Part 4: Don’t Blame Anyone If You Don’t Succeed in Life -By Tife Owolabi

Part 3 ended with me capturing the lynching of a 12-year-old boy accused of kidnapping a toddler around Shitta area

What happened next taught me one of journalism’s earliest lessons:

Sometimes, telling the truth comes with a price.

I initially wanted to take the tape to Labe Oru — The Mystery of Life, hosted by Kola Olawuyi. But I felt the story was being reduced to the spectacle of a mob killing or ritual . For me, the real story was the injustice.(Jungle Justice)

So I took it to Channels Television.

I didn’t even have fare to Maryland that day. I had to borrow money to get there.

The tape was previewed, and I was interviewed by the late Edet Umoh of blessed memory. A fine journalist with good diction. When the footage was broadcast, it sparked public outrage and widespread calls for justice. The police responded by arresting some people around the Surulere axis.

Then an unexpected rumour began spreading:

I had sold the tape for millions of naira.

😂😂😂

One day, people caught me on my street in Bankolemoh. They slapped me and beat me with rods. I was in serious trouble until some of them recognised my mother and she came to my rescue.

That night, I left Surulere and returned to my father’s place in Oshodi.

Then my phone rang.

It was my pastor, Pastor Yemi Davids, where I fellowship for years. He had heard about the unrest.

“I just heard there is unrest around the Bankolemoh axis. I learnt it is connected to the event you covered,” he said.

“Yes, sir,” I replied. “I have left the area for safety.”

His response was simple:

“Maintain a low profile for now.”

He prayed for me.

The story stayed in the news for a while, until other major events — including Bellview Airlines Flight 210, a Boeing 737-200, crashed on October 22, 2005, in Lisa village, Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State, killing all 117 people on board and the death of Mrs Stella Obasanjo — pushed it out of the headlines.

I also sought legal help. I met Festus Keyamo, at his Maryland Chamber, who wrote to the Police Commissioner asking that I be protected as a key witness in the prosecution of those arrested.

But, as with many things in Nigeria, I never really knew what became of the case.

Then came another unexpected development.

The Chairman of Channels Television, Dr John Momoh, had heard about my plight. I had already been supplying Channels TV with stories and working as a freelance cameraman, while the Controller News, Ambrose Okoh, pleaded my case.

Dr Momoh gave me an automatic employment that changed the direction of my life.

That was how my journey into journalism began.

But I was still struggling with my education. I had to abandoned my studies at LASU.

Then, as fate would have it, I was transferred from Lagos to Bayelsa.

At an editorial meeting, the Chairman introduced me to colleagues with words I have never forgotten:

“Meet my war correspondent.”

There was a vacancy for a cameraman in Bayelsa, which was then a difficult and hostile environment. I was chosen.

I packed my bags and headed to Yenagoa.

I thought Bayelsa would be where my career finally settled.

Instead, it became the place where I would drop out of school again… and again… and again.

Part 5 is about the schools I entered, the one that turned out to be a scam, the qualification I eventually earned with distinction — and how I went from a BSc dropout to a PhD holder.

#DrTifeOwolabi #MyStory #JournalistsJourney #FromConductorToPhD #NigerDeltaStories

Tife Owolabi, PhD, Anipr
Journalist
Niger Delta
07018869888
@tifeowolabi