* A tribute to Yakubu Mohammed
Amb. Valentine Opaluwa Ejeh PhD
A Tribute to Alhaji Yakubu Mohammed
There are deaths that announce themselves like thunder, and there are those that arrive quietly yet leave the loudest echoes in the conscience of a nation. The passing of Alhaji Yakubu Mohammed belongs to the latter. It is the kind of loss that compels reflection, silence, and gratitude—gratitude for a life well lived in service of truth, letters, and the Nigerian idea.
I woke up to the news of his transition with a weight in my heart. Another light had gone out. Another custodian of memory had joined the ancestral newsroom beyond the veil, where the likes of Late Dele Giwa, and the recently departed Dan Agbese now commune in eternal editorial conferences.
Growing up in Anyigba, his name carried the aura of legend. He was not just a journalist; he was an institution. A writer, editor, thinker—one whose words did not merely inform but instructed history on how to remember itself. To many of us, he embodied the dignity of the profession at a time when journalism was a calling, not a commodity.
Early last year, Alhaji Yakubu Mohammed called me. He told me he was reading the biography I authored on Late Senator Dr. Alex Usman Kadiri titled: “Standing Out in The Crowd.”With the calm firmness of a man devoted to accuracy, he pointed out that some accounts concerning how Dr. Kadiri became Commissioner of Education and later Health in Benue State, and subsequently Director-General of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, were not entirely correct. He explained that he, alongside a retired military officer from Agenebode in Edo State who was of Igala ancestry called Major General Mahmoud Abdul of blessed memory were instrumental in forwarding Dr. Kadiri’s and two other names—first to Brigadier Atom Kpera. Also that he later personally gave President Ibrahim Babangida his name for the DG appointment.
I explained that my account was based strictly on what Dr. Kadiri himself narrated to me. He understood. That was the mark of a true intellectual—firm on truth, yet generous in understanding context. He told me he was working on his memoir and that history would soon be given its full voice.
True to his word, he published his memoir, Beyond Expectation, later that year in Lagos. When I travelled to Ibadan in October for my PhD convocation, I called him. He confirmed the book launch and reiterated our earlier agreement that I would help organise its presentation in Abuja. He linked me with his brother, Barrister Tijani Mohammed, to facilitate access to the book and plan the event.
Death, however, is the ultimate editor—it ends all plans mid-sentence.
Alhaji Yakubu Mohammed was not only a penmaster; he was also a patriot. He once aspired to govern Kogi State, driven not by ambition for power but by a sincere desire for purposeful, people-centred leadership. He lamented, with quiet realism, how the architecture of Nigerian politics often suffocates men of integrity who lack the armor of money politics.
In academia and public service, his footprints are indelible. As Pro-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and later Federal University Birnin Kebbi, he served with distinction, integrity, and vision—bringing wisdom from the newsroom into the council chamber.
Alhaji Yakubu Mohammed belonged to a generation that believed ideas could shape nations, that words could restrain power, and that truth—though slow—would always arrive. He lived by the conviction that a society that forgets its storytellers loses its soul.
Today, Nigeria mourns not just a man, but an era.
Yet, death has not silenced him. His words remain. His books breathe. His legacy edits our collective memory, reminding us that integrity is still possible, that courage still matters, and that the pen—when guided by conscience—remains mightier than all instruments of falsehood.
May his journey beyond expectation be peaceful.
May his memories continue to instruct us.
And may Nigeria someday become worthy of men like him.
Adieu, Penmaster.
