What a complicated story!
NEWSWATCH, TELL MAGAZINE, ME, AND THE GUARDIAN - PART ONE
No one can forget Newswatch! It was a force to reckon with when it came out. It was one of a kind news outlet in the history of Nigerian Journalism. My cousin and I used to memorize some of the articles written by Mr. Agbese and Chief Ray Ekpu and recite them over and over again. The edition that I will never forget was the one they incorporated solely in commemoration of the death of Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
When Pa Awo died, Newswatch was under lock and key courtesy of the Nigerian Military Government. Not to be left out of the intense media coverage of Pa Awo's death, Newswatch came out with a Newsmagazine devoted entirely to the life and death of Awo. I was so moved by what Ray Ekpu, Dan Agbese, Nosa Igiebor, and Dare Babarinsa wrote about Awo that I bought three copies of the Magazine. I left one copy in my Brother’s house in Lagos, one copy in my rented apartment in Benin City, and the other copy in my small library in our Village home. In that case, anywhere I was – Lagos, Benin City or Ewohimi, I was able to read and enjoy the flawless writing of these great writers and the breath-taking job they did on the life and death of Chief Obafemi Awolowo - my Mom's number one hero till she died.
I bought the very first copy of the Newswatch Magazine just the same way that I bought the first copy of The Guardian Newspaper and the very first copy of TELL Magazine. I was young fresh out of Grammar School, had two jobs and lot of free money to play around with. I work with a firm of Auditors and Chartered Accountants from 8 A.M. to 5 P.M., and at my cousin’s music studio from 6 P.M. until 9 P.M., It was fun. I live rent free and didn't have to pay for my feeding as well. I was able to buy any newspaper and magazine that I wanted to read.
My salary was solely for clothes, shoes, newspapers, and magazines, and of course, the Almighty JAMB and JME. (Don’t get me wrong; I did very well at the JME - scoring above 260 consistently was not an easy feat. Once I scored 265 and I was not offered admission, even when the cut-off point was 250 for other candidates. "You are from Bendel State", I was told).
My salary was solely for clothes, shoes, newspapers, and magazines, and of course, the Almighty JAMB and JME. (Don’t get me wrong; I did very well at the JME - scoring above 260 consistently was not an easy feat. Once I scored 265 and I was not offered admission, even when the cut-off point was 250 for other candidates. "You are from Bendel State", I was told).
As I was saying, I was never short of cash; I had a bunch of it to play around with, even when I became a University student. I was able to stay addicted to The Guardian Newspaper and Tell Magazine until I left the Country. It wasn't the same story with the Newswatch; I left them long ago.
I left Newswatch for TELL the same way I left Punch Newspaper for the Guardian.
Leaving Newswatch to TELL
The very day it was announced that Nosa Igiebor, Dare Babarinsa, Dele Omotunde, and Onome Osifo-Whiskey are resigning from the Newswatch Magazine to float a new news outlet to be called The TELL Magazine, I packed my wallet and went with them, without blinking. The first thing I did was to arrange for my delivery with the Campus vendor (I was then in my final year at BENSU), and as expected, I was number one on the priority list until my graduation. It is a similar story with the Guardian - on campus, I was number three on the priority list. The number one was the University Library. If I am not mistaken, either the Vice Councilor or the Registrar was in the second position. In fact, a classmate who was also a regular reader of The Guardian branded me, Mr. Guardian.
Don't ask me how I was able to afford The Guardian and The TELL as a student: I sacrificed my breakfast.
Who will forget the commercial – “others watch the news, we TELL it.” As a news addict, I did not give a thought to missing a copy - I will make whatever sacrifice needed to ensure that I have a copy to read. When the commercial came out, I went straight to the University Pavilion the following morning to conference with the campus vendor. I asked him if he has made any plan to acquire the new magazine that is coming out at his newsstand, and he told me yes. When I asked him if anyone here on campus has made a similar inquiry about the magazine, he said no. Then I said, given the fact that I am the first to discuss the arrival of the magazine with you, I should be the number one on the priority list. He answered in the affirmative, and it was so until my graduation.
Why am I telling you all these stories? It is about loyalty. Yes, loyalty to a brand. You will find out towards the end of this piece the importance of loyalty.
If I may add, no one can forget the piece by Nosa Igiebor’s on the New Soviet Union, covering Perestroika (restructuring) and Glasnost (openness) that won for the Newswatch Magazine an international award.
So, when I saw the commercial, “others watch the news, we TELL it”, and the names behind it, I knew Newswatch will never be the same again. I still remember vividly when the political situation turned extremely dicey and deadly in 1993, then The TELL Magazine started going underground to print, I also resorted going underground to get a copy to read with the able help of my faithful vendors/friends.
Leaving Newswatch to TELL
The very day it was announced that Nosa Igiebor, Dare Babarinsa, Dele Omotunde, and Onome Osifo-Whiskey are resigning from the Newswatch Magazine to float a new news outlet to be called The TELL Magazine, I packed my wallet and went with them, without blinking. The first thing I did was to arrange for my delivery with the Campus vendor (I was then in my final year at BENSU), and as expected, I was number one on the priority list until my graduation. It is a similar story with the Guardian - on campus, I was number three on the priority list. The number one was the University Library. If I am not mistaken, either the Vice Councilor or the Registrar was in the second position. In fact, a classmate who was also a regular reader of The Guardian branded me, Mr. Guardian.
