Showing posts with label The Guardian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Guardian. Show all posts

Monday, July 4, 2022

The Quest for Excellence: The Guardian at 39

The Quest for Excellence: The Guardian at 39
The Guardian’s commitment to excellent journalism in the decades ahead is, and shall be, non-negotiable under the enduring stewardship of first class editorial board with some of Africa’s finest brains and business icons

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ABUJA, Nigeria, July 4, 2022/ -- Founded by Mr. Alex Uruemu Ibru (1945-2011), The Guardian’s (https://Guardian.ng) foundational rationale upon inception on July 4, 1983 was simple: to create an intellectually driven, independent newspaper presenting balanced and factual coverage of events comparable with the best in Nigeria and globally. Underpinning that was the philosophy of integrity, good conscience and high ethical standards.

Through the highs of lows of press freedom, human rights violations, breaches of the rule of law, by Nigeria’s military dispensation; to the return to multiparty democratic rule in 1999, and its inherent challenges in a complex multi-ethnic Nigeria, The Guardian has remained at the vanguard of the dissemination of knowledge-driven, evidence-based information, education and policy development, embedding the rule of law, proactively advancing women’s right; and straddling the diverse realms of economics, legal research, nation-building, politics, science and sports.

These phenomenal achievements have been made possible by a formidable team of experienced and excellent journalists including, but not restricted to, the likes of Lade Bonuola (the pioneer editor), Emeka Izeze, Martins Oloja (the current Editor-in Chief and Managing Director), Sonala Olumese, Professor GG Darah to name a few.

It is often said that the constancy of change is non-negotiable. Likewise, the constancy of The Guardian’s commitment to excellent journalism in the decades ahead is, and shall be, non-negotiable under the enduring stewardship of first class editorial board with some of Africa’s finest brains and business icons with impeccable credentials.

Happy birthday to The Guardian — Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru

As The Guardian Newspaper marks its 39th year on the newsstand today, its publisher, Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru, has commended the tenacity of readers, who have remained steadfast to the brand and also associates of the newspaper, who equally have continued to defend what it stands for.

In a statement issued to mark the day, the newspaper publisher also commended the advertisers for remaining loyal to the brand. Her words: “To our advertisers and advertising agencies, we can’t thank you enough for enabling us to keep the flag of our flagship of the Nigerian press flying.”

She added, “I would like to thank you for your commitment and loyalty to our brand for 39 years! We have been passing through some economic challenges that have affected our purchasing powers, but you have remained resilient. A load of our hearty thanks.”

She also said in the statement, “to all our associates and members of the editorial board, I salute your courage, confidence and grit. You have been wonderful, as you have sustained what we stand for these past 39 years. You have kept the faith by producing an independent newspaper established for the purpose of presenting a balanced coverage of events, of promoting the best interests of Nigeria…”

She continued: “As my late husband, the founder of this newspaper Dr Alex Uruemu Ibru always admonished us in discharging our fundamental objective, “good journalism matters to our quest for nation building.”

“We should continue to practise journalism as a weapon for mass reconstruction of our broken walls in Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria. That is a good way of sustaining the legacy of my late husband, which is my passion.

“We will be alive by His grace next year to mark our 40th Birthday in style!”

Only last year, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had poured encomiums on the paper at the launch of ‘The Making of The Nigerian Flagship: A Story of The Guardian’, a collection of reminisces by earlier Rutamites, compiled by Aaron Ukodie and O’Seun Ogunseitan,

Osinbajo had noted: “The story of The Guardian Newspaper is significant, for the redefinition it represents for the print media in Nigeria, and for its uniqueness in bringing public intellectuals and academics into journalism and breeding a generation of talented journalists.”

He also said The Guardian upholds “the proud and illustrious tradition of the Nigerian press that practises journalism with a social mission and a commitment to speaking truth to power. It played an important role in the struggles that birthed our democracy, suffering proscription and the firebombing of its business offices at Rutam House.”

He noted that to grasp the significance of The Guardian, it is important to situate its odyssey within the larger Nigerian story and particularly in the context of the evolution of the fourth estate in the country.

