In those days without computers or the Internet, Nyaknno was the search engine that powered the searches, quality content, and award-winning journalism for which Newswatch became known. How he did it so well can only be summed up by the inspiration he drew from a meeting and handshake with Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the Moon: Lasting legacies are built by doing what no one else has done before!
“Libraries store the energies that feed the imagination. They open windows to the world and inspire us to explore, achieve and contribute to improving our quality of life. Libraries improve lives.” –Sidney Sheldon
When I chose Mass Communications over Medicine, it was because I had been so struck by the Nigerian Chronicle published by Cross River State Newspaper Corporation, Calabar, that hanging a stethoscope around my neck lost its appeal. My father loved it, and through him I became acquainted with names like Nelson Etukudo, Ray Ekpu, Martins Usenekong, Antigha Bassey, Clement Ebri, Etim Amin, and Signor Tofu (the pen name of Elder Onofiok Ufot, the gifted father of the great publicist, Udeme Ufot, who at the time was Registrar at the University of Calabar), all great writers of the time.
If that newspaper was excellent, it owes much to its library and to the work of the man who started and ran it, NyaknnoAbasi Osso, Nigeria’s leading documentation specialist, whose birthday we celebrate today.
Nyaknno is the founder of the Biographical Research and Legacy Foundation (BLERF). Previously, he served as Special Assistant for Library, Research and Documentation to President Olusegun Obasanjo and as Newswatch’s Chief Librarian, where he published the groundbreaking Newswatch Who’s Who, a definitive biographical documentation of distinguished Nigerian achievers in all walks of life. He has been a friend and mentor for most of my life.
Over the years, Nyaknno has invested his entire life and resources in collecting, assembling and managing millions of books, magazines, newspapers and documents like no other Nigerian has ever done. His house and his offices in Abuja are filled with rare historical resources and reference materials suitable for national archives.
BLERF grew out of his passion to document our past through the lives and biographies of millions of successful Nigerians, so that we can learn lessons from our future. In a country where little value is placed on proper record keeping and the preservation of historical documents, and where public and private libraries have been closed and entire stocks of reference materials have been sold to paper recyclers, Nyaknno’s passion challenges us. to rethink and take action to save what remains.
The celebrated Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta is his creation. Twenty-five years of his life and work are expressed in the beauty, content, and rich treasures of that Center. It was his biggest concern from 1988 to 2013.
The BLERF website has nearly 35,000 names, the largest collection of Nigerian achievers in the world. The goal is to increase the list to one million in the next five years. Such a huge documentation project will require partnerships and investment in CSR to bring it to life. Without a solid financial partnership, this will remain just a dream.
His current project, BLERF, is a world-class media research center that he finances with his personal resources. It boasts a rich collection of more than two million books, diaries, bound volumes of newspapers, magazines, clippings, rare photographs, CDs, flash drives and hard drives collected since 1971.
Her dream for the center is bigger than her bag, which slows her speed to turn the idea into reality. The BLERF website has nearly 35,000 names, the largest collection of Nigerian achievers in the world. The goal is to increase the list to one million in the next five years. Such a huge documentation project will require partnerships and investment in CSR to bring it to life. Without a solid financial partnership, this will remain just a dream.
I must have met Nyaknno around 1982 and was immediately struck by his love of all things print. I spent what seemed like an eternity in his office, receiving scant attention as he read and bookmarked page after page of various local, national and foreign publications piled in front of him. He was throwing a question at me with his characteristic laugh, while his head lay buried in his work. Traffic in and out of his office was heavy. I soon discovered that it was production time and that many reporters, writers, and editors needed his opinion for the next day’s paper. I quickly realized that this was not a glamorous job in the newspaper publishing ecosystem and wondered why this bright and intelligent young man chose such a career path.
Nyaknno’s story is one of an early discovery of his passion and of pursuing it with determined devotion. It’s been a life of big dreams, many intellectual adventures, and an uncanny ability to make the right connection at the right time. Call it, seizing the moment.
As the only child of parents who had buried seven children before him, childhood meant extreme protection. But when he saw other children playing on the school field in front of his house, he dressed up, joined them, and earned a place in the elementary school. Although the Bible and Catholic Digest introduced him to serious reading in high school, where his love of history once led him to write 72 pages on a school history exam, it was his first day on a temp job, while I was waiting for admission to study. Medicine at the University of Ibadan which got him hooked on books.
When he left his village of Ete in the Ikot Abasi Local Government Area in present-day Akwa Ibom State to join his uncle, the late Professor Jumbo Udo of the University of Ibadan, the plan was to enroll in the College of Medicine at the University of Ibadan. He wrote the exams and the job opening at the university library was just to keep him busy. On his first day at work, the university librarian followed him to his house at midnight. He had found his passion and nothing would stand in his way. That was in 1971. He left medicine at the protest of his uncle and his family.
Throughout his life, providence has always placed him on the path of opportunity. Multimedia librarianship was not something he envisioned when he left Ibadan to join the newly created University of Nigeria, Calabar Campus. A chance meeting with Ray Ekpu at the Cross River State Library, Calabar, did it for him. An introduction and a candid opinion that Ray’s writings could benefit from further investigation landed Nyaknno the job of establishing and managing the Nigerian Chronicle library. Ray would later introduce Nyaknno to Dele Giwa in 1980.
At Newswatch, Nyaknno built a rich library that fueled the newsweekly’s intense editorial needs. If you’ve ever read and loved any magazine editorial work, its fingerprints were all over it. When journalists and editors needed information on any subject, they went to Nyaknno. He would deliver in a matter of minutes.
There is an interesting story about how Nyaknno joined Newswatch. Giwa, in the company of the late chief Ime Umanah, had arrived at his house at lunchtime on a Sunday in July 1984. No jokes, just a simple instruction from the man he so admired. “Get dressed immediately. We are going to Lagos to start a magazine called Newswatch”. A few hours later, the trio were on board a Nigerian Airways flight bound for Lagos. Newswatch found their engine room. Nyaknno delivered a field of play that came to define the trajectory of his career.
At Newswatch, Nyaknno built a rich library that fueled the newsweekly’s intense editorial needs. If you’ve ever read and loved any magazine editorial work, its fingerprints were all over it. When journalists and editors needed information on any subject, they went to Nyaknno. He would deliver in a matter of minutes.
In those days without computers or the Internet, Nyaknno was the search engine that powered the searches, quality content, and award-winning journalism for which Newswatch became known. How he did it so well can only be summed up by the inspiration he drew from a meeting and handshake with Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the Moon: Lasting legacies are built by doing what no one else has done before!
I visited him at work and at home, just steps from Newswatch, after my NYSC. I couldn’t tell the difference. All the spaces in the house were occupied by books, as was the office. It has remained that way to this day, no matter where you have lived. Sometimes I imagine that family is the only intrusion she has allowed to share her affection for all things print in the 52 years since she said yes to the book!
Nyaknno has interned in or visited hundreds of major libraries around the world. So you can understand the pain she feels when she talks about the scarcity of public libraries in Nigeria. She wants Nigeria to rebuild public libraries to speed up the development of our youth. As Bill Gates says, “Investing in public libraries is an investment in the nation’s future.”
It would be a fitting tribute to Nyaknno if governments, individuals and corporations would commit to funding public libraries and supporting laudable private initiatives like BLERF so that they in turn can, as Sydney Sheldon put it, inspire us to explore, achieve and improve the quality of our lives. national.
Utibe Ukim He is a journalist, writer and media entrepreneur.
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