My father loved taking exclusive photographs -Femi Obe

Femi Obe, who is into printing and publishing, is the eldest first son of the iconic photojournalist, Late Mr. Peter Obe. In an interview with ADA DIKE, he speaks on his father’s life and career.

Was he ill before he died?

My father was in good health but just had sore throat a couple of weeks ago which affected him to the extent that he could not eat well, though he was responding to medical treatment from my young brother, Afolabi, a medical doctor. He was still talking six hours to the time he died.

Your father was a veteran photojournalist in Nigeria. Who among his children his profession?

Peter Obe

Peter Obe

Actually, photography is not a core curriculum in Nigerian universities so it is will be difficult for one to do it as degree, though it is being studied under Mass Communication in schools. No one chose our father’s profession because he gave us freedom to choose our careers so we studied different courses in the universities. If we were to do photography, it would be a hobby not a career.

Among the photographs your father took, which one do you fancy most?
All the pictures he took told different stories, especially the ones he took during the Nigerian civil war. But some of the pictures he took that I fancy are the ones he took side by side with Gen. Yakubu Gowon in the 1970s and the one he took at the point of death during the civil war. Bombs were flying everywhere, people were killed including soldiers he interacted with a couple of minutes before he left some spots but he persevered and covered it. My father loved taking exclusive photographs.

At what age did he stop taking pictures?

His activities reduced when he was getting older so he stopped taking pictures when he was 77 years old, about five years ago. But he stopped taking action pictures long before that time.

What advice do you have for photojournalists doing the type of work your father did?

Do not be scared to go to action spots to take photographs that tell a lot of stories. You cannot take exclusive pictures when you are far away from the action spots. The sky is your limit once you have courage to go to where it is happening and take action pictures.

What legacy would you say your father left behind for you and your siblings?

The legacy he left for us is that we should do anything we are doing very well in order for us to excel.