Dele Giwa: Alive in Words

By Sam Akpe

Finally, here it is! Dele Giwa, the late journalism icon, is back — in prose. It’s breaking news! The Dele Giwa Journalism Research Centre — a digitalised archive that features the works of the late journalism legend, is now available.

The online construct is a research hub exclusively dedicated to exhibiting Dele Giwa’s intellectual contribution to the growth of the society — a confirmation of the unceasing impact of his journalistic exploits.

The virtual Centre is still work-in-progress. But since my first visit, I have not been able to take my eyes off the screen.

Daily, the site gets better and juicier in contents, as freshly-minted and appetising updates keep making their entry.

The website — a friendly ecosystem devoid of advertorial distractions — is designed to host everything — almost everything — written by Dele Giwa since he arrived in Nigeria from the United States of America in late 1979.

For example, his first column in the good old Daily Times, headlined, “Golden Fleece—I Think I Got It”, is as juicy in context and style as though it was published this morning. The story captures the day he arrived in the US, his academic pursuits, work experience, and his return to Nigeria.

For the post-1986 generation of Nigerians, the name Dele Giwa might sound strange, and even archaic. Someone is likely to ask: Who the heck was he? This is because some may not have heard of him or read any of his articles.

Prior to Dele’s unnatural death in 1986, the internet was still an unheard-of phenomenon waiting to be invented and used across the world. In its absence, the publication, storage and retrieval of information was comparatively in the analogue form. Dele was a pre-internet happening in Nigeria.

Until his return to Nigeria in 1979, even among the old generation journalists, the name Dele Giwa made no meaning to them, in spite of the fact he had spent more than four years as a news assistant at the New York Times — regarded as the world’s most influential newspaper.

Therefore, the web domain is constructed to honour his life, intellect, and legacy. More than that, it is meant to preserve the memories of Dele — as he was known by friends and colleagues — because he remains indisputably one of Nigeria’s most brilliant and courageous journalists.

The website comes as a relief to most of his colleagues who for 40 years — since his death — had tried every option, within limited resources, to keep his memory alive by publishing his acclaimed columns, which covered his tour of duty at the Daily Times, the Concord, and Newswatch magazine.

In 1997, Nyaknnoabasi Osso, the pioneer Newswatch librarian, who is regarded as the trusted custodian of Dele’s collection of published columns, had experimented on a book entitled, Parallax Snaps: The Writings of Dele Giwa. It was not a success story. In his autobiography, Osso narrates how he got to know Dele through Ray Ekpu, who was Dele’s close friend, long before Newswatch started.

I learnt that it was about a year ago that Nyaknnoabasi started discussions with Dele’s first son, Billy, on the need to preserve and promote Dele’s intellectual inheritance by creating an open podium for research, historical documentation, and scholarly engagement.

Dele’s family was excited by the idea. With Billy bankrolling the process, the Biographical Legacy and Research Foundation (BLERF) — a global information powerhouse founded by Nyaknnoabasi — was endorsed to power the innovation which today is gradually gaining world-wide attention.

The Centre, according to the mission statement of the founders, is fully dedicated to advancing the doctrines of ethical journalism anchored on truthfulness, integrity, and courage, while inspiring future generations to pursue excellence and principled reporting.

Before someone wonders why I am celebrating the innovation, let’s briefly look back at who Dele was and what he means to journalism. I never met Dele one-on-one. I was too insignificant in journalism at the time he flourished in the profession, after his return from New York Times to Nigeria’s Daily Times.

When he accepted the challenge of returning to Nigeria in 1979, he did so armed with a rock-solid professional credibility, which he earned at the New York Times. He was aware that not much had changed between when he left home and when he returned.

In his words, he knew that armed robbers were still sending notices of their visits to their victims. Public water supply was non-reliable. Electricity still flickered. Travelling by road was like being hell-bound. Still, he was persuaded by Dele Cole and the late Stanley Macebuh to return home.

My distant knowledge of Dele started during his ebbing days at the Sunday Concord, through his weekly column. Later in 1984 when I found myself in journalism school, my lecturers talked about him and Ray Ekpu with unhidden deference. That was when Newswatch magazine came on the scene.

Required by different instructors to do assignments which involved mass media content analysis, I found myself drawn to Dele’s writings. I discovered that his journalism was awe-inspiring — bold, scholarly at times, truthful, intellectually exciting, and stylishly yummy.

Even as a student reporter at the then Nigerian Chronicle where I did my internship, though I hardly understood the implied meanings of most of his thoughts captured in his weekly striking prose, I desired to write like Dele — I am still trying to.

