Let’s take a second look at Nigeria’s foundation-Akinadewo

818
He is a cleric; a former editor of the Nigerian Compass, a former Managing Director of The Telegraph. Gabriel Akinadewo who is now the publisher of Freedomonline responded to our many questions on Nigerian’s multiple challenges.
Congratulations once again on the forthcoming lecture of Freedom Online. 
Thanks so much.
How long have you been on it?
This is our third edition and it holds on February 25 at Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja.
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State delivered the lecture at the first edition and his Ekiti State counterpart, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, delivered the second lecture. This time around, Govermor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State is the guest speaker and Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, is the chairman. There is a popular saying that it is only a foolish man who will be doing something continuously and expect a different result. On February 25, we are looking at the foundation of Nigeria. What exactly is the challenge with our country? Insecurity in the country has nothing to do with whether you are a Christian or Muslim, whether you are a member of APC or PDP. How many Nigerians even belong to these parties? The security situation now is precarious, perilous. We have to look at the architecture of our security, our economy, our politics.
What has been the impact of the lecture on the platform? 
The impact has been tremendous and encouraging. Even earlier this year, some people called, asking for when the third edition will hold. I remember after the second edition last year, former Governor Gbenga Daniel of Ogun State posted some photographs from the event on social media, especially Twitter. See reactions from Nigeria and abroad! Our lecture has made Freedom Online, aside driving traffic to our site, to be popular and, according to a friend, intellectually strong.
 Can you tell us a brief story of the platform? 

Akinadewo

Well, we all know the world we live in is changing. In fact, change is the only constant thing in life. If you believe this, you must know that you have to do something about your profession. I worked in various newspaper houses but in 2014, I decided to, as we say, be my own boss. The experience I garnered is helping me today. In Freedom Online, truth is our guiding principle. Objectivity is a must in whatever we publish.

How did it all start for you and the storm(s) you have weathered or still battling with? 
When we started, it was, as usual, tough. It was tough in the sense that some people, and you can’t blame them, did not believe in online media. This is because some guys will just buy phones and start reporting. No journalism background, no respect for news balancing. In fact, most of them are people I refer to as blackmailers.  But, given my pedigree in mainstream media outfits and my unparallelled access, based on relationships, to a network of editors, columnists and writers (don’t forget I was Editor and later Managing Director of New Telegraph), we were able to convince readers that we are different from some ‘online influencers’. Freedom Online is a complete newspaper like Punch, ThisDay, Nation, Guardian, Sun, New Telegraph, Tribune, Vanguard and others. The only difference is that we don’t print the hard copy. But, all the sections in a newspaper, such as News, Politics, Business, Health, Sports, Entertainment etc, you will find in Freedom Online.
 What informed the choice of this year’s theme: ‘Nigeria: Foundation, Fundamentals, Future and the choice of speakers?
The truth is brutal but it must be told. We need to look at the foundation of this country, challenge the fundamentals (that is our system of governance), and, by so doing, secure our future. This informed the choice of this year’s lecture. We can’t continue this way. And I believe it will not be wise for anybody to continue to blame the military for what is happening in the country today. The military left in May 1999, that is more than 20 years now. Are we saying democrats ruling us now, from Federal to states down to Councils, are not patriotic enough to effect the needed change in the polity? To me, it is a crime to waste 20 years in the life of a nation. Obviously, this system is not working. So, we need to rejig the system. On the choice of speakers, Governor Sanwo-Olu, Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Amaechi, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Chief Olabode George, Malam Garba Shehu, Prof. Akin Onigbinde, and others, have private and public experiences. They are also widely travelled. They will tell us  what must be done to fix Nigeria.
Like most people have been saying, as a man who has been in the two sides of the divide, hard copy publishing and now new media baron-online, do you think the online publishing is capable of ending the future of newspapers in Nigeria? 
No,  online journalism will not lead to the collapse  of newspapers in Nigeria. Many Western countries started online journalism before us and newspapers are still selling in those places. I was in Turkey with some editors and we went to a newspaper house called Zaman. Then, it was selling more than one million copies everyday and their online edition is  strong. In the United States, Wall Street Journal (WSJ), New York Times, Washington Post and others sell millions of copies every day and their online editions are also successful.  I think the challenge has to do with the means of producing newspapers in Nigeria. The paper mill in Iwopin, Ogun State is dead. The one in Oku Iboku is also gone. So, newspapers in Nigeria must battle with other business people to get dollars to import newsprint from abroad. That doesn’t come cheap. Inks, plates and others are also imported. If all these materials are produced locally, the story would have been different. All the same, newspapers in Nigeria will still survive.  But, in all these, the coming and flexibility of credible, let me repeat that, credible online platforms  is reducing unemployment  as more professionals are embracing the digital technology to sustain themselves. You can call it citizen journalism, online journalism, digital journalism or blogs,  social media is already a powerful ‘political and economic force’ in world media and Nigeria is not an exception.