“The Guardian is no longer just a newspaper house, but a public institution – one that has served as an exemplar and a model for generations of media practitioners who replicate its ethos and standards in different ways.

“The Guardian has embodied in these past years fidelity to the principle of balance, objectivity and fair-hearing, not only as a corporate culture but also as a moral obligation to the larger society; that insistence by the gatekeeper that leads are well investigated and reports are well researched before the copy is passed for publication,” the vice president added.

Birth of The Guardian

Though the idea of setting up a newspaper was sown early in Dr. Alex Uruemu Ibru’s life, the birth of The Guardian when he had become a contented businessman, a multi-millionaire with considerable influence in business, changed the narrative of newspapering in the country.

Ibru was fascinated by the power of the media as an intermediary between government, the people and business, and how indeed a newspaper could be used to set agenda for society.

The idea to launch a newspaper started in 1976 and The Guardian newspaper as a brand in 1978. However, due to the economic recession then, it was shelved, but later realised when it finally hit the newsstand on February 27, 1983.

Five months after, on July 4, 1983, the daily edition also came on board.

The print media company, after over five years of painstaking incubation began the journey of “providing the best and most authoritative newspaper” as it pursued its philosophical underpinning as “an independent newspaper, established for the purpose of presenting balanced coverage of events, and of promoting the best interest of Nigeria.”

It was conceived as a well planned and carefully thought out enterprise, which would present a balanced coverage and projection of news and views, uphold political neutrality and independence and elevate the tone of public discourse.

As a liberal newspaper, committed to the best traditions and ideals of republican democracy, The Guardian believes it is the responsibility of the State not only to protect and defend the citizens but also to create the political, social, economic and cultural conditions in which all citizens may achieve their highest potentials as human beings. And as the ‘flagship of the Nigerian press’, The Guardian directed successive governments and reading public on how best to live.

When the paper came, it was one addiction that everybody had, considering that Daily Times had sunk in reputation, because of its tilt towards becoming government ‘megaphone’. It was a peculiar taste that many could not wean themselves of.

The Guardian transformed the news business, serving the public with rich content in an enriching way. Temperate news presentation with elaborate backgrounding replaced sensationalist news packaging. Elevated prose found its way into news reporting and the front page was no longer the exclusive preserve of politics and political actors. Other less dramatic subjects found access there. There was noticeable effort to woo the discerning reader who enjoyed news beyond the headlines.

It was a new and strong voice that changed the standard of journalism in the country. It strove to fulfill that mandate. It gave voice to the voiceless and became the ‘conscience of the nation’.

As the ‘flagship of the Nigerian press’, The Guardian directed successive governments and reading public on how best to live. And for the staff, it was all about justice and the public good. For more than three decades-and-a-half, Rutam House has been like the Vatican.

With a team of intellectuals, mostly literary scholars (authors, creative writers, critics and academics in humanities), no doubts, the paper had no alternative than to lean towards intellectualism.

Stanley Macebuh, arguably one of the best columnists in the country, because of his style, language and logic, led the founding editorial staff of the newspaper, which he served as Executive Editor/Managing Director, while the then Associate Editor was Lade Bonuola.

Opinion writing equally enjoyed a renaissance that brought in specialisation. The editorial board attracted eggheads from campuses, thus, enriching the art of informed commentary.

Things were structured at The Guardian in such a way that a lot of professionals and statesmen were contributing regularly so that there was no dull moment when going through the Op-ed pages. Beside Olatunji Dare, a lot of seasoned writers like the late Prof. Tam David West, the late Prof. Claude Ake, the late Justice Kayode Eso, Bishop Hassan Kukah, Prof. Green Nwankwo, the late Chief Tony Enahoro, the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, the late Alade Odunewu, the late Alao Aka Bashorun, Nnimmo Bassey, the late Prof. Festus Iyayi and a host of others were always sending in their views on diverse issues from time to time.

In fulfilling its mandate, The Guardian established itself with the reading public as a newspaper of record and influence and as one of the major platforms for promoting the interest of the voiceless and the disadvantaged in society.

The Guardian Newspaper has consistently acted as a watchdog on matters that border on code of conduct for public officials and for private individuals in Nigeria as a whole. The newspaper was a strong force in the struggle against military rule.

