My Tyoden ‘Diary

I cannot remember the exact date, but the last time I met, in person, with His Excellency, Prof. Sonni Gwanle Tyoden, the immediate past Deputy Governor of Plateau State, my teacher, project supervisor and principal, can easily qualify as the most unforgettable moment I had with him since I got to know him during the 1980/1981 academic session of the University of Jos. Freed of the ambience and officialese that would normally guide my approach as the Permanent Secretary in his office (a position I was privileged to hold from 2015 – 2022), and his position as Deputy Governor, that last meeting of September 2024, which did not lack the respect I owed him, revealed a more open and down-to-earth Tyoden.

That September, I had gone to his residence to show him a sample copy of my book, WITHOUT A NAME, and to request that he plays the role of Father of the Day at the public presentation and launch of the work. Before then, I had paid two other visits to the house in connection to the book project.

That day, I had sat quietly as he flipped through the 438-page book, his face showing ‘signals’ now and then. A frown, smile, raised eyebrows betrayed some of his unuttered words. After 20 minutes or so, he asked if that was his copy of the book, to which I replied in the negative. I told him I was yet to get the ISBN for the publication; and also informed him that the printer would go to Press in a matter of days if all issues were resolved. I assured him of a copy, fresh from the Press.

Prof. Tyoden then returned to the first few pages of the book, and pondered for a while. He then told me I could shorten the words of the book’s Dedication without it losing its meaning. I then moved to where he was seated, and had a “good look” at what he was “saying”. It made sense. Given my background, I knew brevity was a principle of great value. However, buoyed by the convivial ambience that was settling in, I said, “Sir, of the two of us, who is the Editor?”. Trust a distinguished academic, his reply deflated whatever ‘airs’ I might have had. “Emma, of the two of us, who is the other’s teacher?” Conceding ‘defeat’, I said, “1-0 against me, Prof”. I knew he would understand those words, granting ‘victory’ to him; he, being a supporter of a famous football club. “Emma”, as shall become evident, was the way he called me in private, two-way communications.

But the encounter was unforgettable, not because of the ‘banter’ recounted above. No. It remains ingrained in my mind on account of a few insights the professor shared with me. After flipping through the pages of WITHOUT A NAME, I noticed he gave more time to Chapter Seven of the book. Titled, The Gains and Pains of Visioning, the chapter touches on the travails of Middle Belt people and their leaders, with special focus on the felled Military Governor of the defunct Benue-Plateau State, Police Commissioner J. D. Gomwalk. Prof. Tyoden, I noticed, took time to read a copy of the hand-written letter of the fallen former Military Governor, detailing his ordeal in the hands of soldiers sent to eject him and his loved ones from their confiscated Pankshin residence. This incident was a prelude to the pain directed at Gov. Gomwalk, celebrated to this day for the distinction he showed in his academic pursuits; and the uncommon and heroic service to his State, then made up of the present day Benue, Nasarawa and Plateau States, as well as some parts of Taraba State and the FCT.

Prof. Tyoden also devoted some minutes to Chapter 8 of the book, entitled June 12 and Exit of The Nigeria Standard 7. Of some interest to him was the 5-page resignation letter that I had penned to the authorities of the Plateau Publishing Company (PPC) Limited, to protest the mismanagement of the June 12, 1993 Presidential Election by the military authorities and their collaborators. As Editor of The Nigeria Standard, I chose to resign after I and others were pushed to the wall, so to say. Six other Editorial Board Members of the newspaper chose to also forgo their jobs.

After a while, Prof. Tyoden returned to the J. D. Gomwalk letter and the travails that dogged the steps of those suspected of having a hand in the botched Col. B.S. Dimka coup of February 13, 1976. He then told me that he was ‘scrutinized’ by the security authorities in the aftermath of that coup attempt. He said, as a student of the University of Ibadan, he was friends with a military officer, (one of those arrested and eventually executed for alleged roles in the failed coup), and could be found in his company during some weekends or holidays. Luckily, he said, he was eventually let go, as he knew nothing about the plot. His case, he said, was one of being a ‘suspect by association’. J. D. Gomwalk was executed in what many see as controversial circumstances for his alleged role in that coup attempt.

Prof. Tyoden shocked me the more with information on what can be described as an ‘unusual support’ for the Kaduna Mafia, a book which he and Dr. Bala Takaya laboured to deliver. The book, for lack of a better word, “shook” the nation because of the subject matter it scrutinized, as well as the audacity of its authors. Kaduna Mafia, to say the least, brought fame and notoriety to the duo. The Prof. noticed my expression of surprise at the mention of the names of especially two people who inspired and supported the book project. He also told me that after the successful public presentation of the book in Jos, the party moved to Port-Harcourt for a similar exercise for the South-South region. There, security agents foiled the outing. He told me that the driver of the vehicle which had copies of the book was able to escape the snare, and that the team only reunited in Jos after their release by the authorities.

