Celebrating a Veteran Journalist, Ibrahim Babatunde Jose at 76
By Eric Elezuo
If professionalism were a person, we would call him Ibrahim Babatunde Jose. If humility were a person, we would call him Ibrahim Babatunde Jose. If clarity and eye-to-details were a person, we would call him Ibrahim Babatunde Jose.
Here is a man, who has combined nature, God’s gift and outright hardwork to reproduce another form of humanity rooted in love, kindness and care for fellow man. And on Christmas, this epitome of goodness clocked 76; a landmark age that still permits him to be himself. He is a typical chip of the old block.
Born as the eldest son of late Alhaji Babatunde Jose OFR, famously and synonymously connected to the early days of the prestigious Daily Times Newspaper, on December 25, 1949, Mr Jose is a well read professional, academic and community leader.
Having obtained B.Sc degree in Political Science from the University of Ibadan in 1973, Mr. Jose shortly proceeded to the Graduate School, University of Manchester for a follow up Masters degree in Political Science, earning an M.A. (Econ) in 1974.
With the insatiable thirst to acquire more academic laurels, in the same 1974, Jose left for the Columbia University, New York, United States for a Fellowship for Minority Journalists.
He later enrolled for a PhD programme at the Center for West African Studies, University of Birmingham, and was done by the end of 1975, when he returned to Nigeria, with a solid decision to serve his fatherland beginning with the newly introduced National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme. The scheme was two years at the time. He was posted to Port Harcourt, Rivers State for the compulsory one year service. His period of internship as a corper, working as a staff writer with the Nigerian Tide, existed between January 1976 and 1977.
At the end of the service year, Jose returned to Lagos to pick up his first career employment with the Daily Times as a Staff Writer on Times International.
Following his sweatless delivery of deadline, flawless write up, focus and commitment to team work, Jose was not only promoted to a rank of a Feature Editor, but elevated to the membership of the Editorial Board of the Daily Times.
With consistency and delivery signposting all his assignments, he got more promotions, first to Investigation Editor status, and later as Editor Times International.
In the line of duty, Jose had his hands in other pies, having had a stint as a part time lecturer in Government at the Faculty of Social Science of the University of Lagos, before joining the family printing press, Irede Printers in 1979, becoming a printer and publisher.
Jose held the printing profession close to heart, retiring from the press in 1995, and taking up a publisher’s job with the publication of the now rested Business journal: Lagos Business Review.
Married and blessed with beautiful children, Jose is today fully a retired writer and author of two quasi religious books: Reflections on Juma’at Greetings 1 and 2, and a compendium of weekly Friday Sermons; a dotting grandfather and adoring community leader.
From all of us at The Boss Newspaper, where Jose has been a consistent contributor of the Friday Sermon series for about 10 years, congratulations on your 76th birthday sir, and for being our Boss of the Week!
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