From my findings, it was clear that the moment Dele appeared in the Nigerian journalism scene, something shifted. He was refreshing and unpretentious. Though disdained by the system, he was adored and even worshipped by others.

His column in the Daily Times, where he spent about a year, was a must-read. He was professionally tempestuous, because as they say in the local parlance, he was always shaking the table. He became a navy seal in the infantry squad — tough, demanding and fearless.

It was and still remains a wonder how Dele and Uncle Ray lasted so long at the Concord. At Newswatch, Dele led a pack of well-tested and dazzling news hunters. His was a generation of journalistic intellectual poster boys who paraded professional credentials that separated them from mere run-of-the-mill reporters.

The team reinvented journalism with excellent investigative reportage. Collectively and individually, they tried to be super ethical — disciplined, focused, and even rich. They pioneered the era when journalists started driving Mercedes Benz cars.

Analysis of Dele’s journalism style exposed the fact that he never liked satire — an evasive literary device which, for fear of repercussions, mocks a subject through indirect name-calling and mud-splashing. Dele loved to say what he wanted to say directly and fearlessly.

His journalism was designed to embody what the profession was intended to be — ethical and revolutionary. When you think about Dele’s journalistic style, you think boldness, think self-confidence, think facts, think ethical adherence, think audacity, and think influence.

Those who did not like Dele’s brand of reporting — and tried to label him the bogeyman of Nigerian journalism — were actually in love with his style, even when they were targets of his unsparing narratives. His words had enormous weight. He chose them carefully.

Dele did not seem to have permanent friends. This is however based on a distant perception. He had an enduring vision of practicing rule-based journalism without emotionally-induced distraction based on friendship. To him, what was right was right, and what was wrong was wrong — no strings attached.

On 19 October, 1986, a parcel was delivered to Dele’s home. His son received it from the strange delivery man and took it to him. It was a deadly gift item. Dele must have thought the parcel contained some document that would give Newswatch another exclusive story.

Seated with Dele in his study was the London correspondent of Newswatch magazine, Mr Kayode Soyinka, who was on a visit to Nigeria. Kayode has given a brief insight of what unfolded that moment in his memoir, Born Into Journalism—Memoir of a Newspaper Reporter.

Oddly, Dele was instructed by the sender, in writing, to open the pack by himself. With the parcel placed on his lap, he tore it open. Instantly, a loud explosion shook the entire building. Kayode narrowly survived to tell the story. Dele did not.

They killed him and created an evil metaphor: here was a man who stormed the Nigerian journalism scene with a detonated intellect and uncommon boldness expressed in his unputdownable prose, only to be bombed to death through an uncommon device.

There is a spine-chilling saying among the United States elite military group called the Navy Seals: “live fast, die young, and leave (behind) a good-looking corpse.” Dele lived fast, died young, and left behind an impeccable professional integrity.

It would demand a study in a field beyond human psychology to establish how, at age 39, when he died, Dele had achieved so much in his chosen career that those who tripled his age would never dream of in any discipline. He was still climbing when they cut him down.

His death signalled an increase in organised death sentences against journalists across the world. With tears in our eyes, let’s migrate to delegiwacentre.com for the tasty contents that stood him out of the crowd among his contemporaries.

Sam Akpe, a journalist, wrote from Abuja.

By Chijioke Okoronkwo

The recurring headline, “Another Nigerian Killed in South Africa”, has become a staple of both local and international news bulletins.

Most of these deaths result from xenophobic attacks, allegations of crime/drug dealing, and excessive use of force by the law enforcement agencies.

There are also reports of Nigerians killing Nigerians owing to criminal, cult and gang rivalries as well as business and personal disputes.

Available data from the Nigerian Union South Africa (NUSA) and the Nigerian Citizens Association South Africa (NICASA) indicates that between 2000 and 2020, more than 127 Nigerians were killed in South Africa.

Latest reports indicate that these killings continued in the subsequent years.

On Nov. 9, 2025, Mr Chikamnene Eddie Mmuonagorom, an indigene of Anambra, was stabbed to death in his home in Floville, Kimberley; On Feb. 8, Emeka Uzor, an indigene of Enugu State, was shot dead while in his vehicle at a Caltex filling station in Windsor East, Randburg, Johannesburg.

Most recently, on Feb. 11, Isaac Satlat, an indigene of Plateau, who was an e-hailing driver, was strangled to death in Pretoria by passengers (a man and a woman) who requested a ride via the Bolt app.

In the aftermath of each incident, statements and condemnations are issued and diplomatic engagements are initiated—oftentimes inconclusively. Then, another incident occurs.

The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) has consistently flayed the reoccurring menace.