Don't ask me how I was able to afford The Guardian and The TELL as a student: I sacrificed my breakfast.
Who will forget the commercial – “others watch the news, we TELL it.” As a news addict, I did not give a thought to missing a copy - I will make whatever sacrifice needed to ensure that I have a copy to read. When the commercial came out, I went straight to the University Pavilion the following morning to conference with the campus vendor. I asked him if he has made any plan to acquire the new magazine that is coming out at his newsstand, and he told me yes. When I asked him if anyone here on campus has made a similar inquiry about the magazine, he said no. Then I said, given the fact that I am the first to discuss the arrival of the magazine with you, I should be the number one on the priority list. He answered in the affirmative, and it was so until my graduation.
Why am I telling you all these stories? It is about loyalty. Yes, loyalty to a brand. You will find out towards the end of this piece the importance of loyalty.
If I may add, no one can forget the piece by Nosa Igiebor’s on the New Soviet Union, covering Perestroika (restructuring) and Glasnost (openness) that won for the Newswatch Magazine an international award.
So, when I saw the commercial, “others watch the news, we TELL it”, and the names behind it, I knew Newswatch will never be the same again. I still remember vividly when the political situation turned extremely dicey and deadly in 1993, then The TELL Magazine started going underground to print, I also resorted going underground to get a copy to read with the able help of my faithful vendors/friends.
As I said earlier, when The TELL came out, I was a University Student, and Newswatch was no longer a compelling read the way it was in the early years of its birth. The Guardian became the real deal and the most run after newspaper at that time, and Newswatch became a dispensable luxury. Not being able to read it or buy it was no sad a development.
In fairness, Mr. Dan Agbese and Mr. Ray Ekpu taught me how to use words and that’s what they do best. They have amazing literary skills that are second to none. They use words in such a way that you could magically feel what they are writing about with your bare hands. As years fade, the once glowing steam fades as well. It became more of style and news analysis. Substance and content disappeared, so goes luster, and fans too, went away. Nigerians were looking for something fresh, something vibrant, and The Guardian became the better alternative, and subsequently, The TELL.
Joining The Guardian with Sonala Olumhense
In fairness, Mr. Dan Agbese and Mr. Ray Ekpu taught me how to use words and that’s what they do best. They have amazing literary skills that are second to none. They use words in such a way that you could magically feel what they are writing about with your bare hands. As years fade, the once glowing steam fades as well. It became more of style and news analysis. Substance and content disappeared, so goes luster, and fans too, went away. Nigerians were looking for something fresh, something vibrant, and The Guardian became the better alternative, and subsequently, The TELL.
Joining The Guardian with Sonala Olumhense
Given the caliber of the guys that were writing for the Guardian Newspaper and the diverse topics that they were covering; flowery language, polemics, and stale topics embedded in stylistic nuances, reminiscent of Newswatch, were no longer alluring or selling. That explains the nature of the drastic exodus of Newswatch fans to TELL. In the end, while The Guardian remains a must-read for the intellectuals and the intellectual wannabe like me, TELL became rebellious and emerges as the rallying point for those of us who want a revolution and drastic changes in the political system.
My coming to The Guardian from Punch was exactly the same story as my relocation to TELL from Newswatch. Then, a teenager, I was addicted to reading Mr. Olumhense every Tuesday in his weekly column called “These Times” at the Punch Newspaper. I was young and excited reading the work of a familiar name – an ESAN man. But that romance didn't last long.
One evening, a commercial appeared on Bendel State Television with the picture of Dele Cole, Stanley Macebuh, Alex Ibru, Lade Bonuola, and of course, Sonala Olumhense. Sonala was the youngest among them or he looked the youngest among them. And The Guardian was the name, and it is still is. There and then, I made up my mind that I will follow Sonala to his new gig.
I told my cousin (Tony Ehikhamhen), "granted that I do not know who the other guys are, but I do know that young dude in the middle." "His name is Sonala Olumhense, and I read his column every Tuesday at the Punch Newspaper." (Mind you, I wasn't even a University student then). I repeated the same story the following day at my new job. Not unexpected, I bought the very first copy of the paper with the money provided by my colleague, Uncle Matt (Matthew Odili, a Briton/Ubiaja debonair). Without asking, Uncle Matt, allowed me to take the copy home. By the way, I later found out that the copy sold to me was not the one I saw on TV during the commercial. I confronted the Newsvendor (Akpakpava and Dawson Street intersection, Benin City), and he told me that the copy I am asking for was a Complimentary edition and it was never for sale. I told him, I don't care, I need it and I want to have it. He said, okay; and make sure you are here this same time tomorrow morning to get it.
