In this write-up, MU’SODIQ ADEKUNLE, examines the life and works of Late Peter Oyeyemi Obe, popularly known as ‘Peter Obe’. Included are a dozen facts many people don’t know about the ace photo-journalist.
Like the popular axiom, “Death is inevitable”, a former photojournalist with Daily Times of Nigeria , Peter Oyeyemi Obe, has died after battling an ailment which many believed was related to old age.
Obe, who died at 81, laid down his cameras on Sunday after battling sore throat a couple of weeks before his death.
His outstanding performance could not but be felt with the mass messages of commiseration; friends and colleagues that also gathered to commiserate with his immediate family residence at 31 Masha Street, Surulere, Lagos proved his uniqueness.
Among those who commiserated with the iconic journalist are President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan; Ondo State Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko; Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State; journalists and well meaning Nigerians.
For Jonathan: “The history of journalism in Nigeria will be incomplete without an acknowledgement of Obe’s pioneering role in the development of photojournalism in the country as well as his lucid documentation of the Nigerian civil war and other profound events in the evolution of the nation.
“As they mourn the legendary ace-photographer, President Jonathan enjoins his professional successors and other media practitioners to strive to emulate Peter Obe’s exemplary commitment, dedication and patriotism which were always apparent throughout his long and highly successful career.”
Mimiko said in the days of Obe at the defunct Daily Times, he was able to demonstrate to the reading public that photography tells the story.
“No doubt, Obe was a force in the lens profession and one way or the other, he would have enhanced the photography aspect of the social media because he was a pathfinder and a visionary who brought dynamism and core professionalism to the photo aspect journalism," he said.
For Ajimobi: “Although the ace photojournalist died at the ripe age of 81, his departure is shocking and painful. He was one particular photojournalist who used the power of picture to contribute to the socio-political development of Nigeria.
``Pa Obe was not only an icon, he was a master of his profession. At a time when not many people were brave enough to take to photojournalism as a profession because of the risk associated with it, he put all hindrances aside and made a mark,’’ the governor remarked.
A DOZEN FACTS ABOUT LATE PETER OYEYEMI OBE
1. Obe was very fast in shooting photographs. He had worked with the defunct Daily Times and, later with AFP and Reuters.
2. His photographs were always stamped 'exclusives' in the newsroom. He was one of the leading photo-journalists who covered the Nigerian Civil War.
3. Visual impairment, which the deceased had a couple of years ago, cut short his freelance photography work for the Agence France Presse (AFP)
4. His coverage of the Nigerian civil war for the Daily Times resulted in a one-of-its-kind book, “Civil War Pictures from Nigeria: A Decade of Crisis in Pictures.”
5. If he did not cover any event then, that event was not going to be a historic event.
6. Obe is survived by five children, namely: Femi, Dolapo, Folake (the only female), Gboyega and Afolabi.
7. One of my most vivid memories of his photos is the one of Brigadier Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, Christian Chukwu and Sam Ojebode, captains of their teams, together at the centre of the National Stadium - He got them holding a ball, beaming best smiles, to douse mounting tension as IICC-Rangers played in the first leg of the final of the 1977 Cup Winners Cup.
8. His collections of personal pictures were warehoused in the large room on the ground floor of his one-storey building. In the room were collections of pictures he took at the war front, Gowon’s wedding, among others.
9. He slept very late around 3.00 a.m. on the Sunday he died.
10. When the Cocoa House in Ibadan was burning, he got the information around 10 p.m. and he went to Ibadan that same night and got back to Lagos around 2 a.m. The pictures were splashed on the front pages of the Daily Times early that morning.
11. He hailed from Igbaraoke, Southern senatorial district of Ondo State, died at 81 at his 31, Moronu Streeet, Surulere, Lagos home.
12. There was no time he goes to the newsroom without bringing something for the people there, whether kola nuts or bitter kola.
HOW OBE’S CHILDREN MISPLACED SLEEP FOR DEATH
..... We thought he was sleeping, says Obe’s eldest son.
Eldest son of ace photojournalist, Peter Obe, who died on Sunday, September 1, Femi, while recounting his father’s last moments, said the family members thought he was sleeping not dead.
According to him, Obe slept late around 3.am but was nursing a sore throat a couple of weeks before his death.
Femi told Daily Times, that the death of the ace photo-journalist was surprising, saying his father responded well to medical treatment and his condition improved, before he suddenly died in the hands of one of his younger brother, who is a medical doctor, Afolabi.
“My father was diligent, proficient and loved challenges in the course of his fulfilling career. I remembered when the Cocoa House in Ibadan was burning, we got the information around 10 p.m and he went to Ibadan that very night and got back around 2 a.m. And the pictures were splashed on the front pages of the paper early that morning.
“He was actually okay, he had a problem with his throat and my brother who is a medical doctor had been treating him. He actually died in his hands. On Sunday morning, he slept very late around 3.00 a.m. so we decided not to wake him up because he slept late but by the time my doctor brother got here around past noon, he was already unconscious and died a few minutes after.”
http://www.dailytimes.com.ng/article/peter-obe-photojournalist-no-other#comment-29719
September 4, 2013 - 3:33pm | By Mu'Sodiq Adekunle
Written by NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE
Sodiq Oyeleke is a Media, Human Resources, Project Management and Public Relations Practitioner
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