By Muhammad Mamman
Yakubu Mohammed, a towering figure in Nigerian journalism and a co-founder of the influential Newswatch magazine, has died at the age of 75, marking the end of an era for the country’s media community.
Mohammed passed away on Wednesday after a prolonged illness, according to family sources, drawing tributes from journalists, politicians and civil society figures who described him as a principled editor, mentor and nation builder.
Renowned for his calm demeanour and editorial rigour, Mohammed was one of the key architects of Newswatch, the weekly news magazine that redefined investigative journalism in Nigeria during the 1980s. Alongside his colleagues in the magazine’s celebrated founding quartet, he helped set new standards for depth, accuracy and courage in reporting at a time of intense political pressure.
Before Newswatch, Mohammed began his journalism career at the New Nigerian, where he honed the craft that would later earn him wide respect across newsrooms. However, it was his role as executive editor at Newswatch that firmly established his reputation as one of the most influential media figures of his generation.
Beyond journalism, Mohammed also played a significant role in Nigeria’s political development. He was closely associated with the process that led to the creation of Kogi State, contributing intellectual and organisational support to the movement that culminated in the state’s establishment in 1991.
Colleagues recall him as a journalist of uncommon integrity, committed to public interest reporting and the defence of press freedom. Younger reporters, many of whom passed through Newswatch, remember him as a patient teacher who believed journalism was both a profession and a public trust.
As news of his death spread, tributes poured in, celebrating a life devoted to words, truth and nation-building. Though the clatter of typewriter keys from journalism’s golden age has long faded, Yakubu Mohammed’s legacy endures — in the institutions he helped build, the journalists he mentored and the standards he helped set for Nigerian media.