The next day, the newspaper vendor was gracious enough to find and provide for me the giant Complimentary Edition that The Guardian Management used for the commercial - it wasn't for free, even though it was distributed freely to the Guardian friends and family members. The vendor charged me almost twice the cover price, and I protested. The vendor stood up and said, look, young man, I had enough of you, go back to your boss or whoever sent you and tell him that it cost more to buy an old copy. Hearing the word "your boss" or "who sent you" infuriated me. Which boss? I am buying it for myself, I retorted. At that juncture, a gentleman that was watching came to me and said, it cost more to buy old edition than to buy the current edition. The reason being that, if it wasn't that important to you, you would not have come here asking for it. The second reason being that the vendor would have to go to the warehouse to search for it. In the end, I paid almost twice the cover price for the same old edition that was distributed freely. And that was my biggest acquisition for that year - the very first copy of The Guardian Newspaper. Yes, I am the only Nigerian who paid for it.
I told my cousin (Tony Ehikhamhen), "granted that I do not know who the other guys are, but I do know that young dude in the middle." "His name is Sonala Olumhense, and I read his column every Tuesday at the Punch Newspaper." (Mind you, I wasn't even a University student then). I repeated the same story the following day at my new job. Not unexpected, I bought the very first copy of the paper with the money provided by my colleague, Uncle Matt (Matthew Odili, a Briton/Ubiaja debonair). Without asking, Uncle Matt, allowed me to take the copy home. By the way, I later found out that the copy sold to me was not the one I saw on TV during the commercial. I confronted the Newsvendor (Akpakpava and Dawson Street intersection, Benin City), and he told me that the copy I am asking for was a Complimentary edition and it was never for sale. I told him, I don't care, I need it and I want to have it. He said, okay; and make sure you are here this same time tomorrow morning to get it.
The next day, the newspaper vendor was gracious enough to find and provide for me the giant Complimentary Edition that The Guardian Management used for the commercial - it wasn't for free, even though it was distributed freely to the Guardian friends and family members. The vendor charged me almost twice the cover price, and I protested. The vendor stood up and said, look, young man, I had enough of you, go back to your boss or whoever sent you and tell him that it cost more to buy an old copy. Hearing the word "your boss" or "who sent you" infuriated me. Which boss? I am buying it for myself, I retorted. At that juncture, a gentleman that was watching came to me and said, it cost more to buy old edition than to buy the current edition. The reason being that, if it wasn't that important to you, you would not have come here asking for it. The second reason being that the vendor would have to go to the warehouse to search for it. In the end, I paid almost twice the cover price for the same old edition that was distributed freely. And that was my biggest acquisition for that year - the very first copy of The Guardian Newspaper. Yes, I am the only Nigerian who paid for it.
Indeed, TELL and The Guardian did change me - that is a story for another day. And I do not regret the sacrifices and the deprivations that I had to endure to be able to buy them - like trekking from Ijesha Market at Ijesha to Lawson Bus Stop in Surulere with my last "change" to be able to buy and read The Guardian for that day, or sacrificing my Breakfast throughout my 400L to be able to save enough money for The Guardian and TELL Magazine. Addiction has different names. During a long holiday (summer break), Rutam House was a tourist center for me. I would take a bus from Ijesha Bus stop along Lagos Badagry Expressway to Guardian premise before Oshodi Bus stop and remain there for the whole day. There is a large hall inside the premises where you could stay, relax and mind your business. Each time I make that visit I would always relish the feeling of not just being a fan of the paper, but actually taking the step to be a part of the organization/environment in real life.
Conclusion.
The Guardian has been enjoying a solid fan base since its creation - its all about the niche. The same is true of TELL - no compromise, no patronage. Newswatch was left, without a loyal following or a compelling narrative that would stick with its readership. They did not move with time or strive to reinvent themselves.
Indeed, they suffered persecution in the hands of the Military Governments. But the same is true of TELL, The Guardian, The News, and others. The mistake that the Management of Newswatch made was selling and parting ownership of the news magazine to Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim. It is all about confidence. If they believe in the brand they created, if they still believe and still have confidence in the brand that they created, they should go to their Banks and friends to raise funds to buy back and restructure the magazine for good.
It is not too late to go to court and wage a recovery battle to buy back Newswatch Magazine from Jimoh. Dan, Ray, Yakubu, and Soji are too young to retire from writing at this point in time. We need them and the younger generations need them as well.
Conclusion.
The Guardian has been enjoying a solid fan base since its creation - its all about the niche. The same is true of TELL - no compromise, no patronage. Newswatch was left, without a loyal following or a compelling narrative that would stick with its readership. They did not move with time or strive to reinvent themselves.
Indeed, they suffered persecution in the hands of the Military Governments. But the same is true of TELL, The Guardian, The News, and others. The mistake that the Management of Newswatch made was selling and parting ownership of the news magazine to Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim. It is all about confidence. If they believe in the brand they created, if they still believe and still have confidence in the brand that they created, they should go to their Banks and friends to raise funds to buy back and restructure the magazine for good.
It is not too late to go to court and wage a recovery battle to buy back Newswatch Magazine from Jimoh. Dan, Ray, Yakubu, and Soji are too young to retire from writing at this point in time. We need them and the younger generations need them as well.
Alex Aidaghese
No comments:
Post a Comment
The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.