During the administration of General Muhammadu Buhari, as a military Head of State and when The Guardian was just about a year old, its two reporters, Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor, were both sent to jail in 1984 under Decree No. 4 of 1984, which suppressed journalistic freedom. The paper’s political editor, Krees Imodibie, was killed in the course of duty in Liberia.

In his scholarly article titled “Journalism in Nigeria: A Historical Overview” and published in 1996 in “Journalism in Nigeria: Issues and Perspectives”, Prof. Omu wrote further: “The Guardian calls itself the flagship of the Nigerian press and so it really is. It has been indisputably the best newspaper ever produced in Nigeria and its brand of journalism has had a profound and provocative impact on Nigerian journalism.

“The principles, which it espouses and the standards which it represents, set it out as a national institution. In the poise and polish of its language, in its cultivated and intellectual approach to argument and controversy, in its penetrating and persuasive analysis and interpretation, in its promotion of ideological pluralism and in its endeavor to place events in their historical perspective, The Guardian has achieved great esteem in and outside Nigeria as one of the most authoritative newspapers in Africa. Its journalistic achievements are bound to influence the newspaper industry for a long time.”

Though the media industry, over the years, has gone through turbulent times, with so many publications going down before and after the birth of The Guardian, the publication has continued to be on the newsstand, providing scintillating reports for Nigerians and non-Nigerians.

The publication started as a 16-page paper but pre-COVID, it published on the average, 64 pages and sometimes, over 100 pages with increased advert sales. In the last two years, however, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a considerable reduction in pagination by virtually all the print media outlets.

In its 39 years of existence, great journalists such as, Lade Bonuola, Femi Kusa, Emeka Izeze, Debo Adesina, Martins Oloja and Abraham Ogbodo have edited The Guardian. The current editor of the paper, Mr. Alabi Williams, assumed duty on June 8, 2020 alongside other professionals who were also elevated to man different posts.

They are Kabir Alabi Garba (Editor, The Guardian on Sunday); and Francis Chuks Nwanne (Editor, The Guardian on Saturday). Two insiders had also served as Acting Editors for the newspaper: Jewell Dafinone (January to June 2016) and Dr. Paul Onomuakpokpo (July 1, 2019 to June 4, 2020).

These courage and professionalism that The Guardian represent have been bountifully rewarded and the harvest include, the Diamond Award for Media Excellence (DAME), the Nigeria Media Merit Award (NMMA), Cable News Network (CNN) African Journalist of the Year and many others. The Guardian was one of the early stars of DAME, winning the Newspaper of the Decade in 2001 and joint winner of the same prize in 2011 with The Punch.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Guardian.

SOURCE
The Guardian



Saturday, June 4, 2011

Ayoade's "Submarine" tops list of must see Indie movies



British Nigerian filmmaker Richard Ayoade's “Submarine” tops the list of Leonard Maltin’s five must see indie movies and you can see why and how he rated them on the Huffington Post.



1. Submarine
2. Cave of Forgotten Dreams
3. Midnight in Paris
4. Another Year
5. The Clowns

Ayoade is an only child of a Norwegian mother, Dagny (née Baassuik), and a Nigerian father, Layide Ade Laditi Ayoade.



The film is based on a prize-winning novel by Joe Dunthorne. It is a dark indie comedy about a 15-year-old Oliver Tate who has two objectives: To lose his virginity before his next birthday, and to extinguish the flame between his mother and an ex-lover who has resurfaced in her life.

Peter Bradshaw reviewing Submarine in the Guardian of Thursday 17 March 2011 15.00 GMT, said Ayoade clearly has “a big future payday for him in Hollywood, if he wants it, but I can't help hoping he develops in depth and scope here, as a tremendous new voice in British film.”


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima



Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Re: Shaibu Husseini of The Guardian Versus Publisher of Nigerians Report and the award of CNN/MULTICHOICE BROWN ENVELOPE...

Re: Sunday, August 8, 2010 Shaibu Husseini of The Guardian Versus Publisher of Nigerians Report and the award of CNN/MULTICHOICE BROWN ENVELOPE JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR

'Sorry, there is no CNN/MULTICHOICE BROWN ENVELOPE JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR.......'

