Olu Gordon… a very goodbye sir
The reflection of a man that competently and ably made me put pen onto to paper, lingers my mind each time Ritchie Olu Awoonor Gordon’s death is told and retold. (Photo: the late Ritchie Olu Awoonor Gordon)
No doubt at all that the news about Olu’s death vibrates all over; none and even cub media practitioners whose intentions of becoming one of Olu’s types, regret such a loss.
It was with Olu’s newspaper I was taught how to pacify and put words to order – go gather the news and report on them timely, readably and in line with professional ethical mandates.
“Man, have you submitted your story for today?” Olu always asked. “Then leave, this is not your office.”
Of course, those who know Olu need not doubt testimonies of his strange and unchanging indeterminate states all the days’ of his life.
But trust me, he was a good mentor. His creativity and insistence to always get answers to the ‘why’ questions of stories he wrote undoubtedly earned him the so precious and befitting respect he enjoys as he quits this world for the next.
“Boy, I am getting tired, come help me proof read some of the stories,” he said to me.
“Occupy that seat over there,” he continues.
I remember him telling me he hates promotional stories.
On a number of occasions he has turned down stories that sing praise individuals.
His best of bests is hard news stories; those that are hidden behind enemy lines.
I still have the reflection of a document I once submitted to Olu that exposed conduct of persons overindulging into unfavorable activities.
“Well done boy,” he joyously said, “go to Youyi Building and confirm with Mr. so and so about so so so and so,” he continued.
The following day, as cub as I was; my byline was boldly written on a story that occupied the front page of Peep Magazine.
Of course, colleagues in the media scenery have been sending text messages questioning me over acknowledgment of whom I see as my ‘Rabbi,’ Karamokoh, teacher and ‘mentor’- the late Richie Olu Gordon.
Yes, those who know me for Olu or ‘Mr. Gordon’ as I used to call him were baffled at not seeing me say tribute to the reverential late man.
I chose to be the least if not the last to render tribute to Olu because he used to be a father, who, even in the grave will still be a father.
As the editor of one of Sierra Leone’s widely read newspapers – Sierra Express Media – I am proud, though also sad, to say to the world that the late Olu Gordon made me what I am today.
Whether by accident or through careful planning, there have been people throughout time who stand out because, by changing events and circumstances, they have altered the course of history, sometimes even after their deaths.
Olu has changed the course of history by his brave actions and decisions; it is sure he has a place in the home of paradise.
Olu, your actions, impacts and goodies to Sierra Leone will soon be explained in books and history of this country.
Sleep and take your rest sir.
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