By Uzor Maxim Uzoatu
One does not need to write too many words to signify the essence of the gem named Azuh Arinze. He has all on his own written himself into the consciousness of our epoch with words of wisdom that belie his age.
A prolific pathfinding journalist, Azuh Arinze is the author of valuable books such as The CEO’s Bible, Success Is Not Served A La Carte, A Taste of Success, Conversations With Showbiz Stars, Encounters – Lessons from My Journalism Career etc.
His latest offering on the book front, My Story of Many Colours, is in my estimation the most personal and heartfelt of his writings.
There is an infectious intimacy in Azuh Arinze’s rendition of his one-on-one encounters with variegated personages across the 30-year span of his journalism practice.
There is also in the book the ennobling dimension of his tour of duty in Rotary International and the foundational scheme of setting up and recruiting the initial set of staff of his magazine YES INTERNATIONAL!
The qualities showcased by Azuh Arinze through his lifework are sincerity, tenacity and integrity.
These noble qualities have endeared him to so many potentates in line with the Igbo proverb made famous by Chinua Achebe in Things Fall Apart, to wit, “if a child washed his hands he could eat with kings.”
Azuh Arinze’s endearing reputation has given him every journalist’s most needed wherewithal: Access.
He can knock on any door and the door will open.
Azuh Arinze has more sources than the many rivers of Mother Africa put together!
He has nurtured these sources with uncommon success over the years, and the yield is what we cherish in My Story of Many Colours.
It is indeed remarkable that one gets to meet Nigeria’s brand new President Bola Ahmed Tinubu up close in My Story of Many Colours.
Azuh Arinze recalls that it was on June 2, 2022 in Abeokuta, Ogun State that Tinubu made his landmark “Emilokan” (It’s my turn) invocation that served as a launching pad to his ascent to the Nigerian presidency.
In truth, astute human interest journalism has a splendid advertisement in the work of Azuh Arinze.
As though impelled by the spirit of balance demanded by the finer principles of journalism, Azuh Arinze also features Tinubu’s main rival on the political turf, Peter Obi, in My Story of Many Colours.
While Tinubu was backed by the incumbency of the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC), and its mammoth structures, Peter Obi threw his hat into the political ring without any structure to crow about save his measly Labour Party (LP) and a motley youthful crowd called “Obidients.”
Peter Obi somewhat defied the old proverb of a tree not being able to make a forest with the unprecedented tsunami and hurricane of his charge.
Azuh Arinze scores a bull’s eye because there is no escaping the historicity of the titans of the controversial 2023 presidential election in Nigeria commanding deserved depiction in every iconic book of this day and age.
The President-General of Nigeria as it were, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, also happens to be in the good books of Azuh Arinze, and there is a photograph and glowing words in this book to prove the point.
The questing journalist arms himself with knowledge such that even when he had not met a luminary, as per Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr., he can still forge ahead on the guru’s 70th birthday anniversary to vouchsafe “70 things about the billionaire I haven’t met, and yet know so much about.”
Nigeria’s standout political leaders and business captains are all grist to Azuh Arinze’s mill.
The celebrities of the entertainment industry are all on first name terms with him.
It is obvious that these worthies bestow tremendous respect on him because he respects himself and his craft.
How he manages to retain the trust of these legends with their concomitant huge egos should merit extensive studies in institutions of higher learning, especially in psychology and management departments.
Azuh Arinze’s title My Story of Many Colours is of course inspired by the ace American musician Dolly Parton’s 1971 signature song “Coat of Many Colours”.
Here is a classic story of rags to riches.
There are supercilious pretenders out there who would offhandedly scoff at what they dismissively call “the yellow press” or “junk journalism” without ever bordering to read in order to arm themselves with knowledge.
By preserving his writings in bound covers Azuh Arinze eloquently proves that he belongs with the very best in the journalism cadre.
He delivers his encounters with the rich and mighty with the requisite felicity of language.
My Story of Many Colours by Azuh Arinze is a many-splendored tour de force.
Uzor Maxim Uzoatu is the author of God of Poetry
