Malam Kabiru Yusuf, 68, is the chairman of Media Trust Group, owners of Daily Trust, Weekly Trust, Sunday Trust, Aminiya, the Hausa-language newspaper and Kilimanjaro, a pan-African magazine. They are also the brains behind Trust TV and Radio.
Currently the president of Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria, Yusuf, a former lecturer, served as the editor of Daily Triumph, Today and Citizen magazine prior to setting up his company in 1998, and then the expansion in 2001. He was at some point the South African correspondent of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). He holds a B.Sc and M.Sc in Political Economy from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and University of Toronto, Canada respectively.
A fellow of the Nigerian Leadership Initiative, member of Board of International Press Institute and Aspen Global Leadership Network, the Katsina State-born media mogul is undoubtedly one of the most respected and influential in his field.
In Abeokuta, Ogun State, during the 2nd Nigerian Media Leaders’ Summit Hub, which was held between May 6 and 7, 2024, YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine publisher/editor-in-chief, AZUH ARINZE, cornered the soft spoken and darling husband of Aisha for an impromptu interview which he graciously granted. Come with us…
First, what makes a good journalist?
Curiosity! And I think people who want to explore the world and also tell the story. So, normally, curiosity and then the desire to explain what they go through and have seen. Also, an affinity for reading because if you read, you can write. I think that’s the basic building block, so to say.
What is the commonest mistake that most journalists make?
I think the commonest one is to use journalism for other things, because it exposes you, it brings you into contact with sometimes interesting or powerful people. So, there’s the temptation to see it as a pathway or as a shortcut to other engagements or other positions. Not as an end itself. So, to them, one doesn’t wait for the reward because if you really invest in being a journalist and acquire the skills and the reputation, the reward comes. But a lot of people make the mistake of not waiting and using journalism as a way to go into public relations or government jobs or corporate affairs and things like that. And I don’t think that it’s as fulfilling as journalism.
What got you interested in journalism in the first place?
I would say since secondary school, I had articles I had written as a “form three” student. So, I wanted to express myself and I also wanted to explore the world. And so it’s clear to me that I wanted to be free. I don’t want the bureaucracy of civil service or bank or whatever. So, those were the elements that made me want a job that would allow me to express myself, to be free and to freely have my opinion about things. So, it was between the academia and the media. And for some time, I was in the academia, because my father felt that journalism is not an honourable thing, especially in the north. I was young then and he said, “Look, this is what I think.” In any case, the only newspaper in my environment then was The New Nigerian and I went to the HR manager and I was told they didn’t have vacancies. So, I went to the academia, but eventually I found my way back to the media.
What do you like most about being a journalist?
I love the freedom. I love the chance to meet people, the opportunity to travel, cover stories locally, and sometimes internationally. Basically to have my own opinion, meet interesting people…
What don’t you like about being a journalist?
I think some of the harassment that comes from people in authority, some of the broken friendships that come from people who sort of, blame you for coverages that they are not happy with. I mean, one has lost friends, especially those who go into government, occupy powerful positions in business. They expect you to continue to blindly support what they are doing. But if you are really a serious journalist, and very independent, the tendency is they see you as somebody who is hostile or who envies them, and things like that. And that’s gritty, because that’s not the intention. So, to lose friends like that… Even the harassment from government, I don’t feel it as much as that.
What is the greatest thing that journalism has done for you?
Honestly, it has expanded my horizon. I have traveled all over the world, I have met interesting people, I have enjoyed expressing myself, writing. It gives me joy to do that and I’ve also made a living from it.
What would you have wanted journalism to do for you that it hasn’t done?
Honestly, it has done everything. I have had adventures, I have set up a business. First, for me, it was an adventure, it was to explore and then it became a serious business. And it’s been very rewarding. So, I have nothing to ask from journalism that it hasn’t given me.
As a reporter, can you remember the most memorable story that you wrote?
I would say it was to go and interview Shagari (former President Shehu Shagari) when he was released from prison. He wasn’t speaking and I was then with a small newspaper in Kaduna called Today. And I took the chance; people said “Oh, Shagari…”. So, when I showed up in Shagari village in Sokoto, from Kaduna, he gave me a lecture on why he didn’t like journalists, how we treated him while he was in detention and all that and all that. Of course, he didn’t grant me the interview, but I did a story all the same: Face-to-face with Shagari…
What year was this?
This was maybe 1987. I can’t remember now.
Can you remember the most memorable interview you have had and why?
Hmmm! I keep interviewing. I just interviewed a man called Sani Zangon Daura. So, I still do interviews. I would say one of the most memorable ones will be with Alhaji Aminu Dantata. I interviewed him about two months ago (as at then). Fantastic story. He is 93, he has seen it all; he’s one of the richest men in Nigeria, he has grown from riding donkeys to owning his own aircraft.
In your entire career as a journalist, who would you have wanted to interview that you have not been able to get?
Who? (Thinks) They are many. I keep trying to interview some people. Now, I do a program called Reminiscences. It is usually for old people who are over 75, that’s a cut-off. They are many. I struggle to get Obasanjo (Olusegun, former President), and even coming to Abeokuta here. I’ve tried. There is a fellow called Wakili Adamawa, you will remember him? I’m trying to get him. So many. So many! The quest is endless. We are still on it.
What is Malam’s personal definition of journalism?
A journalist, like I said, is somebody who is curious to know about the world and to tell that story.
How can journalists be more respected? People tend to accord scant regards to journalists. How do we rectify that anomaly?
I think they (journalists) have to take themselves seriously. At a certain level, maybe as an editor or managing director of a newspaper, you should see yourself at par with anybody – a minister or a president! You should have self-respect, self-regard and take yourself seriously. I know we are challenged by the economy, we are not getting salaries and all that, but I don’t kowtow to anybody and I’m lucky that I have been rewarded by the profession. I own all the toys that people go for, if you become whatever you become; jeeps and traveling and all that. So, I try to respect myself because I’m not looking for anything from anybody.
What is your take on the coming of the social media and how do you think professional journalists can cope with what is currently unfolding in our sector?
I think adaptation. We just have to adapt to be able to use it to distribute our content. I don’t see it as a threat. Social media doesn’t pull the content. It is a platform and it is a channel. So, if we continue to produce good content and then if you don’t put it in the print, then you put it online, that’s it. It is something you can use to do your work better.
People read what you write, who are those you read what they write in the profession?
Oh, I love lots of people. There are some columnists I follow; there’s a lady in Punch, I like her column (Abimbola AdeIakun). I find occasionally somebody like Simon Kolawole quite useful; occasionally Segun Adeniyi. There’s also a fellow called Mahmud Jega who used to write for us, Sonala Olumhense…
