I was fascinated with journalism growing up as a young man. My late uncle of blessed memory,Chief J E Okagha who was a renowned insurance broker, helped to fuel my passion for the tabloid. He was an avid newspaper reader. Every evening, he comes home with copies of Nigerian tabloids, notably was the NIGERIAN OBSERVER.
Then in the mid 70s, the NIGERIAN OBSERVER was a household name. It was not surprising that by reading the newspaper regularly, I was unconsciously cutting my teeth in journalism.
The NIGERIAN OBSERVER was the flagship of Nigeria’s print media. It was a newspaper established by a visionary and pragmatic administrator ( Dr S.O. Ogbemudia, then a Brigadier in the Nigerian Army), and nurtured by some of the nation’s brightest hands and brains in journalism .
The roll call include Prince Edun Akenzua who recently joined his ancestors .Prince Akenzua was the pioneer editor. Men like Abiodun Aloba, Andy Akporugo, Dele Giwa, Reti Uzzi, Aunty Augusta, Festus Rupee, Neville Ukoli, Eguaseki Ogida and a host of others I can’t readily recall here, toiled relentlessly to build the newspaper into a formidable force in the pursuit for the socio- political development of the country.
Consequently, we were told that General Yakubu Gowan as Nigeria’s Head of State would not attend the Supreme Council meeting without browsing through the NIGERIAN OBSERVER newspaper’ editorial which seeks to capture the mood of the nation then with profound suggestions to the issues highlighted therein.
The NIGERIAN OBSERVER was a bride courted by not only Gen. Gowan rtd but.many across the country. That was one beautiful story of the newspaper.
The other is that the NIGERIAN OBSERVER was renowned as the training ground for journalists and publishers. We were told and it’s true that not less than eighty per sent of journalists in the country at the period went through the NIGERIAN OBSERVER stable.
State Governments who wished to established newspapers of their own sent the personnel to acquire requisite experience at the NIGERIAN OBSERVER.
States like the old Plateau , Kwara and Cross River which later established ( can’t remember that of Plateau) , Herald and Chronicles owe it to the NIGERIAN OBSERVER.
But today, all these beautiful memories have been eroded with the renaming of NIGERIAN OBSERVER as ECHO. Can it be rightly said that Gov Obaseki’s action in renaming the NIGERIAN OBSERVER is the best decision? I weep for the NIGERIAN OBSERVER!
Written by the prolific veteran journalist, news editor and retired but not tired Matthew Okagha
