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Alex Ibru is dead, Oshiomhole mourns,
salutes his contributions
Newsdiaryonline Sun Nov 20,2011
Alex Ibru
Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has commiserated
with the Ibru Family over the death of Publisher of The
Guardian, Mr Alex Ibru. In a press statement issued in Benin
City, he said the country has lost one of the pillars of modern
journalism in Nigeria.
“After the epic contribution of the media to the anti-colonial
and post-colonial struggle for the building of Nigeria, The
Guardian founded in 1983 by Mr Alex Ibru could be said to have
defined the agenda of the democratic struggles particularly from
the early 80s”, the Governor said.
Noting the tremendous impact of not only the intellectual
journalism genre foisted by The Guardian, but also the
development of different sections and the elevation and
glamorisation of editorial discourse by the newspaper,
Oshiomhole said that Ibru has left a void too big to be filled.
“No doubt Alex Ibru has left his invaluable imprint on the sands
of Nigerian journalism. A mighty tree propelling the development
of the Nigerian media has indeed fallen”, the Governor said.
He also recalled the flourish of the libertarian tradition
championed by The Guardian which opened vistas to the growth of
human rights groups like the Civil Liberties Organisation,
Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) and a motley of
others.
Also drawing inference from Mr Alex Ibru’s brief sojourn as
Internal Affairs Minister under the military dictatorship of
General Sani Abacha, Oshiomhole said Ibru’s commitment to the
democratic ideals made it possible for him not to mortgage the
interest of the newspaper during this period.
“No doubt he was not rewarded gladly by those who wish to
clobber the democratic rights of the people, but his
contribution for making The Guardian not to buckle under at a
defining moment in the nation’s political history stands him out
as a colossus”, he said.
While expressing his grief to the Ibru and The Guardian family,
Oshiomhole said they should take consolation in the fact that Mr
Alex Ibru “offered meritorious service to his country and trod a
path golden to behold”.
Th
This is the document referred to in the Witness
Statement on Oath of Clifford O. Kokogho as
“Exhibit
COK.2”
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