NIDCOM Chief Executive Officer, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, in a statement by the commission’s Director of Media, Public Relations and Protocols, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, described the incidents as disturbing and urged South African authorities to ensure justice was served.

She also called for improved protection of Nigerians and other non-indigenes residing in the country.

Dabiri-Erewa said that that Nigeria and South Africa shared longstanding ties and expressed concern over recurring violent crimes against Nigerians.

In a similar vein, NUSA described the killings as “senseless acts of violence” and urged the South African Police Service to ensure that those responsible were promptly and fully prosecuted.

On his part, NICASA President, Mr Frank Onyekwelu, said the association condemned the killings in the strongest terms, adding that no individual or group had the right to take the law into their hands or deprive another person of life.

He urged members of the Nigerian community in South Africa to remain calm, peaceful and law-abiding as engagements continued with the Nigerian Consulate, South African authorities and human rights institutions.

While South African authorities often make arrests, the issues of diligent prosecution and conviction are not always clearly addressed.

It is worth noting that three of the accused—Dikeledi Mphela (25), Gotseone Machidi (26), and McClaren Mushwana (30)—are appearing before the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court in connection with the murder of Isaac Satlat.

In retrospect, Nigeria-South Africa relations date back to 1960, with Nigeria positioned in the vanguard of the anti-apartheid and liberation struggles.

In 1960 to 1990s, after the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre, Nigeria championed the anti-apartheid cause, funding liberation movements like the ANC and providing passports to South African activists, according to The Africa Report and Wikipedia.

In 1976, Nigeria established the Southern Africa Relief Fund (SARF) to support the anti-apartheid struggle.

More importantly, the “Mandela Tax”, a compulsory deduction from Nigerian civil servants’ salaries and voluntary donations by citizens in the 1970s, was introduced to support the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa.

In 1994, formal, diplomatic, and economic ties were established after the end of apartheid and the start of democracy in South Africa in 1994, culminating in a Bi-national Commission (BNC) inaugurated in 1999 to manage relations.

Recall that xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and other African migrants occurred in 2008, 2015, and 2019, leading to injuries and fatalities among Nigerians in South Africa.

While xenophobic attacks seem to be abating, the killings of Nigerians under various guises are cyclical.

The disturbing trend has drawn the attention of perceptive pan-Africanists.

The President, Africa Development Study Centre (ADSC), Victor Oluwafemi, said it had become expedient for the Federal Government to summon South Africa’s High Commissioner to Nigeria over recurrent attacks on Nigerians in the country.

Oluwafemi recommended a formal engagement for clear assurances regarding the safety of Nigerian nationals in South Africa.

According to him, the safety of Nigerian citizens abroad was not a diplomatic courtesy but a sovereign obligation.

Oluwafemi said that incidents involving the killing or violent targeting of Nigerians abroad must trigger visible diplomatic action within 24 hours.

According to him, delayed responses weaken deterrence and embolden repetition.

Julius Malema, South African opposition leader and founder and leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), denounced the killings and xenophobic attacks, applauding Nigeria’s contributions to South Africa’s freedom.

He described xenophobia as “a betrayal of African unity”.

Malema spoke recently at the opening of the 2025 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) held at the International Conference Centre, Enugu.

He said Nigeria was one of the countries that stood firmly by South Africa, during that country’s darkest hour.

He recalled that when South Africa was fettered by apartheid and its people were murdered, imprisoned, and denied basic humanity, Nigeria rose as a giant for justice, placing the country squarely at the centre of its corridors.

He said that Nigeria set up the Southern African Relief Fund and mobilised its citizens to contribute to the liberation struggle.

He added that Nigerian students did not only contribute through Mandela Tax, but also, through protests in opposition to apartheid.

Ultimately, while Nigerians living in South Africa are obligated to engage in legitimate business and shun criminality, pan Africanists say the authorities must fulfill their responsibility to protect foreign nationals. (NAN)

By Umar Ardo

Saturday’s voter turnout of 7.2 per cent in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Council Elections is the lowest electoral participation recorded in Nigeria since independence. It is not merely a statistic; it is an indictment on our political class and should alarm anyone who still pretends that our democracy is functioning as intended.

Democracies do not die only through coups, decrees or when ballots are stolen; they also die when citizens conclude that voting is pointless and quietly withdraw their participation. This is what we saw yesterday in the nation’s capital!

This historic voter apathy in the FCT is not accidental, nor is it surprising.

It is the predictable outcome of prolonged elite betrayal, institutional decay and the steady erosion of trust between the Nigerian state and its citizens. The hardship currently ravaging the country under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reached excruciating levels. Inflation has hollowed out incomes, food and energy prices, suffocating taxes have become punitive and basic survival has turned into a daily struggle for hundreds of millions.

