June 13, 2026
Muyiwa Adetiba
Mr Sam Amuka Pemu, Chairman and Founder of Vanguard Newspapers – he has been Uncle Sam to me for the better part of five decades – celebrates another birthday today. His 91st year on this mother earth. The day I gather, would be just another day – that is if he doesn’t get his way to leave town. Which would be typical of him. Yet, there are many things to celebrate about this unique man whose mentorship has shaped my professional and even personal life.
I could celebrate his integrity; his simplicity. I could write a book on his unmatched generosity. I could of course celebrate his enduring years as a journalist – longer than any that I know. And the fact that those years have not been tainted by any scandal whatsoever. I could talk about his zest for life and the courage to keep going despite many challenges, including the challenge of aging. But what I have always admired – and celebrated – is his uncanny ability to treat fame and power as the impostors that they are. As Editor and later Publisher of powerful newspapers, he has been dinning with ‘Kings’ and ‘Royalties’ for years. Yet, he has never lost the common touch. He in fact, prefers to dine with friends even when they are commoners. Which partly explains this recent lunch with me.
