Femi Adesina, Bayo Onanuga, Others Share Their Stories In Azuh Arinze’s New Book ‘Anything And Everything Journalism’

In over 13 years, Publisher and Editor in Chief, ‘Yes International!’ Magazine Azuh Arinze has released seven books, all of which chronicled his journalistic exploits and experiences. With his new book, ‘Anything And Everything Journalism’, he is set to create a journalism ‘bible’ that contains everything to know about journalism as a profession.

To fully achieve this, Azuh had in-depth interviews with 37 of the best and greatest Nigerian journalists across print, broadcast, and online to not only further chronicle and crystallise the story of these renowned journalists but also to use their stories as a learning curve for journalists.

The book dedicated to two veteran journalists, Dele Giwa and Dimgba Igwe, both of whom died in controversial circumstances, will be unveiled alongside his second book ‘My Story Of Many Colours’ at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) on Monday, March 25, 2024.

“All the 37 journalists featured in Anything And Everything Journalism were painstakingly selected and then interviewed,” Azuh told Netng. “Some of the interviews took years to accomplish. I interviewed them in different states – Lagos, Abuja, Katsina and so on.”

Among the journalists he profiled were Segun Osoba, Ray Ekpu, Bayo Onanuga, Mike Awoyinfa, Dele Momodu, Femi Adesina, Dimgba Igwe, Simon Kolawole, Ikechukwu Amaechi, Azu Ishiekwene, Musikilu Mojeed, Dotun Oladipo, Louis Odion, Gbenga Adefaye, Seye Kehinde, Kunle Bakare, Lekan Otufodunrin, Lanre Idowu, Steve Ayorinde, Soni Irabor, Adesuwa Onyenokwe, Femi Sowoolu, Bimbo Oloyede, Eze Anaba, Christopher Isiguzo, Bisi Olatilo, Larry Izamoje, Dare Babarinsa, Ali M Ali, Femi Akintunde-Johnson, Funke Egbemode, Olusegun Adeniyi, Gbenga Omotoso, Mayor Akinpelu, Shola Oshunkeye, Ibim Semenitari, etc.

Azuh said that why he settled for these individuals was because they’re among the best in Nigeria’s journalism landscape.

“What did I do with the best and brightest? Convince them to share their success secrets so that the young and the old can learn from them, improve and become better journalists. In short, you can describe what I have done as funnelling 37 biographies into one book. The reason I call it the journalism bible,” he told Netng.

Telling these stories and writing this nearly 500-page book was an important feat for Azuh Arinze. In a country where fake news proliferates media platforms and internet users increase daily with an analysis by Kepios indicating that internet users in Nigeria increased by 2.9 million (+2.4 per cent) between 2022 and 2023, the digitalisation of news has given rise to fake news peddlers who have capitalised on the need for sensationalism to shares news and produce journalistic content without following appropriate and ethical guidelines involved in the profession.

To keep up, journalists vie for the attention of the 122 million active internet users by following the same principles set by fake news peddlers, thereby increasing the lack of trust gap Nigerian citizens already have in the media. According to a digital news report by The Reuters Institute published in 2022, trust in media stands at 58%. It’s quite alarming considering the fact that a 2024 report by the World Economic Forum Global Risks, documents that misinformation and disinformation are ranked as the world’s most severe global risk within the next two years and the sixth most concerning risk over a longer ten-year timeframe.

“Without hiding my feelings or mincing words, the quality of reporting has dropped drastically. In fact, only a few people now report. And it’s so sad. What is currently going on in the profession is both shocking and alarming,” Arinze told Netng.

Azuh Arinze’s book, through the story of the greats, will spotlight the discrepancies and spotlight practices that need to come back. In a world where people read only headlines, in which social media has ‘reprogrammed’ the average person’s brain to have an 8.25 seconds attention span, and fake news peddlers have gained huge followings, it has become pertinent for journalists to understand the basics and learn from the greats, in order to not only increase the public’s trust in Nigerian media but elevate the craft to what it once was.