BY AUGUSTINE AVWODE
Waheed Odusile came into government in October 2020, as Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Ogun State, with many years’ experience as a media guru under his belt.
He started his career as a broadcast journalist and later switched to print media at the defunct National Concord Newspaper in 1985 as a reporter. He rose steadily to become an Assistant Editor and later Deputy Editor, Sunday Concord, before he joined ThisDay Newspaper as Group News Editor.
There, he was at various times Group Politics Editor and Group Foreign Affairs Editor before joining Daily Sun, a popular tabloid, as Assistant Editor. From there, he moved with Louis Odion to establish National Life newspaper, where he was the pioneer Editor. When National Life was rested, Odusile was seconded to The Nation Newspaper as Managing Editor.
Interestingly, he was not just in the newsroom as a top editor managing the business of informing the public about events in the society, he was also an accomplished unionist fighting to secure the best deal for his professional colleagues from the management of sundry media houses.
His gentle and unhurried carriage belies his activist and unionist dispositions. Odusile’s concern was majorly in the areas of re-positioning the Nigeria Union of Journalists, and journalism as a profession to attain its rightful position as an important stakeholder in the project of developing the country. He was also passionate about achieving capacity building for media practitioners in Nigeria and, above all, purging the profession of quacks.
His activism saw him take part in the activities of the NUJ early in his career. He was elected Secretary while at Concord Press of Nigeria.
He then served as Vice Chairman in Lagos State and later became a member of NUJ’s National Executive Committee. In 2015 he was elected National President of the NUJ. He was also President of the Federation of African Journalists and a member of the International Federation of Journalists.
Festus Eriye, Editor, The Nation on Sunday and member of the Guild of Editors, described Odusile as a calm, hardworking individual who is a stickler for excellence. He attributed this to the high standard expected of the profession in the days when Odusile began his career.
“Waheed is a stickler for excellence because he is one of those who belong to, as we call it, the old school. And so, the standard that was expected by those under whom he served reflects in what he demands from those who work with him and under him, too.
“So, obviously those standards are a bit high for some of the younger people who have worked under him. I know that he is a hard worker and somebody that is also very calm,” he vouched.
On how it was relatively easy for him to combine two demanding tasks, Eriye would rather let Odusile answer how he was able to juggle unionism with top editorial jobs, two highly demanding tasks.
“Speaking like an outsider looking in, I would think that there are some things in a man’s character that will enable him to juggle two highly demanding roles as a unionist and a senior journalist. But he is in a better position to explain,” he said.
Of course, Odusile did explain.
“It is just a simple task as far as I was concerned because both, one an assignment, the other a job are founded on the same principle of truth and justice.”
He added, “You know in journalism, you stick to some ethics and respect facts. They say facts are sacred. And you treat it as such. As a unionist, of course, all your actions must be based on facts because once you do not base your actions on falsehood, I expect you to succeed. Both are complimentary. There wasn’t much of a problem to juggle the two and go along with them.
“The ethics of journalism forbids you from pandering to sentiments. You treat issues based on facts; be fair and just and always listen to both sides of the story. So, it is the same with unionism, we protect the interest of our members. I was expected to look after the interest of workers and ensure that agreements reached with them are respected.
“While I do that, I also ensure that the workers give their best to their organizations because they also have interests to be protected. So, we cast an eye on the organizations without necessarily dictating to them and on the other hand, ensure the workers give their best to their organizations. Of course, I always tell people that to be a successful unionist; you must also be good professionally. You must be a good journalist first, before being a good unionist because you can’t hide under unionism not to give your best to your organization. No way. So, it wasn’t much of a problem. Both were complementary.”
“Waheed is a stickler for excellence because he is one of those who belong to, as we call it, the old school. And so, the standard that was expected by those under whom he served reflects in what he demands from those who work with him and under him”
Deji Elumoye, former chairman, Lagos NUJ Council, also described Odusile as a thorough-bred professional with over three decades experience as a journalist.
“He has seen it all, having risen from a rookie reporter with the National Concord Newspaper to become Editor of Sunday Concord before the Concord titles were rested a few years back. He was also at various times Foreign Editor and Group News Editor with ThisDay Newspapers, Associate Editor with The Nation. He is also a veteran in the NUJ politics, having served as Secretary of Concord Chapel of the NUJ, Vice Chairman of Lagos NUJ and ultimately as the National President of the Union, from 2015 to 2018,”Elumoye added.
For Kunle Somorin, Chief Press Secretary to the Ogun State Governor, Odusile is a calculating reporter in government.
“He is miserly with words but quick-witted and a team player. I’ve found a companion and trusted confidant and strategist in him since he joined us in working with the governor,”Somorin said.
For Odusile, there is no clash of interest owing to his previous experience as a journalist. On the contrary, it is a plus.
“Nothing like a clash of interest at all. Like I told you, any thoroughbred journalist will fit into any environment he finds himself in as long as he respects the principles of the sacredness of facts. As a spokesman for the government, I don’t subscribe to concealment of information but I will give out the facts as they are so that the populace can be better informed,” he said.
“A well informed populace is easier to govern than an uninformed populace. That you were once a journalist and now a government appointee doesn’t change anything or create conflict of interest. As long as you treat facts as sacred in journalism, you should be able to treat them as sacred when you get into government. The only difference is that you’re now exposed to different facts,” Odusile noted.
