Opinion
A Falcon Flies Away
Existence is a bargain in which life and death as partners battle for the soul of man. Like lawyers in court, life and death have a way of reconciling their differences, leaving scars in the heart of man. Life and death are terminal routes and tracks of the same great adventure and mystery that defines the essence of our humanity.
Constantly, we bear the brunt of the vicissitudes of life and death, with outstanding puzzling effects that daze even the most pontificating minds.
The sudden demise of our Friday Nwinudee, an editor with The Tide Newspaper is indeed a sad reminder of the confounding nature of our existence on earth.
Before his sudden death, Friday Nwinudee attended the Editorial Board meeting that week with his colleagues, but his appearance turned out his last in that meeting as he thereafter, fell into the cold hands of death.
As a man who loved life and enjoyed his job, Friday Nwinudee looked up to life beyond the civil service with a great prospect, but his hopes, dreams and aspirations were truncated by the bad reaper, called death.
While alive, Friday Nwinudee served humanity dutifully, using the potent weapon of his pen to shape the pathway of mankind.
Nwinudee’s thorough portrait is reflected in many writings especially, in his column, “The Other Angle’, which propped up his anonymous fans and readers.
He treated his work with seriousness and showed great commitment toward encouraging budding talents. He understood the trust that constitutes the nobility of service; service of truth and freedom.
He was vast in the arts and skills of journalism, but he also knew the limit of professional arrogance, and so was not deluded by the edge he had, but exuded contentment.
As a reporter, Nwinudee proved his mettle, as an editor he demanded facts without embellishment and as a columnist he was a consummate stylist that added vadour to the pages of The Tide, especially the Weekend and Sunday Tide, which he at various times edited.
Beneath his frail structure was an undercurrent of wit, sarcasm and artistic prowess which he applied to captivate his audience.
But above all, he was humble to a fault, a position and posture that was taken for tomfoolery by some of his colleagues.
He had a way of absorbing his trials, travails, difficulties and even official challenges without raising dust over such pangs or his personal life.
He was a genial, affable, easy going gentleman, a truculent workaholic who surmounted the delights of newsroom jokes and also lived to the fire brigade demands of the job which he loved most.
I started reading Friday Nwinudee’s work as a secondary school student, and the magnitude of his work portrayed a man with sinewy biceps, but I came to discover, a slim gentleman, an ignitable irritant whose might was actually in the potency of his pen.
He was well at home with his job and determined to get the best out of it. Many including this writer tapped from his vast reservoir of journalistic experiences.
Working under him, I learnt encouragement, hardwork, and gratitude, which is an exquisite form of courtesy. I also learnt patience, diligence and tolerance.
Nwinude was never impatient in his mentorship, even when he got a dismal result from a reporter.
Rather, he will unfold several approaches to improving the piece at stake. This made him a ‘huggable’ person, as reporters always want to work on his desk. He was never a vindictive editor and never showed any sense of pride, nor sought artificial measures to cover up his shortcomings.
As a master, which he was, he opened up to learning more skills and that swelled his knowledge of his cherished career.
His life was the antithesis of some editors, “bosses” and media executives who nurtured and reveled in sustained victimisation of their vulnerable quarries, especially reporters considered to be impregnable and undeserving of certain privileges.
Nwinudee was so committed to his work that he never dissipated unnecessary energy to entertain official gossip or mudslinging of his colleagues or sorbordinates.
He detested rabble rousing, and those who showed commitment to hardwork won a place in his heart.
Nwinudee was also a great coordinator, facilitator and bridge builder. He coordinated his colleagues from Rivers State to participate in the Guild of Editors Conference, held in various parts of the country.
And so when in the night of 24th April, 2012, the falcon flew away to his Lord’s bossom, it became another startling reminder that this world is not our ultimate destination.
It also re-echoes the lyrics in one of the tracks of the reggae maestro, Robert Nesta Marley, that, “one good morning when my job is over I will fly away home.”
But was Friday Nwinudee’s job actually over as at the time of his sudden demise? The answer lies in the fact that the heroic hours of life do not announce themselves by trumpet or blandishment, but summon us to legendry process or pitiable tragedy.
Nwinudee is indeed a hero, as he used his short time on earth actively, and impacted on his society positively.
Perhaps, his sudden death, shows us that every ticking moment of our life should be treated as our last moment, implying that we should make the best out life at every point.
For us journalists, we must like Nwinudee, continue to write to right the wrongs of our society. We must shirk the pursuit of cheap gains and vendetta and set agenda for societal development.
We must be conscious that our works will speak volumes for us. We must realise that there is a flawless arbiter taking note of our overt or covert activities.
We must show eternal vigilance to defend the common good, as a price of liberty.
The Rivers State Government which Nwinudee served, also owes him a responsibility to immortalise this great journalist, who at many points in his career, projected the image of the state.
As the first Abuja Bureau Chief of The Tide, under the military era, he became a worthy Rivers State Ambassador among other professional colleagues from other parts of the country.
The Rivers State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) also owes him a sense of remembrance. Nwinudee was a former Secretary of the NUJ in Rivers State, and he served the union meritoriously during his tenure. His life remains an epitome of excellence and selfless commitment to professional duties. I simply envy the angels.
Taneh Beemene
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