Life is a battlefield. I never ever imagined I could end up one day on the surgeon’s table but it happened. Thank God it went well with Dr. Arinze Mosanya leading the team. While recovering from a successful laparoscopic cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal due to gallstones, initially thought to be polyps) at Evercare Hospital, Lekki, another health challenge emerged: The Big C had returned to inhabit my prostate. The initial radiotherapy failed two years after and my oncologist, Dr. Habeebu, now put me on Casodex, a hormone drug to block testosterone and halt the growth of the dreaded disease. We thank God for being our Rock.
Aging feels like a constant battle, akin to the relentless conflict in Ukraine where there is bombing every night, and sleeplessness and worries take over. But still, we thank and trust in God, our healer. My prayers go out to all those fighting cancer; one day the world would be free from such deadly illnesses. In the meantime, let’s cherish life’s joys and lean on God’s healing power. If you are living without a gallbladder or you have the Big C in your prostate or wherever, share your story with me on [email protected].
Lastly, I wish to thank all those who sent me surprise birthday gifts, starting with my old Weekend Concord staffers Chief Dele Momodu and Mr. Femi Adesina. Plus Alhaji Najeem Jimoh, my old classmate at Unilag Mass Comm. Department. Plus everyone who sent birthday wishes for my 73rd birthday. Your letters and greetings:
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Happy 73rd birthday to our professional father, a living legend by all standards, revolutionary media bigwig, writer and master of breath-taking headline casting. We celebrate a great man who produced journalism of excellence day after day, year after year, throughout his career. We pay homage to a media titan who has left a legacy of commitment to quality and values that should be the goal of every journalist. May God grant you long life and good health.—Kemi Akinyemi, Publisher, The Elites
Happy 73rd to a remarkable friend and fellow journalist. As we reflect on our journey together in the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos I remember your passion for music and how in the studio during our practicals, you will be spinning tracks and bringing fresh vibes to our classes. Your nickname “The Super DJ of Our Time” was well-deserved. Here’s to many more years of good health, happiness, and joy with loved ones.—Jimi Bazuaye, Classmate at Unilag.
By the time we graduated in 1977 at University of Lagos, Department of Mass Communication, our classmates had nicknamed Mike the Super DJ which I affectionately shorten to Super D. Yes, Mike was the go-to aficionado of popular music in our student days. He was the moving encyclopaedia of contemporary music. Mike has since grown to be a trailblazer in the media world. With Dimgba Igwe, Mike pioneered the Weekend Concord and The Sun newspapers. Together, Mike and Dimgba veered into the writing and publishing of books, producing titles like the Art of Features Writing (for which they interviewed me when I was Publisher of Business magazine), 50 World Editors, Osoba: The Newspaper Years, Mike Adenuga: The Business Guru, 50 Nigeria’s Boardroom Leaders. I still remember the day in September 2014, while I was playing the Black Mountain Golf Course in Hua Hin, Thailand, when I received the sad news of the passing of Dimgba. The demise of Dimgba, Mike’s professional twin brother, Co-author and Associate Publisher, has evidently slowed his pace but I know that Mike still has plenty of fire in his belly. I wish the Super D many more productive years. Ted Iwere—Mike’s Classmate at Unilag, Mass Comm Dept.
Happy birthday, my brother Mike.—Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser On Information and Strategy to President Tinubu.
Happy birthday Sir, my Boss for life. Highest regards always—Dele Momodu, Ovation publisher.
Happy birthday Sir. Many happy returns in Jesus name—Femi Adesina, Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the late President Buhari
Hip! Hip! Hip Hurray. It is the birthday of the pioneer Editor of Weekend Concord newspaper and pioneer Managing Director of the Sun newspapers, Mr. Mike Awoyinfa. Happy birthday to a gentleman. We wish you many happy returns in good health and wealth. May the Almighty God continue to bless, guide you and all yours—Aliu Mohammed Olurotimi, CEO, Magnate Comm Ltd and former staff of Weekend Concord.
As our great editor and mentor adds another year today, I pray for his continued good health and special grace of God on his life. Congratulations and best wishes always, sir—Eric Osagie, Publisher, ThisNigeria, former MD, Sun Publishing, ex-Weekend Concord staffer
Happy birthday the Boss of all times. May God continue to keep you in good health—Tony Onyima, former MD, Sun Publishing
Happy birthday to my mentor, the great editor who held the lamp to light my journalistic path. By the grace of God, you will celebrate many more of your big day in sound mind, peace and joy in Jesus name. Congrats—Shola Osunkeye, former MD, The Sun Publishing Ghana Ltd. ex-Weekend Concord staffer
The Editor of Editors! Congratulations and many happy returns Sir in good health—Tope-Bentop Adeboboye, Editor, Saturday Sun.
‘I ONCE WROTE ON MIKE AWOYINFA’S FUNERAL’
BY RUDOLPH OKONKWO
If not for Mike Awoyinfa, I’d probably be an aging agricultural engineer on a farm in Zaria, Kaduna State. If not for Mike Awoyinfa, I wouldn’t have survived the intellectual torture chamber that was Agricultural Engineering at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA).
Mike Awoyinfa’s column in Weekend Concord was my escape hatch. While my professors lobbed equations and spinning thermodynamics at me like grenades, Mike tossed me witty wordplay and soulful satire — my weekly dose of literary oxygen. Pardon me if I call him Mike from here on out. I felt we were on a first-name basis — spiritually, if not physically.
At FUTA Press, I began my transformation. I wanted to be like Mike. The day I read his column titled “Tai Solarin: May Your Days Be Rough,” everything changed. That piece — a paradox wrapped in satire, sprinkled with reverence — was when I signed my lifelong contract with satire. The outrage it provoked from readers who missed the point entirely sealed it for me. If they were angry, Mike must’ve done something right.
Mike’s writing helped breathe life into Dr. Damages. While others knelt before the altar of Dele Giwa, my journalistic pantheon comprised Mike, MEE, Ndaeyo Uko, JK Randle — the merry band of jesters who held up a 6D carnival mirror to society’s absurdities. I’ve tried to stay true to the tradition Mike embodied. Sometimes I succeed. Other times… well, let’s just say I once wrote a column titled “Mike Awoyinfa’s Funeral.” What was meant as a love letter ended up sounding like the diary of a heartbroken teenager who got ghosted on Valentine’s Day.
I worked for MEE at Classique magazine. Still, I never met Mike, not even during my days loitering around Weekend Concord, hoping to catch a glimpse of the man who made words do gymnastics.
I refuse to retire from journalism until I host him on 90MinutesAfrica. That’s non-negotiable. I owe a big part of what I am today to Mike Awoyinfa. Happy birthday, Mike. I appreciate you immensely.
— Rudolf Okonkwo is the host of the Dr. Damages Show and 90MinutesAfrica