⁠Yet, in obscene contrast, members of the ruling elite, beginning from the president himself, governors, ministers, legislators, political appointees, to Local Government chairmen and councilors are seen living in wealth and flamboyant affluence, insulated from the pain they themselves have imposed upon society. This grotesque disparity has convinced many Nigerians that their elected government is no longer a public trust but a private racket. They are being asked to sacrifice, but those who call for these sacrifices are not seen sacrificing themselves. The electorate have naturally become despondent.

Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution states that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government”. On both counts, the state has failed the electorate. Insecurity persists, livelihoods are destroyed and social protections are absent. Meanwhile, those elected to serve grow wealthier by the month. Such a system cannot command trust or turnout. Worse still is the open contempt for constitutionalism displayed by those entrusted to defend it. Undertaken mainly by the Presidency and the leadership of the National Assembly, unconstitutional practices have become normalized. The rule of law is treated as a nuisance rather than a restraint. Executive overreach goes unchecked. Legislative oversight has collapsed into complicity. Institutions that should protect democracy are the ones now seen destroying it.

This collapse of civic participation violates the spirit – if not the letter – of the 1999 Constitution. Section 14(2)(a) “declares unequivocally that sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom the government derives all its powers and authority”. When over 92 per cent of eligible voters stay away from the polls, then that sovereignty has effectively been withdrawn. Perhaps nothing illustrates this decay more clearly than the casual destruction of the ballot’s meaning. That politicians routinely abandon political parties on whose platforms they were elected, defecting without consequence or moral hesitation, is now standardized. Thus, party affiliation has been rendered meaningless, voter choice mocked and ideological accountability erased. When electoral mandates can be casually transferred like personal property without compunction, citizens are justified in asking: Why vote at all?

Campaign promises have become ritualistic lies. Oaths of office and allegiance are recited, then violated without shame. Insecurity persists unabated, with communities left to fend for themselves while officials issue hollow statements from fortified residences. Nigerians grow poorer by the day; their elected representatives grow astronomically wealthier. This is not governance – it is extraction!

Oversight failure is central. The National Assembly, constitutionally empowered to check the executive, has largely abdicated that role. Executive excess persists without consequence, violating the separation of powers that undergirds constitutional democracy. Most alarming, especially to international constitutional lawyers, is the authorization of foreign military action and basing without constitutional process. That on Christmas Day last December, the United States forces have conducted kinetic operations on Nigerian territory and lately established military bases in Maiduguri and Bauchi raise grave constitutional questions. Nigeria’s Constitution is explicit in protecting our sovereignty.

It stipulates that military treaties and international agreements require legislative domestication (Section 12); the armed forces are established to defend Nigeria from external aggression and are subject to legislative regulation (Sections 217–218); executive power under Section 5 is bounded by the Constitution; and Section 1(1) proclaims constitutional supremacy. Authorizing foreign bombing or basing without National Assembly approval would be ultra vires – an affront to sovereignty and democratic control of the use of force!

The ruling All Progressives Congress must bear a heavy share of responsibility. Having campaigned on reform, discipline and change, it now presides over economic misery, institutional vandalism and moral exhaustion. Instead of rebuilding public confidence, the party has perfected political arrogance by openly shielding incompetence, rewarding loyalty over performance and dismissing popular suffering as collateral damage. The Presidency, for its part, appears either unwilling or unable to recognize the gravity of the moment. Democratic legitimacy does not reside in court validations alone; it rests on the consent and participation of the governed. When fewer than one in ten eligible voters bother to show up in the nation’s capital, legitimacy itself is in question.

The implications for 2027 are stark. Elections require belief – belief that votes matter, mandates endure and power is constrained by law. That belief is fast evaporating under the Tinubu style of leadership. Persisting on this path risks converting the 2027 general elections into procedural rituals devoid of democratic substance in which ballots are cast, results are declared, but legitimacy is absent. The danger ahead is indeed profound, in that a system sustained by apathy rather than consent cannot endure.

History offers a sobering lesson: when citizens disengage en masse, the vacuum is rarely filled by reformers. It is often occupied by extremism, authoritarianism or chaos. Nigeria stands at that threshold. This moment demands urgent introspection from those in power. Democracy cannot survive on propaganda, repression or elite consensus alone. It survives only when citizens believe their voice matters, their vote counts and their suffering is acknowledged.

The 7.2 per cent turnout in the FCT is not a failure of voters. It is a verdict on Nigeria’s political class. If that verdict continues to be ignored, the next casualty will not be an election; it will be our democracy itself.