Dear All

First let me tender my unreserved apologies to the publisher of Nigerian Report over the harsh tone of my text-repost to him. I have never been this insulted since i started writing like he did with his text opener which i qouted above. I pray you all, what does that first line mean or suggest? especially from somone i dont know, have never met and who didnt even introduce himself before barging into my inbox..

But i am honestly sorry and apologise if i insulted a senior colleague..... but i must confess that i was enranged by the fact that Mr. Publisher reached a conclusion without seeking clarification from a junior colleague. I dont know how he got my number but if he could go the whole hug to source my number, i thought he could have called me up as a senior colleague and would have drawn my attention to what he observed as 'a lie'.

This is not a defence at all.....i was taught to allow the reader write in a rejoinder or to honour the right of reply if anyone feels indiferent about a report i have written. And i stressed that in all my text-repost. But i need to correct some impression, basically because My senior colleague has CC'ed some of my seniors in the profession and teachers who i am sure would be wondering if it was the same Husseini they know that is being talked about here.

First i dont blog...i repeat, i dont. i know what it is and i know how to do it, but i dont have the time and have never posted any material i have written in the Guardian to the web. But i do know that most materials published in the Guardian are linked to certain blogs created by people. i have on so many occasion read my articles on people's blog. The report in question was published in the Wednesday Guardian of August 4, 2011 and had a web version...so it is possible that it was linked to the blog where my senior colleague read the piece which was purely and simply a report of an event i was duly invited covered.

Again, i would have wished that Oga Chima culled the full text of the report and not just that section he qouted so that his readers and all those he copied will be well informed about the context in which the report or the section he qouted was based.

But quite honestly, i recieved an invitation signed by Mr. Paul Obazele, President of the Association of Movie Producers (AMP) to cover the unveiling ceremony of the AMP/EKO International Film Festival logo. I was told in the letter to be at the venue at 3.30pm because the Governor of Lagos State Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN was to perform the unveiling ceremony and so the security details had asked that everyone be seated before the governor arrives.

But the governor didnt show up eventually. We were told that he sent a commissioner (Home affairs and Culture) Alhaji Tunde Balogun to represent him and even the commissioner confirmed this when shortly before his adress and shortly before he performed the unveiling ceremony on behalf of the Governor, he told the audience that the Governor would have been around, but he asked him a few hours ago to represent him and to qoute him:'because of how dear the festival is to him (the governor)''. Oga chima, read the full report published in the Guardian where two expressive photographs of the event were used---there was no where i said the Governor attended the event. Rather i noted from the start of the article that he was represented and because he was represented and the person representing him said he was delievering the message of the Governor, i merely reported the governors message to the people. I think where the confusion came was when in trying to continue with the governors charge to filmmakers and in trying to affirm that the unveiling was done, i used the 'governor who performed'...... But pray, check the context in which that sentence was used. I cannot say he was represented in the start of the story, use pictures showing the commisiioner and representative of the Minister of Information performing the unveiling and then lie that the Governor performed the unveiling! Haba!

Again, Oga Chima said i reported that Lagos State Government endorsed the festival and that i should have verified from the Lagos State government before going to press. First, what was reported on Wednesday August 4 was a straight report of an event....i wasnt treating any issue that required my verification. What verification do i even require about lagos state government endorsing the event when the man that spoke at the event and performed the unveiling on behalf of the Governor is a senior member of government and long standing commissioner? I have him on tape and even spoke to him after the event and plan to use part of his comments in an issue based article i am working on, on the matter over trade mark infringement between AMP and the publisher of Supple magazine.

As for the matter between Oga hope and AMP. I was following the trade mark theft scandal since 2009 but i dropped anchor same year for reasons that i will explain to you after now. But i picked it up now again because i sense some foul play soon after the unveiling ceremony. Ask Oga Hope, shortly after the unveiling ceremony, I buzzed him and requested for an interview which we did the following day so that i could get his views to balance the report i had proposed that i will do as a follow up to the straight report on the unveiling. He honoured the interview request but even after transcription, certain issues came up and i thought it was neccessary to do some findings. Only this evening i got an advice from the Corporate affairs commission and the ministry of trade following an enquiry i made and i have equally sought clarification and am waiting for an advice from the Lagos State Film Office and the Commissioner which should make me have a balanced report by the time i run Hope's interview. so sir, do i appear like someone who is biased or who has been bribed so much that it merited a CNN AWARD?

