DAME: Ajibade dedicates award to Macebuh, Olaniyan

By Isa Isawade

The Executive Editor/Director of PMNEWS and TheNEWS Magazine, Mr Kunle Ajibade, who was on Saturday 30 November 2024 honoured by the Diamond Awards for Media Excellence (DAME) in Lagos, immediately after collecting the award dedicated it to the blessed memories of two great Nigerians who defined humanity in their lifetimes- Dr Stanley Macebuh and Prof. Tejumola Olaniyan.

Below is the short but moving speech that captivated the audience at the DAME 2024 event, succinctly announcing his decision to dedicate the award to the duo:

There are two people whose fond memories I would like to honour with this award: Dr Stanley Macebuh who died 14 years ago and Professor Tejumola Olaniyan who died exactly 5 years ago today. Both of them were amazing spirits of enlightenment. When Dr Macebuh was the Managing Director of The Guardian, that paper was a big tent that sheltered gifted artists and writers. Stories were carefully investigated and wonderfully written. Dr Macebuh who had written a fascinating book on James Baldwin did not like sloppy editing. He infused the Editorial Board of The Guardian with gravitas and its OP-ED pages with panache. Those were magical years of print journalism. We must never forget one of these illustrious ancestors.

One of the hallmarks of Dr Macebuh’s The Guardian was the vibrant Literary Series for which Professor Tejumola Olaniyan wrote many articles while he was at the University of Ife where he made a first class. He later went to Cornell University for his doctorate. And then taught at the Universities of Virginia, Charlottesville and Wisconsin-Madison. He was a star scholar and talented writer.

Tejumola wrote illuminatingly on Wole Soyinka, Derek Walcott, Amiri Baraka, and Fela Ransome-Kuti, among others. He was working on cartoons and cartoonists in Africa at the time of his passing. Incandescent anger became the flip side of my sorrow over his death because, my friend, Teju was a huge library senselessly destroyed by death. My hope is that our country, our continent, will eventually find replacements for these ancestors.

Once again, I thank Mr. Lanre Idowu and the Board of Trustees and judges of DAME for this award. And I thank all of you so much for listening and sharing this moment of joy with me. I want you to know that I feel deeply honoured.