Obasanjo, Soyinka , others pay tributesTHE humility and generosity of the late Publisher of The Guardian Mr. Alex Ibru were relived yesterday by leaders and institutions as former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the Anglican Church paid the media mogul tributes.In a condolence letter to the widow of the deceased, Mrs. Maiden Alex-Ibru yesterday, Obasanjo said the publisher was a patriot, democrat and a philanthropist whose exit was an incalculable loss not only to the business community but also to the entire nation.'An employer of labour, a philanthropist, Alex's selfless services to the country and exemplary leadership will be greatly missed by his community, local government area, state, the nation in general and his family', Obasanjo said.Obasanjo recalled the 'commendable contribution of the late publisher at different times made to the development of the nation.'In his tribute, Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka: 'We salute his courage and we share his pain. We have lost a good friend, a very good friend.'Chief Chris Ogunbanjo also described Ibru as a humble man who lived a good and wonderful life.The former Governor of Ekiti State, Otunba Niyi Adebayo described Ibru's death as a great loss to the country because he was very upright and a nationalist who loved Nigeria very dearly and worked for the betterment of it and the development of the country.He said: 'Regarding my personal encounter with him, he was a big brother to me. I had been to his residence to visit him on many occasions. He inspired me a lot because he was someone who achieved success very early in life and he always preached that there was no height too great to achieve in life through hard work.'His immortality has already been entrenched in the establishment of The Guardian Newspapers.'Otunba Jaiye Randle compared the life of Ibru to that of Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola in terms of early achievement in life and the fact that they both died almost at the same age.They both made tremendous impact in the media industry and suffered afflictions in their political endeavours.Senator Tunde Ogbeha said: 'Adieu my friend, may your soul rest in peace.'The Primate, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), The Most Revd. Nicholas Okoh, described the late publisher as a selfless man who believed in excellence and also reached out to people.He paid this tribute yesterday when he visited The Guardian, where he was received by the Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Alex Thomopulous, the Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief, Mr. Emeka Izeze, the Editor (Daily) and Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Mr. Debo Adesina and other top management staff after his condolence visit to the family at their residence.'As Chairman of Trinity Foundation, he kept on hammering on 'impeccable standard' which was his belief that also reflected in all that he did.'The level of his humility also reflected in his statement when we had a ceremony at the Chapel at Ibru Centre in Agbarha-Otor, where he described himself as only God's treasurer and for that level of commitment, we are challenged and feel that he deserves a decent farewell, ' he said.'We, however, feel sad that despite all that he went through to recover, God decided to take him. God has given and He has taken and we cannot criticise Him.'Our joy is that death for one who acknowledged God as the source of all things and served Him acceptably, is only a gateway to fuller life.'Rich, poor, everybody share pains in this world and we thank God who has relieved Him of pains and took him away,' he said.Okoh expressed the challenge before the management to ensure the standard of the newspaper was maintained despite the demise of the publisher.'The Guardian has principles which should be maintained and conserved, which is a very serious test before the management.'It was because of The Guardian that Alex was shot during Abacha's government and this place was closed down many times.'He has fought gallantly for the masses to ensure the standard of the newspaper was not watered down. Therefore, your management should ensure the stability of this place and the newspaper in particular so that the newspaper does not die with the publisher like many papers in the past. These are our concerns.'That is why I propose a project of his biography that would contain the documentation of his ideas that would continue to be your ideology,' he said.In his response, Izeze acknowledged the Primate and his entourage described Ibru correctly as a man who not only had passion for the newspaper but also carried the management along in every decision he wanted to take.'To corroborate your comment that our publisher died not only for the newspaper but for the masses to read the truth and nothing but the truth in The Guardian, without his interference as the publisher. His comment always was 'I set up the newspaper as the voice of the people; I will concentrate on the Ibru Centre.''You actually touched a point that only those who are close to us can touch and I assure you we will do everything possible to make the newspaper stronger.'We have gone through phases. Each time we were shut, people thought we would derail. But once we were reopened, we did not. We would keep on with that spirit,' he assured.In a condolence letter by Okoh, he said that Ibru's death 'is a great loss to our nation, the media industry and the Church of God.'He (Ibru) was a devout Christian, who expressed his faith in many good works. He made indelible mark in the history of our country as a God-fearing, courageous and outspoken minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria during the days of the military regime.'As the founder of The Guardian Newspapers, one of the widely read national dailies, the late Dr. Alex Ibru, an icon of modern and transformative journalism, contributed immensely in shaping opinion of Nigerians with a definite programme of promoting national unity and high standard of democratic values and good governance in the nation's developmental process.'Besides, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Sali, was among the first set of public officers who signed the condolence register opened in the Abuja Bureau of The Guardian in honour of the late publisher.In the register signed yesterday in Abuja, the Head of Service noted: 'Nigeria has lost one of her best and greatest sons. Rest in peace. The Nigerian Civil Service has lost one of her greatest friends.'To former Federal Permanent Secretary, Dr. Goke Adegoroye, 'Alex Ibru epitomised the very finest of the Nigeria of our dream. He built a newspaper that commands the respect of all policymakers and he lived a decent life in the mould of royalty.'For Mike Enecheta, the transition of the newspaperman is a personal loss as he wrote in the register yesterday that 'Dr. Alex was such a nice man. I will miss him greatly, adieu great soul.
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