MOHAMMED HARUNA: YOUR READERS WILL MISS YOU

By Omolaoye Sodiq

First, I think I am a lover of the print media. This is because reading beautifully crafted articles gives me joy. The feeling is like the Sun’s warmth touching my skin after a deluge of rain. I usually run to newspaper columns not only to quench my thirst for current information but also to learn how these writers paint their voice in such a way that it keeps the readers reading. Columnists are opinion moulders, pen police in conflict resolution and one of the major selling points of the organisation they write for.

Mal. Mohammed Haruna is one of the best political columnists in Nigeria. He writes majorly for both Daily Trust and The Nation newspaper. Apart from his epigrammatic writing style, Mal. Haruna is known for his compelling and well-researched writings. His writings can make readers believe the unbelievable. With such professional use of language, and apt knowledge on political issues, Haruna is indeed one of the finest in the Journalism profession. His choice of topics reflects creativity and breadth of knowledge. This piece may look like a panegyric, but is as well the truth.

Just few months ago, Mal. Haruna Muhammad was nominated by President Buhari as an INEC commissioner to represent the North central geo-political zone of the country. His nomination has been confirmed by the senate along with five others representing various geo-political zones. He has accepted the clarion call and consequently, there will be a break in transmission between him and his readers.

I first came in contact with Mal. Haruna in my first year as an undergraduate student in ABU, Zaria. He taught me writing for mass media (1). His theoretical knowledge, combined with his practical experiences made him almost indispensable in mass communication department. Obviously, his exit from the department to a greener pasture in 2014 left a vacuum difficult to fill.

Mal. Haruna started his journalism career in the 1970s writing as a freelancer for ‘Saturday extra’ before joining New Nigerian upon graduation. His amazing writing style and consistency earned him the position of the first signed New Nigeria columnist. He later became the managing Director of New Nigerian Newspaper (NNN) in 1985. Since then, Mal. Haruna has held various positions in both government and private organizations.

Mal. Haruna approach to issues and his relentless effort to paint reality as it is gives him edge over his counterpart. Like human that he is, in his over forty-years of journalism practice, Mal. Haruna has experienced stiff opposition from those who differs in his ideology and those whom his write-ups dealt a blow on. In so many cases, especially during the military days, he stirred up so many hornets nets. His articles then exposed many atrocities committed by the military and he was seen as a vanguard of democracy, especially during Abacha’s terrifying regime. His doggedness and tenacity earned him the position of the Chief Press secretary to the former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar in 1998.

For the fact that no human is infallible, Mal. Haruna has been accused of being a sectionalist, ethnic-bigot, terrorist and conspiracy theorist. However, this is inevitable in the journalism profession. His response, nevertheless to the tantrums and jibes thrown at him reveals his level of professionalism in the business. He replies not with insults, but with counter-facts which has won the heart of many readers. One time, Mal. Haruna said instead of being angry at one of the reader who called him ‘a bastard conceived from a busted condom’, he was rather amused and worried that emotion appears to have trumped reason in Nigeria politics. To him, ‘Offensive language alienates instead of engaging the readers. The truth is just few columnists have such level of patience. He is indeed a mentor for many aspiring journalists.

Definitely, Mal. Haruna’s faithful readers, including me will miss the revered wordsmith. He is a magician of language. He shares a rapturous love of words and has that lyrical elegance that makes his works saturated with pleasure. Readers are left in their own world, drunk into the world created by Haruna’s sentences. His articles reveal braveness and uniqueness.
Recently, he wrote what looks like his last piece titled ‘The Journalist as salesman’ -for the next five years he will be serving his fatherland. This part of the article caught my attention- “Your style is unique to you. You may take a cue from the old masters. You can learn humour from Sad Sam (Sam Amuka), wit from Peter Pan ( Peter Enahoro), political insight from Haroun Adamu, or Polemics from Ken Saro-Wiwa, but you can never write exactly like them no matter how hard you try simply because you are you and they are they” Mal. Haruna wrote.

In the last line, he suggested that “editors and publishers in the print media should reconsider the ease with which they give columns to every rookie, who thinks he has the Wisdom of Solomon to share with readers”. Mal. Haruna last words are indeed tempting. His statements reveal the level of unprofessionalism in Nigeria journalism today. Maybe this is what Olawoyin Olamide saw when he said “the quality of commentary and column writing in Nigeria has declined. What we called commentaries now are beer parlour gossips written in the most disgusting language, especially on social media”.

While Mal. Haruna is away, I have to pitch my tent with other good columnists in my list. Reuben Abati of the Guardian newspaper also has my loyalty. Abati humorous writing style moves me. He is a pleasant and intelligent writer whose sense of humour soar so high and lifts the readers into an imaginary world. Wonder how he within twinkle of an eye turns a very serious national issue to nearly something to laugh about in his satirical writings. Indubitably, Abati is a wordsmith in his own world. His poetic style is pleasure to readers any day, anytime.

Farooq Kperogi also has my respect. His politics of Grammar and notes from Atlanta columns in Daily trust duly interest me so much. His creativity with words, coupled with the fact that his articles are highly educative is an inspiring asset of his. Femi Adeshina (Mr Kuli Kuli) of the Sun newspaper also has my respect, but he is currently on a national assignment too.

Therefore, while servicing my soul with write-up from the above writers, I will be patiently waiting for Mr Haruna and Mr Adeshina to come back from their various national assignments to spice up the Journalism world with the wealth of experience they may have acquired on duty.