Spellbound by what he shared with me, I eventually wondered aloud why he hadn’t written about those experiences. It was then that Prof. Tyoden said something I found intriguing and profound: “Emma”, he said, “no one ever tells all that he knows about some things.”  He went on to say that if Nigeria’s former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, for instance, were to “bare it all”, he was sure the country would experience some forms of ‘earthquake’. Some things, he stressed, are never brought to the public domain, at least, not in full measure. Perhaps, that was why, at that meeting, he only broached on his attempt to succeed Governor Simon Lalong, the man to whom he was deputy for 8 years, leaving me to only speculate on what was and what could have been.

At that September meeting, Prof. Tyoen accepted the role I had prayed him to play at my book presentation. He, however, told me he was traveling outside the country on vacation during which he would undergo the routine medical check I had come to know he underwent yearly. Having witnessed Prof. Tyoden walk and jog around the Rwang Pam Township Stadium in Jos, and knowing he placed great store on physical exercises, the Deputy Governor that I knew was as fit as a fiddle. Therefore, an untoward development linked to his health was the farthest thing from my mind as I left his residence that day.

When I was done with effecting whatever corrections I had to make, filling the ISBN gap, printing the book, and constituting an Organizing Committee for the launch, I sent a flyer on the event through WhatsApp to Prof. Tyoden on October 30, praying he would make it to the event, fixed for November 9. He then replied thus: “Congratulations Emma. I hope I will be back before the event.”

On November 5, four days to the launch, I forwarded an e-copy of a story on the event as a reminder. In his response, he said, “Congratulations Emma. Unfortunately, I will still be out of the country. However, I will be represented. Have a successful launching.” True to his words, he was represented by his trusted aide and confidant, Mr. Silas Vem, who was his Chief of Staff while in office. The launch was very successful. I said as much in my appreciation message to him.

On Christmas Day of 2024, I sent the former Deputy Governor the Season’s greetings and wishes, and got this response: “Thanks Emma. I laughed my heart out when I read your encounter with the driver in Saminaka. Atimes, being Without A Name helps; at least it has produced a book. Happy Christmas.” In reply, I said, “Thanks sir. I hope you will be able to read the WHOLE book, so I get to know what you think of it.”

On January 23 this year, Prof. Tyoden sent to me, by SMS, the following words: “Afternoon Emma. I just finished reading your exciting book. Some observations/corrections: 1) You stated wrongly, that Mr. Kallamu was re-elected in 1983. Hon. Kallamu did only one term. He was defeated by Hon. Phillip Yaki Bigwan. 2) You stated wrongly, that Bala Takaya was Chairman of the Middle Belt Forum. He was never an official of the Forum, but an active member. 3) You mentioned a visit by Mr. Dawulung to me when I was Deputy Governor. I do not remember any such visit. 4) You kept referring to Dogo Nahawa as Dogon Nahawa. The effort was worth it, however. Congratulations, once more.”

WITHOUT A NAME centres on the opportunities, gaps and pains which Nigeria’s fault lines have made manifest. It canvasses urgent work to recover the country for all citizens to sing, Nigeria we hail thee, heartily. It argues that for millions of victims of massacres, land grab, insurgency, banditry, poverty and out-of-school children, Nigeria we fail thee may be a more fitting description of the situation, one we can escape from with purposely leadership.

Thus, to say I find the assessment of my book by my teacher, supervisor and principal fulfilling is an understatement. This was why I sent the following words to him. “Sir, I am gratified that you invested your time in reading the whole book. I am also humbled by your assessment, that you found it exciting. That is very generous of you. I have noted your observations/corrections which, hopefully, shall be addressed if a review is undertaken. Finally, while thanking you for this message, can I visit you at your earliest convenience? I have not seen you or Madam for a while. God bless.”

It was from his response that I got a hint that my boss was facing a health challenge. “Noted”, he replied. “Unfortunately, I am currently under isolation. Will let you know when convenient”, he emphasized.

After this exchange, I reached out to him a few more times. A notable one was in February, when I wrote to him that I felt a need to check on him and to wish him the best of health, peace and joy. His response persuaded me he had recovered. “Thanks Emma. We are doing good”, he replied. A visit to see him in the house, weeks later, was not successful.

