File photograph of George Okoro 

 

By Tony Icheku


One of Nigeria's illustrious journalists and trainer of journalists, George 'Shabazz' Okoro Nwachukwu has passed on, aged 86.


According to his son, Mr Okiyi Okoro, he will be buried on January 4, 2023


Okoro began his  journalism career in the early 1960s in the Sunday Times, a weekly in the defunct Daily Times Group. He began as a roving Reporter, and following training in the School of Journalism, London, England gradually grew on the job and made fast progress rising through the ranks from Sub-Editor, Features Editor, Leader (Editorial)Writer, Production Editor, Assistant Editor a the Daily Times.


He later served as Editor and later Editor-In-Chief at the old Imo State owned Statesman.


He further served as Technical Consultant to several newspapers including the Daily Times, Punch,  The Champion newspapers and others 


He also consulted for latter day Abuja-based newspapers including the Leadership newspaper and Daily Trust where he finally dropped his pen as an active journalist


George Okoro was mentored by the celebrated journalist and writer,  Peter Enahoro, aka Peter Pan. As a widely read columnist, critic and essayist, he used the pen name 'Shabazz' in his column which he maintained for over two decades.


He was a top-notch Editorial Writer and an most accomplished trainer of journalists in Nigeria, and  such notable  journalists like; Tony Momoh, Segun Osoba, Emma Agu, Onyema Ugochukwu, Femi Kusa, Ademola Osinubi, Lade Bonuola, Tunde Thomson and several others passed through his tutelage. 


He lectured  at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, NIJ, Lagos; The Daily Times of Nigeria-owned Times Journalism Institute, TJI, Lagos, and the International Institute of Journalism, IIJ, Abuja, owned by the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ till 2012


Practicing his vocation in the days when newspaper pages were painstakingly planned by sub-editors, George Okoro carved a niche for himself as  expert in newspaper design, typography and production that his contemporaries often hailed him as ’King of Layout’  and once described by Ray Ekpu as the ‘’Newsman’s Newsman’’.


He had his primary and secondary education in Baptist Day School and Baptist High School respectively from where he obtained he  First School Leaving Certificate, FSLC  and Ordinary level Secondary School Certificate.  Due to his  high level of brilliance, he was granted scholarship by the British at Baptist High School to study for  an Advanced level  General Certificate of Education in History examination then conducted by the  University of London in 1958. 


Okoro, after his education,  started his working career with Nigerian Customs and Excise Service,  but did not stay long there because of the high level of corruption in the service. From the Customs, he delved into journalism, where he carved a niche for himself and often found himself pitched against the authorities that be then because of his persuasions. For instance, while working as a   Foreign Correspondent to the New China News Agency in Beijing in 1963, his story on certain developments  led to his being detained  by the rebel Biafran government throughout the Nigerian Civil War.


George Okoro was born in 1936, to the family of Mr & Mrs Elijah Okeiyi Okoro of Mbaisara,  Amawom Oboro in Ikwuano LGA of Abia State. He lived his early life in Port Harcourt with his parents. 


He is survived by his wife and children