The media is seen
by many people as tools that can be used to fight real and perceived enemies in
this part of the world. While the mass media is expected to serve as the
watchdog of the society, they are now seen as avenues of promoting the
political agenda of some people and run down their enemies.
So, whenever a
politician establishes a newspaper/magazine or print media, it is believed that
he did so to fight his political enemies and use it as a propaganda tool.
The entrant of the
publication caused much stare in the industry then as it was believed that the
politician wanted to use the medium to fight his opponents, especially those in
the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) as he was then a member of the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
But in a recent
disclosure by the former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel is that
the newspaper was established to achieve another purpose.
Gbenga revealed
that he did not establish Compass Newspaper to attack his political opponents
during his tenure as the governor of Ogun State, contrary to insinuation in
some quarters.
He said he
established it as part of his contribution to the improvement of the welfare of
journalists and love for the profession.
OGD, as he is also
called, while discussing with newsmen at his Asoludero Court in Sagamu recently
at a one day workshop organised by Political Academy for journalists in Ogun
State, said the medium was established to help journalists.
Compass newspaper
was founded by Daniel when he was the governor of Ogun State and since he left
office in 2011, the newspaper has been facing a lot of problems which had made
it appear less frequently on the newsstands across the country.
There were reports
late last year that business mogul and publisher of Daily Newswatch, Jimoh
Ibrahim, was proposing to buy the newspaper alongside its sister publication,
The Westerner.
According to him,
“I have not said anything since all these days, about why I established Compass
newspaper. Many people have been saying a lot of things but they can never know
better than I do because, I was the one who knows the reason for establishing
it. You will all agree with me that journalists are needed components in nation
building, but in Nigeria, they are not well taken care of and you will see them
looking tattered and unkempt.
“I sat down and
thought of what to do and I concluded within me that I should establish a
newspaper and make it a place where the pen men would be well taken care of and
free to perform effectively and efficiently. But, alas! what did I see, it is
the same journalists that I was fighting for that ruined the company. They
destroyed the company and nearly made it go bankrupt. But I can promise you
here today, that the company is coming back soon; back and better.”
He defended the
owners of most media houses accused of not taking care of the welfare of their
staff and not paying their salaries regularly.
“You people have
to understand that someone that established a newspaper house does so to make
profit. It is a business enterprise and all hands must be on deck by all and
sundry for its survival. A situation whereby some people among the stakeholders
are not performing as expected would be the beginning of the collapse of such a
company, which was part of what contributed to the problems faced by Compass.
It is you people, I mean, the journalists that killed the newspaper.
“You will all
recall that when we started then, newspapers like The Nation, TheSun and even
ThisDay were put on their toes, with the welfare packages we put in place. We
bought 36 cars for all our correspondents across the country and they were all
adequately taken care of. Even those at the head office were so happy with the
welfare packages they enjoyed until you people finished everything,” he
lamented.
Daniel gave an
assurance that the company is being re-organised and restructured now to
contribute its quota to the media industry in the country.
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