''Beyond Expectations'', A Legacy Of Integrity: Yakubu Mohammed, Journalist, Reformer & Reluctant Politician

Ismail Abdulaziz
Jul, Mon, 2025

Features

”Beyond Expectations”, A legacy of integrity: Yakubu Mohammed, journalist, reformer & reluctant politician

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By Yusuf Mohammed

In Beyond Expectations, veteran journalist and media entrepreneur Yakubu Mohammed delivers a deeply personal yet historically significant memoir that chronicles not only his extraordinary life journey but also key moments in Nigeria’s political and media evolution.

For readers who have long sought clarity on Dele Giwa and the infamous Gloria Okon saga, Mohammed offers crucial insights.

In this no-holds-barred book, there’s a chapter dedicated to political betrayals: naming names and making clarifications without mincing words. It is one of the boldest sections in the book.

From humble beginnings in Igala land, Yakubu Mohammed’s rise is the stuff of legend. His early life, marked by poverty and hardship, did not deter him.

With quiet determination, he rose to the editorial helm of MKO Abiola’s National Concord Newspapers and later became a founding member of Nigeria’s first news magazine, Newswatch, alongside Ray Ekpu, Dan Agbese, and the late Dele Giwa.

While the four are often celebrated as co-founders, Agbese writes in the preface that Yakubu was the true initiator, the man who brought them together and made the vision a reality.

The memoir is rich with behind-the-scenes stories from Nigeria’s turbulent years. One standout episode is Mohammed’s first-hand account of the military’s brutal raid on Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s Kalakuta Republic in 1977.

In spite of direct threats from security agents, Mohammed refused to be silenced. His paper, New Nigerian, published the story when most others backed down. In a military era, it was an act of courage that could have cost him his freedom or worse.

Speaking of freedom, this memoir reveals that his liberty was taken from him several times throughout his career.

The worst instance was during the dictatorship of General Sani Abacha, when he was thrown into the “gulag” in 1994.

Perhaps the most unexpected part of Mohammed’s journey was his brief entry into partisan politics. In the foreword, Prof. Olatunji Dare expresses surprise at the decision, describing Nigerian politics as a domain filled with “dirty tricks, betrayals and sordid deals.”

Mohammed’s experience confirmed this. Yet even in that muddy arena, he remained true to his values and left with his dignity intact.

Beyond politics and journalism, Beyond Expectations also sheds light on Yakubu Mohammed’s quiet acts of leadership, defending the oppressed during his time as pro-chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; mentoring young professionals, and refusing to take undue credit.

even with this towering achievements, he is described repeatedly as a man of humility, someone who “hates to blow his own horn.”

In fact, it is the unforced modesty of this memoir that will give it lasting power. Mohammed does not attempt to paint himself as a hero. Instead, he lets the facts, and his consistent principles, speak for themselves.

Just like his days in Concord and later Newswatch, his storytelling is clear, elegant, and deeply human. Whether describing a diplomatic trip, a newsroom crisis, or a quiet act of betrayal, Mohammed writes with a subtle wit.

For his contemporaries and those who were old enough back in the day, Mohammed’s recollections will evoke a deep sense of nostalgia.

For the younger generation, those too young or not yet born at the time, it offers a chance to understand why he and his colleagues were arguably the biggest stars in Nigeria during the 1980s. They weren’t musicians or actors. They rose to prominence with the power of the pen.

His reflections on loyalty, and the pain of ingratitude, are especially moving. “Some pay him back with the coins of ingratitude,” writes Agbese. Yet Yakubu, ever gracious, “takes it in his stride.”

The memoir closes with a sense of fulfilment rather than triumph.

This is a man who has stood at the intersection of power, truth, and service, and emerged with his soul intact.

From the dust of Ologba in Kogi State, to Buckingham Palace, where he once had an audience with Queen Elizabeth II, Yakubu Mohammed’s story is not just a personal success; it is a national asset.

Beyond Expectations is a powerful, necessary book, especially in today’s Nigeria, where ethics in public life often feel endangered. It is a reminder that one can be principled and still be impactful. That one can lead quietly and still shape history.

Whether you are a student of journalism, a lover of Nigerian history, or simply a reader in search of a story that uplifts, informs, and inspires, this is a book worth reading.

In telling his own story, Yakubu Mohammed reminds us of what is possible when character, courage, and competence meet.

**Mohammed is the publisher of The Columnist NG

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