Now to the issue of AMP .......MAIDEN EDITION OF EKOIFFAND NIGERIAN JOURNALIST......Let me clarify that i dont belong to any clique in the industry. i dont even have the time. Ask people who know me, i dont go to events that i am not duly invited to attend. I was never invited to Eko International Film festival which i was told (Hope Opara himself told me a few days back) held this July in Lagos and i didnt get to hear about it even though Oga Hope and I, met for a few days in May at the Cannes Film Festival and in February at the berlinale. He has my email and phone number.....he didnt contact me or even send me materials which i would have gladly used because if you check we dedicate a strip every sunday for publicising festivals and movie events. I was not invited and I didnt know about it and i am suppose to be covering that beat. anyway....

Let me end by once again tendering my unreserved apologies for my harsh text repost..... i was terribly vexed that you could consider me fit for the award of cnn/multichoice brown envelope journalist of the year without asking me to send in entries for the competition. I tried to call back to know who sent the text but the number was disconnecting and that added to the anger.

Thank you for finding time to read from me.

~ Shaibu Husseini


Sunday, August 8, 2010

Shaibu Husseini of The Guardian Versus Publisher of Nigerians Report

Shaibu Husseini of The Guardian Versus Publisher of Nigerians Report

The controversy over the trademark piracy of Eko International Film Festival has exposed the bad manners and personal bias of Shaibu Husseini, a senior Arts writer of The Guardian newspaper of Nigeria.

The Publisher of Nigerians Report sent a text message to question the unverified report of Shaibu Husseini on Film as purveyor of pristine cultural values and Mr. Husseini got all riled up and replied in a gutter language that would rubbish and tarnish his public image as a professional journalist. Nobody accused him of collecting any brown envelope as he simply jumped to that conclusion and resorted to insulting the Publisher of Nigerians Report from his own erroneous deductions based on his assumptions of the publisher.


Mr. Husseini lied that Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola unveiled the logo when Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, never even attended the event held on July 29, 2010, at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos. It was the Commissioner for Home Affairs and Culture, Honourable Tunde Balogun who came to the event to represent the Lagos state government.


The governor, who performed the unveiling ceremony of the new AMP/EKO International Film Festival logo - a logo which the president of AMP Paul Obazele explained, was redesigned to reflect the collaborative agreement the AMP, under his leadership, had entered with the Lagos State Government over the staging of the annual festival.
http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18930:film-as-purveyor-of-pristine-cultural-values&catid=74:arts&Itemid=683


The following is the exchange between the Publisher of Nigerians Report and Shaibu Husseini.

Publisher of Nigerians Report: Sorry, there is no CNN/MULTICHOICE Brown Envelope Journalist of the Year Award.
When did the Governor of Lagos state endorse the trademark piracy of Eko International Film Festival by the Association of Movie Producers (AMP)? That was a false report on your blog.

Shaibu Husseini: Are u sick! U think u are talking to your child? U know what to do if you feel indifferent about a report. I was at an event where the governor sent a rep and I reported what transpired and ur talking rubbish. Why dint u say no event held and I just reported from my imagination. U think I started writing today? Pls go away and don’t disgrace urself. See who is talking about brown envelope. I know the quarter dis is coming from and I will address it squarely. Opportunist! Write a rejoinder if u feel strongly that I over reported instead of trying to intimidate urself with the title ‘publisher’! U think I will cringe abi?


Nigerians Report: Go to the library of The Guardian as far back as 1988 and check The Guardian Literary Series for Chima Eke, Member of ANA.


Shaibu Husseini: And so what? Is that why u will cast aspersion at me. What has CNN brown envelope got to do with your feeling indifferent about a report when there are avenues for seeking clarification. U tink everybody is like u. ‘As far back’ my foot. Do you know what u have just done with ur very first line and am going to take u up on that. Haba, bicos u are supporting a position (which I know about) and because the piece ran contrary that is why you think I got brown envelope abi? I won’t take this lying low. Sebi, u say u are in ANA..,- I must follow up this matter. U must prove award me that CNN prize at all cost. I know what to do.


