Vanguard newspapers,
and indeed Nigeria have lost one of the greatest entertainment writers this
country has ever produced.
The cold hand of death, Wednesday, night snatched, Mr.
Ogbonnaya Amadi , 49, Vanguard Entertainment Editor.
He had worked very hard throughout the day in the
office and was about leaving for home when a massive bout of asthma hit him. He
was rushed to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. The ever
vivacious entertainment guru died less than 30 minutes after he took ill.
Late Mr. Ogbonnaya Amadi , Vanguard Entertainment
Editor.
A pall of disbelief descended on his colleagues and the
entertainment industry when words went out that Mr Ogbonna had died.
The Vanguardmanagement has opened a
condolence register for him in its corporate office in Apapa, Lagos.
At his Ogba, Lagos residence yesterday, the atmosphere
was one of grief, silence and disbelief. Some of Ogbonna’s colleagues and
friends in the entertainment industry stormed his residence to commiserate with
his family.
Amadi’s favourite quote was ‘Love me, don’t hate me.’
Also, at Vanguard’s Corporate Office where Amadi worked
for 27 years, his colleagues were still in shock, finding it
difficult to accept his death.
He would have been 50 this December.
From the Vanguard corporate office to
his Ogba, Lagos residence, family, colleagues and friends of the veteran
entertainment journalist expressed their grief with prayer, tears and
anguish.
Until his death, he was the Group Entertainment Editor
ofVanguard Newspapers.
Amadi hailed from Okagwe, in Ohafia, LGA, Abia
State. An entertainment journalist for over two decades, Amadi is
survived by his aged mother, brothers, sisters, wife and three children. His
first child, Jude, 19, just secured admission into the Federal University
of Technology, Owerri (FUTO).
Reacting to his death, the Editor, Vanguard newspapers,
Mr. Mideno Bayagbon, said Amadi had an asthma attack that black Wednesday and
was rushed to hospital where he died.
He said Late Amadi was a dependable staff who covered
not just the entertainment beat but also, other beats.
Speaking further, Bayagbon said he met Amadi at the
vanguard in 1985, when the late Vanguard’s Group Entertainment Editor was
being groomed by late Mr. Hakeem Ikandu, Vanguard’s pioneer
entertainment editor.
“Amadi was a great telecoms reporter”, said Bayagbon.
In those days unlike now that reporters have only on beat, we covered many
beats.”
The Deputy Editor, Eze Anaba said Ogbonna “was very
creative and hard working. “I worked closely with him when I was SaturdayVanguard Editor.
I found him, and his team to be very competent and creative. Working with him
was fun. Although we had our differences at times and we did argue and quarrel,
such arguments usually led to very good ideas that enriched us all. Even as
deputy editor, we still argued. What you wouldn’t take away from him was that
he wasn’t malicious. He took criticisms in his stride and tried to improve on
his work. Until his death, he worked hard to be acknowledged
as the don of entertainment journalism. He was indeed
the don. We will miss him.”
Group Sports Editor, Mr. Onochie anibeze, said he and
late Amadi were interviewed and employed in Vanguard on the
same day.
“This informed our great relationship. He showed great
interest in sports and made entertainment reporting very entertaining. I cannot
find words to capture his death. I’m still in shock”.
News Editor, Kayode Matthew said “it is difficult for
me to believe that Amadi is no more; such an entertaining, jolly good fellow. A
very pleasant colleague who is truly a friend.”
“But I am consoled in one unshakeable fact. When he
resumed from his annual leave, he confidently told me that the greatest thing
he achieved during his leave was that he reconciled with the creator,” Matthew
added.
The Sunday Editor, Mr. Jide Ajani said, in his tribute
to Amadi, wrote: “To a dear friend snatched from us by death. May his soul rest
in perfect peace. Sun-re-o omo Amadi (sleep well, son of
Amadi)”.
Miss Chioma Gabriel, Saturday Editor said she met
Amadi in August 1995 when she started working at the Vanguard. “It
is really difficult to refer to him in the past. He was a show guy, an
entertainer, comical but at the same time, serious. He can dance, laugh and
sorrow with you depending on the situation. He was a free soul, you know. There
is a difference between having a bad habit and yet a free soul. Amadi had a
free a soul.
“We were like Tom and Jerry because we fought when it
was necessary but we always reconciled. He didnt harbour grudges but
usually spoke his mind on any issue. We were together Wednesday in the
office when I accused him of killing entertainment onSaturday. In his
usual manner, he explained that if I compared entertainment on Saturday with
other days, that I would discover that it was still the best. He even conducted
an interview with a Nollywood star that Wednesday but at a point, he started
acting strange and I didn’t understand
him. That was the worst kind of death, it was so
sudden, giving nobody any chance to care for him.
“As the Group Entertainment Editor of Vanguard, the
best thing anybody, especially those he worked with would do to keep his memory
alive, is to keep up the good work. They should maintain the tempo of the job.
Strangely, he did all the job he had for Saturday edition before he died.
Somebody has to pick up from where he stopped and maintain the tempo because as
a show guy, he wouldn’t want the show to die.”
Assistant News Editor, Kenneth Ehigiator said Ogbonna
would be remembered for being one of the journalists who electrified Vanguard
newsroom and made production effortless.
Delta State government said through Mr. Oma Djeba,
former Information Commissioner, that he “was one of the greatest entertainment
icons and journalists in Nigeria. We shall miss him.”
Deputy Features editor, Mr. Mike Ebonugwo, too stunned
to say anything, wrote in the condolence book. “But for sure, you are a big
loss to all of us who knew you and value your worth.”
Theo Opara, also a deputy Features editor, wrote:
“Senior, when you told me you would have loved to compile all your works, I
didn’t know you knew the time was up. May the almighty God grant you eternal
rest.
Foreign Editor, Mr. Hugo Odiogor, in a philosophical
musing,described Amadi’s death thus: “Life is like a walking shadow, a poor
player that struts and frets upon the stage, it’s heard no more. It is a brief
candle that expires in a single breath.”
Victor Gotovbe, Administration Manager said, Amadi’s
death was a big shock. ”Sometime yesterday, he came to my office and we
chatted. About an hour later, I got a call from one of our colleagues that the
doctor called to say that Amadi had asthma attack and at the end of it, he
couldn’t make it. I asked him, what do you mean by he couldn’t make it.
“I could remember when I started Weekend Vibes column.
He gave me a lot of useful advice. He was a man full of ideas. Every moment he
looked for some ideas to pass across to people, he might not be the one to
execute. He was such a simple guy to work with. To me, he was more than a
colleague, he was like an elder brother. I will miss him so much. He had dreams
and is always passionate about the young people. With his death some of those
dreams are gone.”
The Nigeria entertainment industry has lost some one, a
rare gem who took entertainment to an enviable height.
Mr. Adeleke Adeseri, South West Editor, exclaimed: “We
were very close. We used to greet with latest issues from our beats. You were
such a decent man – committed to your work and family. I can remember vividly
how you settled rifts in families especially of characters on your
entertainment beat. I know we will meet to part no more.
Sleep well Ogbonna
And from Labour Correspondent, Mr. Victor
Ahiuma-Young, “Like the Bible said, it will come like a thief in the
night. But Amadi’s death came in the bright day light. Though death is a
necessary end, the way Amadi died is too difficult to comprehend.”
I think I saw him last on the fateful day around 2pm
when he was concluding an interview with a lady right in the reception of Vanguard
Newspaper close to the newsroom. I think we have to leave it to God we
cannot ask why, only God knows why. There is no doubt that Amadi would be
missed.