Celebrating Kaye Whiteman

CHUKS OLUIGBO

The death of Kaye Whiteman, eminent British journalist, historian, author and columnist, on Saturday, May 17, in London, once again reaffirms the timeless words of William Shakespeare in ‘As You Like It’, that “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts.”

Kaye Whiteman (1936-2014)

Kaye Whiteman was, indeed, one man who played his part very well while on earth and whose commitment to the journalism profession would continue to provide inspiration for the younger generation. He chose journalism, was passionate about it, and dedicated his whole life to it even to the very end.

Until his death, aged 78, Whiteman was a weekly columnist in BusinessDay.

Frank Aigbogun, publisher, BusinessDay Newspaper, said in his tribute to Whiteman, “He was a gentleman to the core, never a dull moment when Kay Whiteman was around. A great journalist who wrote about a subject with unrivalled passion and understanding. His articles would always inspire us and we will sorely miss him.”

Whiteman was an expert on West African affairs – having lived and worked in the sub-region for many years as a journalist in different capacities, especially as deputy editor, and then editor of the weekly West Africa Magazine. In his weekly columns in BusinessDay, Whiteman exhibited his wide knowledge of West Africa and Africa in general in the masterly manner he analysed issues and events concerning the continent. Whether he was writing about the crisis in Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya or the uprising in Mali or the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt in the wake of the Arab Spring or the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, or even about ‘Kakadu the Musical’ – an exciting, inspirational and moving musical play that takes its name from the famous Lagos nightclub of the 1960s, written by Uche Nwokedi, a prominent oil and gas lawyer – which he was passionate about, Whiteman was always at his best. 

A widely acclaimed author, he co-edited ‘The EU and Africa: From Eurafrique to Afro-Europa’ – a book of essays that confront the historical, political, socioeconomic, and cultural dimensions of the European Union's relationship with Africa – with Adekeye Adebajo.

Whiteman also wrote extensively on Lagos, crowning it eventually with his masterpiece on Lagos in the ‘cities of imagination’ series. The eleven-chapter book entitled ‘Lagos: A Cultural and Historical Companion’ documents the history of the city by exploring its founding stories, founders, tradition, lore and culture of the people. The book covers such themes as The Story of Lagos; The Topography of Lagos; Changing Society and the ‘Look’ of the City; A True City of Imagination: Lagos in Literature; Prominent Personalities of Lagos; Streets of the Imagination: Everyday Mysteries of the City; Music, Film, Art and the Havens in the Wilderness; Fela Anikulapo-Kuti: Archetypal Lagos Boy, among others.

He dedicated a full page of the book to the spirit and soul of ‘Kakadu the nightclub’, which he describes as “a well-remembered icon among West African open-air night-clubs, the memory of which still deserves eulogy”. In his column in BusinessDay, Whiteman recalls being taken to Kakadu by Peter Enahoro, then an editor.

“It was October 1965 and I had just been in Ibadan covering the Western Nigerian election, and the tension still in the air formed a poignant background to the club’s enjoyment and its memorable highlife music plangent in the night air. I wasn’t to know then, but this was the Kakadu which, in Nwokedi’s idea, was a symbol of unity, indeed a ‘metaphor for Nigeria’ in its years of crisis and civil war which were already about to break,” he wrote.

Kayode Soyinka, publisher of Africa Today, said of him, “Kaye was a distinguished journalist and editor who, over five decades, developed an immense knowledge of Africa and reported on African Affairs for the international media, including our newsmagazine, Africa Today,” adding, “Nigeria, and indeed Africa, has lost a great and dependable British friend and a powerful figure – a powerhouse - in the British and Commonwealth media.”

Kaye Whiteman arrived in Lagos in 1964 as a journalist with the West Africa Magazine and began writing for Daily Times. It was during his visit that he fell in love with Nigeria and thereafter made Lagos his second home.

Recalling his first visit to Nigeria, Whiteman once narrated, “In 1964, I flew in from Kano onboard a British Overseas Airways as it was then. They had to stop in Kano but they couldn’t do local flights to Lagos. So, I went through Kano, Kaduna, and finally to Lagos. So, my impression of Lagos was pretty different. At that time, the lagoon stopped at the Marina.”

He covered the Nigerian Civil War and wrote on Nigeria and Africa with much authority, understanding and affection that were rare among Western writers on Africa.

He was head of Information for the old European Economic Community (EEC) which became the European Union (EU). After leaving the EEC in Brussels, he returned to London to become editor of West Africa after the retirement of David Williams. He was also head of the Information and Public Affairs Division in the Commonwealth Secretariat, serving under Secretary-General Emeka Anyaoku in the late 1990s.

Kaye Whiteman was in Lagos for the last time in the week of January 3-8, 2014 to attend the Kakadu musical concert in a special performance for Governor Babatunde Fashola on invitation by Uche Nwokedi. He visited BusinessDay new head office, The Brook, in Apapa, during that last trip.