Nigerians Report: With all pleasure.

Mr. Husseini’s reported that the Lagos state government has endorsed the illegal AMP-Eko International Film Festival and it’s a lie, because the Lagos state government cannot endorse any illegality and in fact never endorsed the trademark piracy of Eko International Film Festival by the Association of Movie Producers (AMP) of Nigeria. I wonder how the representative of the Governor of Lagos state will endorse such an illegality.

The Lagos Film Office had a meeting with Mr. Hope Obioma Opara, the President/Co-founder of Eko International Film Festival where the neutral position of the Lagos state government was clearly stated and the Lagos state government will soon make its official position known.

Shaibu Husseini should have verified from the Lagos state government before misinforming the public and he has to report the fact no matter what the rep said at the event. The Hon. Minister of Information and Communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili recently sacked his senior aide for misrepresenting her. So, may I advise Shaibu Husseini to contact the Lagos Film Office for the true position of the Lagos State Government.

Hope Obioma Opara, President/Co-founder of Eko International Film Festival and Publisher of the Supple magazine has all the documents to prove the ownership of EKOIFF and nobody has challenged or contested it until AMP tried to hijack it.


The Nollywood gang of the Association of Movie Producers (AMP) has been using their clique among Nigerian journalists to compromise professional ethics and they deliberately did not report the inaugural Eko International Film Festival held earlier in July 2010, at the Genesis Deluxe Cinemas, The Palms in Lekki, Lagos, but rushed to report the so called unveiling of the logo of the illegal AMP-Eko International Film Festival held on July 29, 2010, at the National Theatre in Lagos, Nigeria.

Mr. Husseini is obviously mistaking the Publisher of Nigerians Report for someone he assumes he knows. And he said he does not blog! Then what is he doing on blogger blogging for The Guardian Life magazine? So, a seasoned journalist for a major Nigerian news daily does not know what is a blog?


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima

About the Author:
Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima is the most prolific African blogger and a prize winning writer and author of four books and many other publications. He directed the first docudrama "Sleepless Night" on the June 12 Crisis in 2002 and in 2007 he published "The Mandate of M.K.O Abiola" written by Adeleke Adeyemi. His next book is on President Barack Obama. More.



Thursday, October 29, 2009

Top 10 Nigerian Websites

1. Nairaland, the Nigerian Forum
nairaland.com
A big, broad discussion forum for Nigerians. Covers dozens of topics including jobs
Main site for product information, support, and news.

2. Vanguard
vanguardngr.com
Online version of a Nigerian daily newspaper covering general national news, politics, business, sports, entertainment, fashion,lifestyle human interest stories and the Niger Delta region, etc.

3. The Sun News Online
sunnewsonline.com
A Nigerian newspaper with a penchant for ‘British Tabloid’ styled journalism. The paper and its online version lean strongly towards entertainment, politics and other semi-dramatic local stories.

4. Nigeria Galleria :: Nigeria Information Portal
nigeriagalleria.com
Nigeria information portal. Business directory, jobs and vacancies, news, finance, marketplace, country guide, upcoming events, forums, health and lifestyle, inspiration etc

5. The Guardian
ngrguardiannews.com
Independent daily newspaper published in Nigeria. Site contains articles from the printed version.

6. Nigerian jobs, vacancies, employment, careers community - Naijahotjobs
naijahotjobs.com
naijahotjobs.com

7. ThisDay newspaper
thisdayonline.com
An online version of a Nigerian daily newspaper. Contains news, with an emphasis on politics.


8. 234next.com

9. NIGERIA BEST FORUM . NBF, NIGERIAN FORUMS and SOCIAL NETWORK
nigerianbestforum.com
Visit NBF Nigeria Forum for your Latest Free Job Search, Social Networking, Business Connections, make new friends, Create your own blog, upload photos, upload video and many more...

