Joseph Igbinedion: The trinity of pedagogy, communications expertise and legal consultancy, By Sufuyan Ojeifo

There was a significant classroom encounter that I had in 1986 as a second-year student of Mass Communication in Auchi Polytechnic, Edo State, with Mr Joseph Igbinedion, departmental head, who lectured second semester course in Editorial Writing. He had, in the first class, given us a writing assignment, which he had marked and assessed. Having done distributing the scripts to us (students), he asked if there was any question. I had gone through my script with red ink in sundry places and a score of 8 over 20. I had felt embarrassed. Why? As of the end of three semesters into the programme, academic records showed that I was at the top of the class- with a CPA of 3.51 (Distinction). Somewhat, I felt I deserved a better assessment. I complained loud and clear in class that I was not comfortable with the assessment of my script and score. He demanded my script and ran through it to validate his assessment. As he spoke to my script, I realised he was right in the parameters he set for assessment. He adverted attention to the fact of his fastidiousness in the usage of the English language as communication facility. Read him: “You must convey clarity of thought; you must be lucid in your writing; you must cross your ‘t’s” and dot your “I’s.” I am very particular about application of punctuation marks. For every error I detect in your script, it is minus a half mark.”

I was satisfied with his explanations. I decided from that particular class to up my ante. I approached my assignments and examinations with a finnicky disposition, ensuring that Igbinedion’s expectations ramify all other courses. I would go ahead to run away with an A score in Editorial Writing. By the end of the second semester of my second year, I had consolidated my distinction grade with a CPA of 3.88 over 4.00 and would go ahead to graduate with a CGPA of 3.62 (Distinction) in my National Diploma programme. I owe that feat (and the subsequent feats of consummating degrees in Mass Communication, Public Administration and Law with topnotch grades) largely to that class room encounter with Igbinedion, a teacher of teachers-who wowed me with his pedagogy and the magnitude of his effective communication, convened in simple sentences. I can’t recall any instance in class when he deployed highfalutin expressions or inscrutable or inexplicable dictions in accomplishing his teachings. He was and is still known for conveying his thoughts in short, simple sentences.

Twenty-eight years after, through a professional colleague who was also once under the tutelage of Igbinedion, we linked up-that was in 2015- and he has since been one of my cheer leaders in the practice of my trade as a media professional. He is always quick to commend my editorial interventions and I have always reminded him of the role he played in shaping and preparing me to become who and what I am in journalism practice in Nigeria. And, I gladly report that many years after, Joseph Igbinedion remains his unobtrusive self, still blazing the trail in informal training through shared value additions: he would always call to offer suggestions and advice on what he thought I should do to improve my service delivery with THE CONCLAVE. That is a mark of an essential teacher and mentor.

Apart from being a teacher, Joseph Igbinedion, although retired but not tired, is also a well-regarded communications specialist (add editor to it), barrister and solicitor. With his multidisciplinary education, he has a varied work experience that includes both national and international postings that has further enriched his consultancy credentials. At the United Nations, besides serving as an editor, he also worked on issues related to food security in Africa. In this capacity, he organized several seminars and conferences on “Food Security Situation in English-Speaking African Countries” for African parliamentarians and journalists from various countries in Africa.

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More so, as a legal and communications consultant, he had consulted for the National Democratic Institute of the United States in Nigeria; the European Union Commission to Nigeria; the Economic Community of West African States; as well as the Food and Agricultural Organisation office in Accra, Ghana. Also worthy of note, Joseph Igbinedion has logged well over a decade as an international civil servant, and his work has taken him to more than 30 countries around the globe.

A Mass Communication and English graduate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (1976), Igbinedion also holds a Master’s degree in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos (1986). Additionally, he acquired a law degree from the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, in 1991. Called to the Nigerian Bar as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1995, Igbinedion joined the United Nations in 2001 and served there in several roles until 2011. Chief among the duties that he carried out at the United Nations, he performed high-level protocol duties during all official functions involving senior United Nations officials and ambassadors accredited to UN-Habitat while also writing news reports on such visits. As a result of this combination of responsibilities, Igbinedion wrote more than 700 news reports for use on the United Nations website and other publications.

Moreover, while still at the United Nations, he assisted with activities related to inter-governmental bodies, like the African Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development. It was also during this time that, in the course of his duties, he travelled to countries such as Canada, United Kingdom, China, Brazil, Spain, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Namibia, Tanzania, and Sweden.

In the course of his international career, he also served as the Secretary of the Coalition of African Organization on Food Security and Sustainable Development (COASAD), a pan-African network established to promote food security on the continent. In the academic and research field, Igbinedion edited a 250-page book on “Food Situation in English-Speaking African Countries” while also contributing a chapter entitled “Food Security Situation in Nigeria.”

Arising from his multidisciplinary educational background and varied work experience, Joseph Igbinedion was also at one time the Legal and Communication Officer for FEMNET in Nairobi, Kenya. In this role he managed media relations for the organization in fifty-three African countries and across the globe. The scope of his duties included advocating for the human rights of women, and overseeing the development of FEMNET’s communication policy and strategy to ensure that they conformed to the goals and aspirations of the organization.

At the same time, he edited FEMNET’s two newsletters, FEMNET News and Our Rights, which were published in English and French. He also participated in setting up a collaborative framework between the World Bank and African NGOs and also a similar relationship between the African Development Bank and African NGOs.

With his wealth of education and experience, Igbinedion had also gone on to serve as Senior Lecturer and Head, Department of International Relations and Media Studies at the Wellspring University, Benin City.

Given the high quality of his work over the years, his educational background, and as a result of the depth of his experience in media and international relations, Igbinedion is now a highly sought after communications and legal consultant. More power to the elbow of a teacher, communications expert and legal consultant as he continues to offer quality services to society.

■ Ojeifo is publisher of THE CONCLAVE (online newspaper) [info@theconclaveng.com and ojwonderngr@yahoo.com ]