By David Chukwu
One major field where Engr. Chief Dr. Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, the late President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, made an impressive mark during his lifetime was the media. As at the time he made an entry into the media space in Nigeria, he was already a success story in politics, sports, aviation, construction industry and in many other fields of human endeavor.
As preparations are being stepped up to give the departed national icon a befitting farewell, it has become imperative to examine his contributions to the growth and expansion of the vibrant Nigerian media. Iwuanyanwu took the industry by storm when he floated the Champion Newspapers in the late 1980s to promote inter-ethnic cohesion, social integration and national unity. The entry of Champion Newspapers at the time into the media industry was very significant.
It was the first major and robust intervention by an entrepreneur of Eastern Nigerian extraction. As at that period, the newspaper and media business was largely dominated by the South West of Nigeria. All the key and flourishing media outlets were domiciled mainly in Lagos and Ibadan. The dominance gave rise to what was known as the “Lagos-Ibadan press”. This axis of the Nigerian media shaped public opinions through its news reportage and commentaries.
Within the period, the Eastern part of the country had no national newspaper with any sort of influence to champion its cause and interest. The zone had no voice in the national media and was, therefore, largely under-reported. The coming into being of the Champion Newspapers was widely seen as a major initiative by Iwuanyanwu to fill the void. It created a great opportunity for Ndigbo and the entire people of former Eastern Region to tell their own stories from their own perspectives.
The Champion Newspapers indeed provided the needed balance at the national media scene which was dominated by a section of the country who often deploy the media to set regional agenda. So, when Iwuanyanwu came up with the Champion newspapers, it was a welcomed development.
According to a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, Professor Ivara Esu, the Champion newspaper is “the major paper we have East of the Niger; a paper that is indigenous to our people, that is the voice of the people in this part of the country”.
The corporate headquarters and operational centre were at Ilasamaja, near Isolo in Lagos. It was a massive complex which Iwuanyanwu purchased and transformed into a mega media empire from where all the newspaper titles including the Daily Champion, Saturday Champion, Sunday Champion and Sporting Champion were being churned out.
Iwuanyanwu`s investments in the media created huge employment opportunities for thousands of Nigerians who were engaged as Editors, Reporters, Correspondents, Bureau Chiefs, Accountants, Administrators, Marketing executives and Drivers. There were also other categories of workers in the newspaper chain that derived their sustenance from Champion Newspapers.
At the height of its glory, the paper covered a wide range of news, including the oil and gas sector, government activities, sports, business and community events amongst others. The diversity of the work force of the newspaper showed
Iwuanyanwu as a true nationalist as the organization never discriminated in the recruitment of its staff.
Iwuanyanwu ensured that the best hands from across the country irrespective of tribe or religion were engaged.
This definitely was responsible for the phenomenal rise of the newspaper within a short period after its debut.
People from the North, East and West occupied positions of influence in the organization. At inception, a great newspaper administrator of Yoruba extraction, Chief Henry Odukomaiya, was the founding Managing Director. Topflight journalists from the North like Jonathan Ishaku, Labaran Maku and Nick Dazang occupied key editorial positions in the media conglomerate. Maku was later to serve as a Minister of Information in the country.
The likes of Paul Bassey and Parchi Umoh from Akwa Ibom State in the South-South geo-political zone were key editorial figures in the paper. Bassey, for many years served as the Sports Editor of the newspaper conglomerate, while Umoh was one of the founding Editors. Umoh was later to serve as a Commissioner of Information in his State.
The paper at the height of its glory was authoritative and influential. The likes of Emma Agu and Ibe Njoku from the South East served at different times as the Editor of the Daily Champion. Indeed, many leading journalists in the country today started their career or plied their trade at the Champion newspapers.
It will also be recalled that Iwuanyanwu also established the National Post Newspapers with operational base in Owerri. The paper which was regional in orientation, was specifically devoted to the coverage of development activities in the former Eastern region, comprising the South South and South East geo-political zones. The paper complemented the Champion Newspapers very well.
For many years to come, Iwuanyanwu would be remembered as a foremost Nigerian media entrepreneur who provided food on the table of thousands of Nigerians through the Champion newspapers and the National Post. The history of the Nigerian media would be seriously incomplete without the indelible contributions of the late Ahaejiagamba Ndigbo, a visionary leader and trailblazer.
As the nation prepares to give him a befitting farewell, it is our prayer that the Almighty God would grant his soul eternal repose, and the loved ones he left behind, the fortitude to bear his exit.
Chukwu, a Public Affairs Analyst, writes from Lagos
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