As a Young boy growing up in Benin, the Nigerian Observer was the first newspaper I encountered. As a matter of fact, my first ever published article was one published in an edition in December 1997 in the Newspaper tagged Whether Sports or Politics , annulment is annulment. Unique in its concept and branding, the Nigerian Observer has been a great delight to readers for decades. The Newspaper is a legacy tabloid to many Edolites , which gives them a sense of history.
The Newspaper is even well respected by Embassies and other multi lateral agencies in authentication of information of Edo extraction. Aside its information dissemination role , the Nigerian Observer was also a breeding ground for many of Nigeria ‘s Best Pen Pushers and Leaders of the Nigerian Union of Journalists at all levels .
Upon the assumption of Governor Godwin Obaseki as Governor of Edo State, the fortunes of the Nigerian Observer took a nose dive. It got to a stage that the newspaper could no longer distribute outside Benin City, unlike before where it was a national tabloid. It was a hot cake getting a copy of the Nigerian Observer as some times, you have to have some connections. The News Paper was sold out most times before it leaves the Press. Even in the height of its suppression, the Newspaper had a good showing , some times doing better than some national dailies.
From one GM of the Nigerian Observer to another, the newspaper gradually began to take a nose dive, until it bite the dust under the facade ,that it was under going rebranding .
Instead of this, Governor Godwin Obaseki introduced another brand in the precincts of the Nigerian Observer, along Airport Road ,Benin City-The Victor Uwaifo Innovation Hub .
For the uninitiated, it is a place for innovation and da da da da da da. In real life, young lads resume there in three shifts daily , from where they “bomb” as the Yahoo Yahoo Boys will do when scamming their unsuspecting victims. But they do not “bomb” scam materials, instead they bomb propaganda, which in itself can be an intellectual scam filled with lies and bare faced half truths, making those that read them , their victims of truth (or lack of it ) .
As we Speak the Nigerian Observer is now said to be a weekly newspaper. We know newspapers to be daily and magazines to be weekly. But Governor Obaseki is the god of Edo State at least till the 12 pm on the 12th of November,2024.That is what I call 12/12. So, he turns things around the way he wishes in such a whimsical and capricious manner that is like the trajectories of a wisp.As respected journalist – Mr. Ofure Osehebo said recently You can not keep a legacy, when you can not conserve history.
It was therefore a laughable charade and a theatre of the absurd, when some media personalities presented themselves to decorate the sham that the Nigerian Observer has become under the guise of an ironic half of Fame being inaugurated , in a ceremony that depicts the transience of power and the futility of impunity. When Nyesom Wike was leaving as Governor of Rivers State, he was commissioning projects every day. Since Governor Godwin Obaseki has no Projects to commission, he decided to commission a hall of fame, in the same establishment that was once the pride of Edo State, but now a shadow of itself.
So I ask again, was that a hall of fame or a hall of shame.
By:Douglas Ogbankwa Esq.@douglasogbankwa@gmail.com