10. Gtbank.com
gtbank.com
gtbank.com

Hottest Topics

Michael Jackson·
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Friday, April 17, 2009

The Untold Story of Distributing Newspapers and Magazines in Nigeria


Nigerians reading newspapers at a news stand.

Distributing newspapers and magazines in Nigeria is not an easy task, because there is no good infrastructure for the distribution of newspapers and magazines in the 36 states of the most populous country in Africa. With a population of over 140 people, Nigeria is the largest market in Africa and there are over 65 million users of GSM phones in Nigeria spending over $78 million weekly on phone calls. This awesome population of millions of people can afford to read newspapers and magazines if you know how to reach them daily, weekly or monthly.

We can attract some millions of the over 65 million users of GSM phones to buy newspapers and magazines if we can convince them to appreciate the fact that buying and reading more newspapers and magazines will be of great benefit to sustainable development of the Nigerian press and very important to nation building. It is possible.

I have been in Lagos city since last August, working with the Publisher of the new Supple magazine and following him to supply thousands of his magazine to distributors and vendors

We have to wake up early at 5 am and drive to the office of the Newspapers and Magazines Distributors Association of Nigeria on the Marina in Lagos, where scores of distributors and vendors gather everyday by day to share and circulate newspapers and magazines of all sorts.

They get to their workplace at dawn and I have seen them using candle lights in their large warehouse when there was a power outage. I have seen many young women among the young and old men carrying and sharing newspapers and magazines with total professional concentration. These conscientious Nigerians make me proud of being a Nigerian whenever I see them at work even in the dim candlelight. I wonder if some of them have taken their bath before leaving their various houses and rushing to their daily workplace before 5 am!

After supplying to them, we move on to Ikeja to supply to our distributors in the state capital. We also supply hundreds of copies of Supple magazine to the other distributors and vendors in other states through the distribution network of the National Daily newspapers.

Until you have handed your publications to the vendors you will not rest, because without these vendors your newspaper or magazine will not be well distributed all over Nigeria.

The Punch is the largest circulating newspaper in Nigeria and believe it or not, the circulation is not up 100, 000 copies daily in a country with over 140 million people! The irony is the fact that The Punch was circulating over 200, 000 copies daily when the population of Nigeria was less than 120 million people. Why?

Many reasons have been given for the gradual drop in the figures of copies of newspapers and magazines sold in Nigeria. But the truth is the figures of the readers have not dropped over the years. In fact, the readers have been increasing, but the majority of them do not buy the copies of newspapers and magazines they read daily. They have been sharing the copies bought by their colleagues in the workplace or neighbours and thousands more actually pay less to the vendors to read the newspapers on the spot and then drop them and many of these copies have been returned as unsold to the publishers.

If you are in Lagos city or other urban towns and cities in Nigeria, you will notice small crowds of people milling around news stands of vendors and gazing at the covers of the displayed newspapers and magazines. Many of them read the headlines and first paragraphs on the front pages and others pay less then the cover price to read more pages of the newspapers before leaving the spot. The vendors have nothing much to lose if the copies of these newspapers passed round among so many “on the spot” readers are returned unsold, because they make extra money from these passersby on each copy of the various newspapers and also collect their daily commissions from the distributors or publishers. In fact, some publishers use shortcuts to bypass the major registered distributors and engage the vendors to sell their newspapers and magazines directly to the readers on the street. The publisher of the Castle real estate and property newspaper employs his own vendors. The Guardian and The Punch also have their own vendors.

Millions of Nigerians will prefer to pay less to read fewer pages of newspapers and magazines than to pay more for more pages, because most of them will read only what attracts them and skip or glance over the adverts and other uninteresting things before dropping the newspapers and magazines. Most of them are interested in reading sensational breaking news on politics, crime and social gossip of romantic or erotic scandals and the millions of applicants prefer to look for vacancies and that would be all. Therefore, I can bet that newspaper of only 10 pages on these topics selling for as little as N50 will sell more thousands of copies than The Punch or The Guardian of 50-100 pages. In fact, they regard most content as garbage and the less garbage or page fillers the better for them.


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima is the Media Consultant of Supple magazine and the President/CEO of International Digital Post Network, LLC.




Hello! Have you read Half of a Yellow Sun?