THE nation was jolted by the news ofthe death of Alexander Ibru ' publisher of The Guardian and an adroit businessman. A man gifted with ecclesiastical mien and abundant piety, Alex, as he was usually called by friends and colleagues, interfaced his vast business empire with the fear of God and genuine philanthropy.BORN on March 1, 1945, in Agbarha-Otor in Delta State, the late Ibru, after his primary education at the Yaba Methodist School (1951-1957), moved to Ibadan Grammar School for his secondary school education from 1958-1960 and later to Igbobi College, Yaba, from 1960-1963. From 1967-1970, he was at the University of Trent (formerly Trent Polytechnic) where he bagged a bachelor's degree in Business Economics.IBRU worked briefly in the family business conglomerate before founding his own business, culminating in the birth of Rutam Motors and a host of other successful companies. Ibru, who was not trained as a journalist, bestrode the landscape of the Nigerian newspaper industry with a subtle but titanic authority to provide Nigerians with a brand of balanced, courageous, truthful, dialectical and intellectually deep features and news stories with the floating of The Guardian newspaper.STAFFED by some of the best professional eggheads around at inception, the late Ibru never interfered in the editorial output of the paper, thus creating a fertile space for its widespread acceptance by the public and, in turn, elevating it expeditiously to one of the most respected dailies in Nigeria today. That The Guardian survived the ravaging plague of newspaper mortality in the eighties and beyond, is a potent reflection of the managerial acumen of this business prodigy called Alexander Uruemu Ibru.AS a mortal, Ibru had his low point during his lifetime. Probably spurred by the nationalistic zeal to serve the country at its precarious state and time of need, the late Publisher accepted to serve as a Minister of Internal Affairs under the dreaded General Sani Abacha 'a man globally scorned as an usurper and heartless despot, shortly after the ignoble annulment of June 12 election by the Babangida regime.CONSIDERING his enviable antecedents, many Nigerians could not reconcile how a man who put his enormous wealth, coupled with human and capital resources on the line to fight evil and injustice, could accept to hobnob with a regime that was seen as a symbol of unqualified injustice, evil and human subjugation. His action during this period was seen as an unworthy political risk, patently antithetical to the late Ibru's social crusade and professed just and fair environment.IT is, however, to the eternal credit of Ibru that during his tenure as a minister, the Nigerian Prisons and Immigration Service, which were both symbols of shame to the country, were reinvigorated through his reforms. He also demonstrated uncommon valour, despite temptations to do the contrary, by not interfering in the editorial policy of his paper while in government, thereby affording the editors to perform within the confines of professional ethics. It was precisely because of this adherence to professional dictates, according to sources, that the military junta of Abacha closed down The Guardian for about 12 months in 1994, even when its publisher was still serving in the government.IN 1995, however, the late Ibru, incensed by the relentless human rights violations by the Abacha regime, voluntarily took a bow and quit the government.IT is unfortunate that the remarkable contributions of the late business mogul to the stability and credibility of the fledging military government as a minister were only rewarded with an attempt on his life in 1996 by people alleged to be agents of government. A man who mobilised his resources, both human and material to fight corruption was denied same when he needed it most. What a shame!THE outpouring of encomiums and expression of grief from across the nation, more than anything else, shows the iconic stature of Ibru in societal reckoning. His death, therefore, cannot in any way dwarf his towering and enduring legacies which have come to stand like the oak trees.THE life of Alex Ibru will remain a study in humility and modesty despite the abundance of God's favour which he enjoyed. His concern for the downtrodden was palpable as records show that his emoluments including estacodes were never received during his tenure as minister, as they were channelled to the upkeep of the helpless. In fact, a philanthropic organisation ' The Trinity Foundation ' was established by him many years ago to cater for the under privileged and to also assist in propagating the work of God.WHILE commiserating with the nuclear and extended families of the departed, we need to say that the death of Ibru, although very painful, will remain a passage of an entrepreneurial, patriotic and philanthropic colossus who came, saw and conquered.MAY his soul rest in perfect peace.
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