Therefore, you can imagine my shock when my younger sister, Mrs. Jikhirit Obed Golu, called after Church Service on that fateful Sunday to enquire if I had heard anything concerning my teacher, the former Deputy Governor. That was the way she started before breaking the sad news of the demise of the man I got to know as an 18-year old, and under whose watch I retired from public service the day I turned 60!

In 1980, I was among the second set of undergraduate students admitted to study Political Science at the University of Jos. The then Dr. Sonni Gwanle Tyoden, who had just completed his PhD at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom joined the staff of the Department that session too. The number of those admitted was relatively small, such that it was easy for students and lecturers to know one another, and have interpersonal relationships in furtherance of fruitful scholarship. By the time I graduated in 1984, I had known Dr. Tyoden well enough.

After undergoing the mandatory one year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme in Kukawa, Borno State, I returned to the University for my post-graduate programme in 1985. While on it, I was assigned to Dr. Tyoden, who, as Supervisor, guided me in undertaking my project and the completion of the Masters degree programme in Political Economy and Development Studies in 1987.

While at The Nigeria Standard newspaper, which I joined in 1987, I maintained contact with the erudite scholar. I remember that he forwarded a speech he delivered as Guest Speaker at Nzem Berom, which I dutifully published. The topical issue he interrogated left me with no other option.

I followed my teacher’s progress at the University. Tyoden inspired many by his scholarship. He was also a strong voice for sanity in national affairs. Indeed, he used the platform of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), to champion national rebirth. He later moved to the University of Abuja, where he laid the foundation of its Political Science Department, attaining the exalted rank of a Professor. He eventually returned to the University of Jos, and became its Vice-Chancellor .

One pivotal moment of his tenure as VC was the deft and timely intervention that prevented the truncation of the academic pursuits of about 400 students of the then nascent Plateau State University, Bokkos. The students, through policy decisions by Government, were pressed between the rock and the hard place for no fault of theirs. Somehow, Tyoden devised a way that absorbed them into the University of Jos, restoring smiles, hope, and relief to hundreds of homes.

Interestingly, A Rejected Stone Delivered to the Ministry, which forms Chapter Eleven of WITHOUT A NAME, among other issues, attempts to dissect the Tyoden persona as a protégé can do of a master. When Governor Lalong approved the redeployment of Permanent Secretaries, I was moved from Higher Education to the Deputy Governor’s Office. As captured in that chapter, when I met the Deputy Governor, I told him it was a privilege to have him as my new principal. I also assured him I was going to do my best for the success of the Office. He welcomed me with warmth, saying life has a way of reconnecting people. He said it would have been hard to imagine that almost 30 years after I left the university and took on my career path, and he, his, our paths would reconnect; and I would serve directly under him in a governance setting.

For me, examining the Tyoden phenomenon is treading on slippery ground. “Who am I to dare walk where masquerades prowl? I can only speak about my teacher and boss in whispers, lest I am sanctioned for sacrilege. I believe His Excellency, Prof. Sonni Gwanle Tyoden will pardon me for any indiscretion that I may be guilty of here.” This was how I started my comments on him in WITHOUT A NAME. I then went on to write on his humility, patience, and loyalty, providing glimpses of the man.

“My Principal is a good listener. He is so patient he allows you to have your say, even if you are making heavy weather of an endeavour that should be simple. A teacher and administrator all his life, Prof. Tyoden is quick in interrogating and arriving at a conclusion on a particular matter. His view or decision on same is usually conveyed without frivolity.

“Those who do not know better are tempted to see Tyoden as someone who likes his own company. One of his drivers once told me that he found it strange that there was hardly any conversation between the professor and himself for the four hours it took them to arrive Abuja from Jos. That’s one part of Tyoden for you.

“But those who know better say that the man is open, free and exciting among family and friends. If someone gains his confidence, such a person is sure of his (Tyoden’s) trust. Those who know also say that behind that ‘quiet’ mien lurks the other Tyoden. It is said, people who are ‘quiet’ can be ‘volatile’ when pushed too far. I do not know whether that is the case with my boss. Would you like this other Tyoden when you cross the line? It may not pay you well. So, don’t dare it, because you can never tell.”

On some good days, the Deputy Governor would use the Ngas language, asking after my family and goings-on in the office. This choice of language is to remind me that he had a part of his primary education at Kabwir in Kanke LGA of Plateau State. During the almost 7 years I worked with him, I never saw Tyoden having lunch, even if he stayed late into the evening hours. What he could have was coffee and snacks, with a slice of kilishi or saucer-full of Pet (Atili), our version of Olive tree fruit, as choices. Pet trees thrive in Kanke, Mangu, and Bokkos LGAs. Tyoden was very respectful of his diet regime.

