Festus Adedayo, the prolific writer and seasoned columnist, recently fished out a historic photograph from his archives. It instantly transported me back to a defining moment in the early 1990s—an episode involving the late Professor Jibril Aminu that profoundly transformed Nigerian Tribune from a regionally perceived paper into a truly national publication.
At the time, Tai Solarin, our fearless columnist for Sunday Tribune, was running his column “Thinking With You”—a no-holds-barred critique of Professor Aminu, who was then serving as Nigeria’s Minister of Education.
Week after week, Solarin’s acerbic commentary painted Aminu as an irredentist figure advancing a Northern educational agenda at the expense of the progressive South—a direct affront to the legacy of our founder, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who championed free and accessible education across the Southwest.
For weeks, Aminu maintained silence. But behind the scenes, he sought avenues to respond—quietly reaching out to his network in hopes of securing a right of reply in Tribune. From what he later revealed in a rare interview, he believed the editors at the time were deliberately avoiding his submissions.
On our part, we were convinced that Professor Aminu was attempting a hatchet job to roll back the progressive educational momentum laid down by Chief Awolowo. As Editor of Nigerian Tribune, I was faced with a difficult decision. Should we uphold our traditional editorial position, or open up the space for divergent—even opposing—views?
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Eventually, I chose to look beyond the narrow bounds of partisanship. I realized that a newspaper worth its salt must sometimes confront its own biases to serve a greater national good.
After reading one of Aminu’s interviews in another paper, something stirred within me. I wrote to him, inviting him to grant Tribune a full interview. When he called to confirm, his first question was pointed:
“Are you sure the management would allow you to publish it?”
I replied with conviction: “Don’t bother yourself with that.”
I assembled three of our best minds for the assignment: Wale Adebanwi (now a professor with two PhDs), Festus Adedayo (PhD), and Bode Opeseitan, who was then overseeing our Features Desk. Together, we traveled for the interview—the first of its kind from a prominent Northern elite to appear in Tribune.
We didn’t rush the publication. We took our time to ensure it was as flawless as possible. And when it finally hit the newsstands, it was an instant sensation. In Lagos alone, we dispatched over 50,000 copies—a record at the time. The Northern Vendors Association requested a reprint of 10,000 additional copies, which we honored.
What made that interview so groundbreaking was its integrity. We published it unfiltered—allowing Aminu to defend his policies, explain his intentions, and articulate his vision for bridging the deep educational divide between North and South.
That singular publication opened new doors for Tribune. It launched our expansion into Northern Nigeria. For the first time, we had correspondents based in Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto, and Maiduguri. Our paper, long viewed as the voice of the South-West, began to resonate with audiences across the country.
Professor Jibril Aminu—renowned cardiologist, academic, politician, and diplomat—remained a close friend of Tribune until his passing. That historic interview revealed him as a firm believer in education as the foundation of national development. Though many still viewed his agenda through a regional lens, his convictions on the transformative power of education were never in doubt.
Looking back, that decision to engage rather than alienate was pivotal. It taught us that dialogue, even with perceived adversaries, could not only enrich public discourse but also redefine the legacy of a media institution.
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