By Polycarp Onwubiko
The monstrosities and gruesome lamentations of the masses especially the youths over the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT), have reinforced the critical imperative of having another vibrant newspaper owned by Igbo people and specifically based in the Southeast geopolitical zone. To say that newspaper is a critical component of politics and governance, is merely stating the obvious. To ignore it is tantamount to crass ignorance of unspeakable evils going on in Nigeria.
No matter the ‘sins’ of the former Governor of Abia state, Dr. Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, his name will continue to ring bell because of his establishment of the Daily Sun Newspaper barely 20 years ago. Against all odds, he did not look back in sinking money in the newspaper for about three years when the newspaper picked up and gained appreciation and credibility nationwide and started yielding great dividends. In other words, establishment of newspapers needs patience before huge returns set in.
Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu established the Champion Newspaper after the NIgeria-Biafra war, and within a short time, the newspaper gained traction and blossomed, and more importantly, became a strident voice in championing the corporate interest of the Igbo people within the socioeconomic and political contexts in Nigeria. Unfortunately, the newspaper did not move on but thanks be to God for nudging Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu to pick up the gauntlet and floated the Daily Sun newspaper which is creating waves in the country and massively protecting the interest of Ndi Igbo.
What led me to make a passionate appeal to the wealthy men in Anambra state to come together and establish newspaper based in the State is the marvelous write-ups of the four erudite columnists in the Daily Sun Newspaper about the judgement of the PEPT. Definitely, the Columnists rooted for the protecting the interest of the Igbo people in politics.
Without these fearless and courageous Columnists, of course other newspapers columnists would not have exposed the monstrosities and unspeakable fallout from the PEPT. Igbo people in Nigeria and the diaspora should go to the Daily Sun website and read the articles of these five Igbo Columnists:
(1) The import of PEPT judgment, By Ugo Onuoha;
(2) Help, Tribunals are hurting Democracy, By Andy Ezeani
(3) The era of kakistocracy has come upon us, By Dan Onwukwe; and
(4) Judicial coups, should we still keep our PVCs?, By Casmir Igbokwe.
Igbo people need to celebrate these exceptional eminent scholars and media gurus. They went into their “Sanctum Sanctorum”, apology to Zik, and unearthed the unspeakable iniquities and atrocities behind the brazen-faced INEC chieftains who had profusely promised Nigerians that BVAS , the game changer in advanced technology in democratic values and elections would be deployed in the 2023 general elections. Again, the intellectually sound Columnists exposed the deceptive earlier ‘body language’ of the PEPT judges which led Nigerians and even the foreign and local election monitors that the Judiciary would reinvent itself as the bastion of justice, equity, fairness and faith in Democracy in the developing countries like Nigeria.
No other newspapers had the courage to strip INEC chieftains naked as well as the holier than thou posturing of the Nigeria Judiciary which Professor Odinkalu, a Columnist in Guardian newspapers exposed in his article few days ago and “took them to the cleaners”, as it were.
Anambra state wealthy people should please consider to take the franchise of Mr Godwin Ezeemo’s newspaper, ORIENT DAILY which unfortunately he could not fund further due to the vagaries of politics that apparently ‘swallowed’ his humongous wealth during Dr Willie Obiano second term Governorship election. They should meet with Ezeemo to either partner with him as a limited liability company to re-establish the beautiful newspaper which has state-of-the-art printing facilities in Awka.
In the alternative, the wealthy Ndi Anambra state can request Governor Soludo to use the franchise of National Light Newspaper, the 30-year-old state-owned newspaper which he closed down because of the apparent misconception that state government-owned newspapers are veritable sources of internally generated revenues.
In spite of the emergence of online publication and social media, hard copy newspaper is still very relevant because of its inherent nature spreadsheet which is attractive, even as online publications do not contain everything which hard copy newspapers carry. Newspaper establishment needs a gestation period of at least three years before it becomes a cash cow as typified by the Daily Sun Newspaper.
Anambra State has intellectually sound journalists who can make newspaper established in the State vibrant and progress with efficient and effective management by media professionals and administrative officials retired from the civil service.
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Polycarp Onwubiko is a public policy analyst.
