“No great man lives in vain, for the history of the world is the history of great men”…..Carlye Thomas, one of the greatest Essayist, to come from Scotland.
These words capture Comrade YJ Itopa, whose footprints on the prescious sands of time and the golden pages of history of journalism continue to stand him out.
Comrade Y.J. Itopa, who was recently appointed MD/CEO of the Kogi State owned Print Media organization, The Graphic Newspaper, by Governor Usman Ahmed Ododo, is a man with an absolute sense of mission, who from a humble beginning, as I know him, rose to the top of journalism profession without losing the common touch.
From his first day into the realm of the profession, he has, to many, become a Tai Solarin of sort, and it is in the nature and definition if a Tai to be indefatigable. This perhaps explain the secrets behind his performance in the course of his private and public responsibilities over the years.
Since he generally believed that the attainment of the peak in one’s calling does not come on a platter of gold, those who have painstakingly acquired such heights of status deserve some kudos and social cognition which I believe formed the idea of the power in place in Kogi state to offer him this dignified position.
Nothing bears eloquent testimony to the success story of Comrade Itopa than the practical and purposeful leadership he has been giving his contemporaries in the media cycle and his immediate constituent, Graphic Newspaper, where I was privileged to know him, study and noticed his outstanding personality. A quintessential leader; a man who believes in excellence and promotes it in all spheres of his life. His passion for excellence knows no bound as he would respect you regardless of your age, if you are good at what you do but would have nothing to do with mediocre, and those that could not generate ideas.
There is no doubt that his antecedent in the media and his invaluable contributions towards Kogi State Chapters of NUJ with a particular focus on his legendary revolution and the journalism at large will invaluably be translated to the growth and ethic of the image-making of the Graphic Newspaper chaple.
Comrade Itopa’s brevity and dedication earned him a position of Research Assistant and Feature Editor at the Graphic Newspaper before the recent appointment. Though, a thorough administrator, he is not known for radical rhetoric. He is a practical man who believe in reforming the system rather than destroying it.
Beyond Itopa’s humble exterior lies impenetrable armour on principle and a dedication to the truth that is beyond price and above the appeal or pull of tribalism. He is a detribalised leader of thought.
Comrade Itopa is a seasoned journalist, playwright and publisher of high repute, has published so many books and journals, which include; “Governor Idris, A Tree of Revolution”;
Comrade Itopa humble principle made him appreciate that when you work hard towards a goal and you succeed in attaining it, the pride of that success is sweeter than when you get it on a platter of gold as you may not really know the value.
Comrade Itopa, as he is popularly known and called, is a friendly gentleman to all, simple, a pious and an opulent journalist, who however refused to look down on the creatures of God that are not as blessed and fortune as he is in life. This most probably, must have endeared him so effortlessly to his colleagues and contemporaries in the media and the office.
His Excellency, the executive governor of Kogi state, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, must be credited with a robust wisdom for raising a clan of professional Turks, in the type of Comrade Itopa, a professional acumen, to steer with him the ship of the state in the journalism perspective.
While I join other well-wishers to congratulate you, my respected senior colleague in the media, I pray Allah to grant you the enormous strength and wisdom to carry out the challenges to the expectations of the people of Kogi state, Ameen.
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Idris Isah Itopa, Media Practisioner, Abuja.