allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Yinka Craig (1947-2008) Farewell to a Remarkable Broadcaster (Page 1 of 2)

Tuesday, September 23rd was certainly a gloomy day for the Craigs. It was the day the pillar of their family collapsed. It was the day Mr Olayinka Babasanya Craig, a veteran journalist, "father, teacher, mentor and friend" departed this world. He set out very early in the morning, 6:00am, after a fierce battle with cancer in far away Minnesota, USA.

For most people that knew him, his name became synonymous with Newsline, AM Express and Morning Ride. Even in sports journalism, he was a force to reckon with. It was there that he ended his long but fruitful career in broadcasting with the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), which he joined since 1966.

Since his death at 60, glowing tributes have been paid to him by so many people across the country, but not as grand as his colleagues at NTA. For Mr Bayo Awala, a colleague of the late Craig since the early 1980s, and a comrade in the Independent Television Producers Association of Nigeria (ITPAN) in most recent years, "he was a fine gentleman, very creative. I remember the first Newsline report that he did. He drove round the country for the programme and came back at about midnight and I happened to be around that time. It was incredible. As far as the profession is concerned, he performed his responsibilities keenly.

"Our NTA was one family then, though we were not in the same department. I was in programmes and he was in news, we're always working together and we pursued the same interests. We were very close, we were very familiar", he said.

According to Awala, the memories of Craig's immeasurable achievements in the broadcast industry will linger on in the minds of Nigerians, as there has never been such a loved, respected and renowned man. "His legacy is there for all to see. He was somebody who strived to touch people's lives in all aspects and they are remembering him today. Basically he should be remembered as a worthy Nigerian who contributed his quota to the development of the nation as he met the challenges of his professional calling", he said.

Mr Shamsudeen Adeiza, the publisher of Abuja News Web too knew the fallen hero since the eighties and they had cause to interact at different occasions. When these reporters caught up with him, he was signing the condolence register opened at NTA and was wishing the late Craig safe journey to the great beyond. "I knew Mr Yinka Craig since I was still a staff of NTA in the 1980s. Then I was a producer in Ilorin and I had one reason or the other to interact with him either on the job or outside it, even when I left NTA. Recently, on AM Express, he was there when I featured my magazine.

"As you saw me writing in the register, I have described him as an icon in his chosen field. And I prayed for him that his soul should also be an icon in finding its way back home to paradise. He was a standard bearer for the profession. He was a natural good presenter, a sports analyst and a sociable human being so he should inspire younger people who want to go into this profession".

But Adeiza would want Nigerians to remember the late icon as an "epitome of commitment. He was known to be energetic and unyielding which made him a unique person. It is an aspect that many Nigerians lack. He was a person who could be passionate about whatever he was doing and once he got going that way, he made sure that he came out successful. I think Nigerians should learn from him generally that we need commitment to make the country work".

For the Executive Director Programmes, NTA, Mr Jimmy Atteh, the late Craig was not only a colleague; he was also an elder brother. "Because he was a year older, I always referred to him as an elder brother. We also looked identical and we were also good friends", he fondly said.

Just like any good friend and a brother, Mr Atteh knew late Craig very well. He told Sunday Trust that the late journalist joined the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) in 1966 after his secondary school with the Ibadan station, when there were only four NBC stations in Nigeria: Lagos, Ibadan, Kaduna and Enugu.

Later, he was transferred to Lagos to join NBC/TV. This would become Nigeria Television (NTV) and later, NTA. According to Atteh, "he has been our own for a very long time".

In spite of a long and fulfilling career in NTA, Atteh believed it was when Craig left NTA that he actually attained the zenith of his career. "When he left NTA, he blossomed. He grew bigger because he was a very versatile person. He left NTA relatively young and he was able to improve himself.

"He became a computer guru. He was also versatile in the sense that he was a musician. He played guitar and this drew a lot of people close to him. He was never afraid of trying anything new and that was how he jumped into computer and became a wizard. Above all, he was witty, humorous, friendly and generous".

Atteh also accredited the success of Newsline to the hard work of the late broadcast doyen. "When the programme started they were the anchors. He and Patrick Okey were travelling from place to place to make the programme, for about a year or two and in 1990, he stopped presenting Newsline not long after he resigned from NTA".

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