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Yakubu Mohammed was my Boss at Newswatch magazine, for 12 years, when the organisation, was a place to be. He co – founded Newswatch, the trail- brazing weekly magazine with late Dele Giwa, Ray Ekpu and Dan Agbese.

Before then, he was Managing Editor of New Nigerian newspaper and Editor of National Concord newspaper owned by the late MKO Abiola.

Mohammed was Pro Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He also served in the same capacity at the Federal University of Birni Kebbi, Kebbi.

Yesterday Mohammed presented his 422 page book titled: Beyond Expectations-A Memoir at Nigerian Institute of International Affairs,NIIA, Lagos.

The book has 27 chapters which covered many areas ranging from Mohammed’s early life, life in the Media to Service of the people.

In Chapter 16, where he wrote the story of Newswatch, he celebrated me on pages 220 and 221.

Here is what he wrote:

“More awards were to come in for the magazine. Another outstanding feather to our cap was CNN award won by a young but hugely enterprising and persistent journalist, Janet Afolabi, Nee Mba, now an Olori, married to the Alapomu of Apomu Kingdom, Oba Kayode Adenekan Afolabi. She cut her journalism teeth at Newswatch.

After an internship with the magazine, she came back on graduation and was employed as a Reporter researcher.

Her interest in the profession grew from my days as an editor of National Concord. A staff of a telecommunications company, Janet was an incredible news source for the newspaper’s senior crime reporter, Ishola Folorunsho. One day she came visiting and Mr Folorunsho brought her to my office. I commended her efforts, and she expressed the hope of becoming a journalist in due course.

Some years later, she realised her ambition at the Newswatch. She quickly plunged herself into the job under the eagles eye of the more experienced reporters and writers in the news room who extended to her their hands of fellowship, professional guidance and assistance.

After overcoming the initial teething problems – the usual but curable hazard associated with beginners – she moved on to the big stories, beating even senior colleagues in the intrigues and competition in the newsroom for more challenging assignments.

That was how she secured the assignment to cover the Jesse oil pipeline fire disaster in Delta state. More than 1000 persons Including women and children died in the fire.

Her comprehensive report of this tragedy, written in elegant prose that captured the imagination of the readers, won Newswatch the first prize in the general news category of the CNN Africa journalist prize In 1999. The general news category was the most competitive with not less than 1000 entries. When the award was announced in Johannesburg, South Africa. many prominent and experienced reporters of repute who numbered among the hopefuls were shocked to the marrow. The shock reverberated throughout the hall, spiling into the outside world. And the simple reason for the shock the winner, Newswatch’s Janet Mba Afolabi, senior staff writer, who was the most underrated of the contestants .

The award was a culmination of an excellent piece of reporting that had won her similar awards before this. But the CNN award, undoubtedly the icing on the cake, triumphantly announced her arrival in Nigerian Media’s hall of the fame. I took vicarious pride in her achievement as I did in others, including that of Dele Olojede, the first African Journalists to win the Pulitzer Prize in Journalism. As the saying goes, the young shall grow. In my lifetime, many of those that I took in my wings had come of age . And proudly so.”

Thank you Oga Yakubu, for this beautiful testimonial.