akinadewo

What needs to be done to end this era of plethora of online platforms most of which do not play by the ethics of journalism and also help the print media? 
Whether we like it or not, online journalism has come to stay in Nigeria but as usual, there may be some people, not properly trained, who may engage in blackmail. I always tell people that look, if anybody publishes a false news about you, we have enough laws in the country to take care of infractions. Libel is libel. Slander is slander. Get a lawyer and deal with that person. We also have the Cyber Crime Act. If you know you are clean and you have not done anything illegal, ensure that you defend your integrity by involving law enforcement agencies. On how to help print media, something must be done about our economy so that materials can be locally sourced. Also, newspaper houses  must constitute what I call a ‘war council’ to get exclusive stories. The Editor of Zaman told us that he has about 20 reporters covering the city of Istanbul alone. Istanbul is the economic capital of Turkey (just like Lagos in Nigeria) and Ankara is the political capital (just like Abuja in Nigeria). He told us that about four to eight pages are devoted to Istanbul stories. If anything happens in Istanbul, you are sure of reading it in Zaman newspaper. That is why Zaman sells about 200,000 copies in Istanbul alone everyday. Publishers and editors in Nigeria must restrategise.
Will it not be better if  some of these ‘kwashiokor’ platforms come together to form, at best, about 20 strong online platforms?
You know it is a free world. We have many associations out there. Of course, I am a member of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE (in fact, an exco member) and I am also a member of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP). Most members of GOCOP, at one time or the other, edited newspapers in this country, others were line editors. And advertisers are no fools. They know the serious and credible online platforms. So, as time goes on, the wheat will be separated from the chaff.
Is the business of online publishing as profitable as people tend to believe? 
Well, it depends on the way people look at it. The beauty of this aspect of journalism is that it hardly ever sleeps. You can work anytime, send out your stories and people all over the world will read such stories.  Also, the use of WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and others have really helped online journalism. Google advert is also an added advantage. If you are hardworking, objective and focused, you will make money through online journalism.
We noticed that the biggest and strongest oppositions to the hate speech bill is from those who claim to be online publishers/editors, why? 
Many people do not really understand the opposition to the hate speech bill. To my understanding, there are two bills. One from the senate, the other from the Information Minister. I have read that of the minister. It  helps to protect our profession. But, people raised the red flag when they saw death sentence in the bill before the senate. And you can’t blame them. By and large, my belief is that we have enough laws to take care of infractions in the land.
What is your take on the argument by some people GOCOP  ought to move for a certain qualification/experience that one must possess before diving into online publishing rather than the three years a platform must possess before its promoter(s) who are in some cases have more than two decades in journalism must have before they are made accepted as members?
Regulation is key in whatever you do in life. In NBA, NMA, lawyers, doctors also have regulations to guide the conduct of members. It is good to agree on certain qualifications and experience to possess before you join the media confraternity but everything cannot be done in a day. We have to review and review because of contemporary happenings.
Is that three years condition not making GOCOP look like a cabal 
or a ‘cult’ association open to attack by other journalists? 
GOCOP is not a cabal. Like I said, we have rules and regulations and these must be followed strictly. As we say, the hard way is the only way. You know our profession has to do with projecting the image of our plaltform and informing people about what is going on in the society. We need to be careful about membership. If you did not spend years in print or electronic media, forget it. You can’t join GOCOP. Objectivity, balancing, nose for the news are very key in what we do.
Who really is  Gabriel Akinadewo? 
I am a journalist, a writer, a columnist and a cleric. My father taught me journalism before I went to the University of Lagos for my first degree and masters. I worked with him in Nigerian Monitor in Ondo in the 80s. At that time, I taught in his school and was also involved in journalism. In Lagos, I was in Concord, Comet, The Nation, Nigerian Compass and New Telegraph. Today, it is Freedom Online

 

 

 

Kindly support the growth of journalism in Nigeria

Reactions to stories published can be sent to us at [email protected]


One thought on “Let’s take a second look at Nigeria’s foundation-Akinadewo

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *