage, and it is this quality that has sustained your multiple successes to this day…” Then the former beauty queen concludes: “You’re one of the kindest and most compassionate people I am privileged to know!”

Azuh has gone on to sustain enduring relationships with most of the people of his encounters. Lady Onyeka Onwenu and Dame Comfort Obi, for example, became godmothers to his brilliant and beautiful daughters, Mimi and Nekky, respectively. The likes of Messrs. Udeme Ufot, Tunji Olugbodi, Ken-Calebs Olumese, Ausbeth Ajagu, Leo Stan Ekeh, Bisi Olatilo, Emeka Oparah, Julius Agwu, Saint Obi, and Teco Benson (the list goes on), have remained mentors to and/or friends with Azuh.

But Azuh does not only benefit from these encounters; he continues to pay them forward. He too has also become the launch pad from which a lot of those who come after him have sprung into their blossoming careers. The likes of prominent entertainers such as comedian I Go Dye and singer Korede Bello bear testament to the instrumental role Azuh played in kick-starting their careers. I Go Dye, for instance, always speaks of how Azuh gave him the opportunity and platform that exploded his “ministry,” as Nigerians are wont to say. Azuh had seen him perform during a music intermission at Lagbaja’s Motherlan in Ikeja and then invited him, a budding comedian at the time, to perform at the Encomium’s 2000 Award for Music Excellence in Nigeria (AMEN). But that auspicious act did not end there. When he informed Azuh that he did not possess a befitting wardrobe to go with appearing on such a big stage, Azuh not only gave him the set of clothing that he wore, he also asked him to keep them afterwards. I Go Dye’s stellar performance at AMEN introduced him to the world. Korede, on the other hand, was an intern at YES INTERNATIONAL when, on a music beat assignment, he first met and interviewed popular producer and Mavin Records boss Don Jazzy (who later signed him to his label).

Even Azuh’s senior colleague Bashorun Dele Momodu attests to Azuh’s contribution to Ovation International’s initial rise to prominence when he credits Azuh for reporting the story that brought the magazine to the world’s attention. In a “Pendulum” column piece to celebrate the magazine’s 20th anniversary in 2016, Momodu wrote that it was Azuh’s article in Ovation's second edition, which reported the Nigerian roots of the Grammy Award-winning singer Seal, that placed the magazine on the world stage. Stunned by the revelation of Seal’s ancestry, the foreign media (particularly tabloids like America’s National Enquirer, with a four million weekly circulation then, and onetime Britain’s leading tabloid, The Mirror) that had before then reported on Seal as a Brazilian, beat their path, metaphorically, to Ovation’s London office, requesting permission to cull the story. The astute businessman that he is, Momodu declined their offers of payment but insisted instead that they acknowledge Ovation in their widely circulated papers. “It gave us massive exposure,” he wrote and "it was a loud ovation” for the new magazine from then on.

Since Encounters recounts other people’s impacts on Azuh’s life, I will conclude this prologue by sharing a particularly significant role that Azuh, who happens to be my elder brother, played in my vocation as a priest. Early in the process of discerning my call more than two decades ago, as I made up my mind to join the Jesuits instead of going to university, I was gripped, for some unfounded reasons, by a crippling anxiety that my dad might not approve of my choice. Dad was the only surviving child out of many births from his mother. So, having his children continue his lineage, I had figured, might not be something he would countenance compromising by accenting to a non-procreating way of life for one of his sons. Besides, we had never really discussed priesthood or vocation per se in the family prior to that period. So, I didn’t want to get into disobeying him in order to go to the seminary, should he say no. 

One evening, I made my worries known to my big brother, Baba ’Ryzona, as I affectionately call him. He didn’t see why Dad would not support my choice and so asked me to go with him to talk to Dad. We knocked on the door and entered our parents' room. Dad raised his head from his reading desk and looked at us with inquiring eyes. ’Ryzona nudged me to state my case, as it were. I mustered the courage and did. “I want to become a priest,” I told Dad. He looked at me and asked if that was what I really wanted to do. I responded in the affirmative. Then he asked what would happen to my plans of going to university and I responded that I would discontinue with those. “Well, if that’s what you’re sure you want to do,” the old man said, “you have my blessings.” And that was it! Relief, like cool breeze, washed over me. Baba ’Ryzona and I walked back to our room and continued with our chitchat. 

That’s Azuh for you. That’s been the Arinze I call my big brother; the one that always steps in to assist—with his presence, with his smiles, with his kind words of advice, and with his treasure. That encounter, just like many others like it, places him in the category of those whose impact on his own life he relates in this enthralling book that’s certain to become an instant bestseller. Each unique encounter, recalled and told with no embellishments, is made memorable by the intensity of its recollected experience and the veracity of its telling. Azuh definitely lives up to the “Igwe Journalism” sobriquet; and Encounters is a beautifully written and captivating book that tells enchanting, engrossing, and enriching stories of positive and constructive human engagements.

Chijioke Azuawusiefe, SJ

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, USA

January 2020

*Fr. Chijioke, a Jesuit priest, researches media, religion, and culture. He’s the founding editor of Gratitude magazine and former director of development for North-West Africa Jesuits.