I also noticed that he had a unique way of pronouncing the word “Comrade” as Comrad. Somehow, I never got to ask him why he chose to depart from a well-known way of pronouncing a very popular appellation. Could it be that he had become worried that some Comrades were coming in raids of our collective patrimony too, and felt a need to make a distinction, by his pronunciation of the word, to avoid the infamy that the raid part connoted? I do not know.

You cannot work for 7 years in a place and not face challenges. Of a truth, there were some difficult moments in the Office. Again, you cannot work for 7 years in an office and not have ‘relationship’ issues with your principal. Luckily, I faced only a few. I remember an attempt by an official to misrepresent me. The fair man that he was, Prof. Tyoden forwarded my accuser’s SMS to me. I requested that I be given the opportunity to tell my side of the story, a request he promptly granted. His knowledge of me over the years and the explanation I gave convinced him that my accuser was on sinking sand, and I on firm ground. It is said, dogs bark if they do not know the person. My accuser didn’t know me.

In 2020, Prof. Tyoden called me to his office one early morning and told me of the joint birthday he and his wife wanted to mark. He turned 70 that year, while the wife, Her Excellency, Mrs. Abigail Tyoden was 60. He then told me he wanted me to serve as Secretary of the Committee to organize the celebration of those milestones in their lives. I accepted the assignment without hesitation. The Committee, chaired by Isaac Mankilik, a retired Navy Commodore, planned and produced a successful event. Mankilik, a PhD holder in Mathematics, a very cerebral, thorough and organized personality, provided leadership that made the difference.

So, who was Sonni Gwanle Tyoden. In academic circles, where intellect and diligence count, he was a towering figure, even beyond our shores. As an administrator, he was very adept and foresighted. In our kind of politics, where decency, morality, and loyalty to principles are ready casualties; with subterfuge a recurring decimal, Tyoden, atimes, could be likened to fish out of water. In my book, I recalled a scene where he verbalized his frustration with Nigerian politics. He professed that if he was to find himself teaching Nigerian Politics (Pol 101?) in the University again, his approach would be different. The professor had learned some things the enclosed walls of universities had ‘hidden’ from him. But he persevered; till the end came for him.

Since the day he bowed out, I have witnessed scores of mourners coming on condolence visits to the residence of my departed boss. It set me on reflection mode on life’s different dishes for the living. As Permanent Secretary, I can testify that Tyoden paid countless condolence visits in his 8 years in office. I accompanied him on not a few of such visits. There was an exception, however. I remember the one he paid my mother and all of us her children at our Zarazon, Jos East residence, when our patriarch, Rev. Joseph Gogwim Kayi died in 2022. The Deputy Governor’s wife, his principal aides and management staff accompanied my principal.

As I watched groups come and leave the Tyodens residence, the impact he had made became clearer. That this solidarity was coming after he was no longer in office speaks volumes. Two groups I took special notice of were those led by Dr. Kwopnan I. Bulus (who led a delegation of staff of the Political Science Department of the University of Jos), and Mr. Alex Kundang (who was accompanied by the staff of the Office of the Deputy Governor). I have close affinity with these two groups. The first group represents an entry point for me, the place that prepared me for life, with Prof. Tyoden playing an active part; the latter the exit point for me from active service, a place where Tyoden, again, held sway!

Obviously, life is full of “entries” and “exits”. Prof. Sonni Gwanle Tyoden has made his last exit, bringing the usual shock and pain to his kindred and well wishers. I extend my commiserations to Her Excellency, Mrs. Abigail Tyoden, the children and the entire Tyoden Family as they mourn their dear departed patriarch who meant everything to them. I join the mourning staff that worked with the Professor as he held the office of Deputy Governor. Special mention must be made of Mr. Silas Vem, Mrs. Rachael Bature, Nuhu Dagan, Joel Dimka, Doman Wetkum, Marshall Jamlat, Mrs. Hauwa Nokshuan, Mrs. Nansik Emmanuel, Gyang, Niyi, Moses, among others. May all be comforted.

Finally, that the Plateau State Government has chosen to honour the former Deputy Governor with a State Burial is a very commendable step. It has resonated well in all quarters.

This is My Tyoden ‘Diary’. I wish I could keep it going. However, no personal endeavour on earth lasts forever. So, the ‘Diary’ has come to an end, even grief!

As I pray for merciful judgement for Prof. Tyoden’s soul, I say, Rest well Sir. Rest well, my Master.

Emma Gogwim Kayi, twice-Editor of The Nigeria Standard, writes from Jos.

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