The Story Of Media Leaders In Nigeria’s Construction And Reconstruction

 By Owei Lakemfa

Nigeria was partly built by journalists who fought the British colonialists so ferociously that Frederick John Lugard, their colonial poster boy who amalgamated the country in 1914, was forced out as Governor General within five years. The media campaigns for the soul of the country went on through the colonial period and into the new century.

But the country has been very badly used, so much so that today, it is in urgent need of reconstruction. The media, as one of the main builders of the country, convened a roundtable on Saturday, November 26, 2022, to examine its part in constructing the country and what role it needs to play in reconstructing it.

To do this, the Nigeria Media Merit Award, or NMMA  convened a conclave of experts led by Emeritus Professor Michael Abiola Omolewa, an education historian and diplomat who was the 32nd President of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO.

Newswatch: Sad End To ‘A Way Of Life’!

By Abdulrazaq Magaj

My first major assignment for Newswatch, once Africa’s most cited and best known news magazine, was to do preliminary work ahead of the 50th anniversary of the golden rule of late Sultan Abubakar Siddiq III. It was one assignment that took me to many parts of the north to talk to people who had one opinion or the other to express about Sultan Abubakar Siddiq and the Sokoto caliphate.

In line with Newswatch house-styles, the Editor-In-Chief did a short take on me in the Editorial Suite, a half page reserved for the EIC or, in his absence, one of his lieutenants to whet the appetite of readers. After commending me for what he said was a good outing, Ray Ekpu took one long look at me and asked whether I was surprised at my being signed on by Newswatch.

‘No, sir!’ I blurted.

‘Our Ray of hope’, as many called Ray Ekpu, Newswatch’s EIC, must have been pleasantly surprised by my candour

Prior to Newswatch, I had actually done some rudimentary writings for some local and international publications in my undergraduate days in Zaria. The trend continued during my days as a lecturer in Contemporary World History. Though I was not a rookie in the real sense of the word, Newswatch, for very obvious reasons, proved to be a different ball-game!

My midday encounter with Ray was a replay of a similar one on the day I encountered the three musketeers who interviewed me for the job 30 years ago. At issue was how I was eased out of my former job, an account which provoked a general laugh. Was it the laughable reasons given for my being eased out? Or was it the way it was narrated? What struck me most was the conviviality that surrounded the interview session. It was great to feel these Newswatch greats were not spooks, after all!

I had actually applied for an advertised position of deputy editor of Quality magazine, a soft-sell in the Newswatch group. But I guess the trio was impressed by my humble credentials. I had a job, I was told, not with Quality but the highflying Newswatch. Though, I was to get eased out of Newswatch, I guess the eight years I spent remain the most exciting in my career in journalism. I have seen a handful of newsrooms but Newswatch’s was unique!