Books, Featured
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A Review by Ngozi Anyaegbunam
VOLUME: 766 pages
PUBLISHERS: Realnews Magazine
Date: 2014
My first reaction was that a lot of hard work has gone into this impressive volume.
Then the title, Paragon of Journalism, is quite intriguing. Why the title? Are the beautiful ones being born in Nigeria’s journalism? The Fourth Estate of the Realm, we know, is generally that in name, duty assumption, as well as when it is time to apportion blames for what went wrong in our society. Why is it a surprise that the word paragon is used in the same context as journalism in Nigeria? In the eye of the public ‘Paragon’ will be much too sweet. Yet I need not call out those commonly used words in place of this p word.
Yet Journalism in Nigeria we know is one of those rare places where passion, patriotism, integrity still reside.
On the other hand, it is also one profession which harbours many quacks and unscrupulous mercenaries. I turned to the multi award winning journalist who has brought all of us together today, Ms Maureen Chigbo, who is also the publisher of Realnews Magazine, to elaborate on this sweet and flamboyant title.
Her impassioned response was in the same tradition of the Nigerian journalist in our history; he did his traditional duty of news gathering and dissemination, but he also did more. Many in that mould are still with us and still practising. At the most ethical level of output you could call them the selfless conscience of the society.
This huge volume is not the normal book which comes in chapters of fiction or non-fiction as we know it. It is rather a compilation of some work of journalism at its finest. As we say in this rather intense profession, journalism is history written in a hurry. And it cannot be any other way because, unlike the historian, anthropologist, sociologist, economist, geologist, who would take his time, sometimes years, with research, writing, verifying, sorting, compiling etc. the journalist has the compelling responsibility to fill those pages everyday with materials of immediate relevance which span every aspect of society, from Art to Science to Politics and Governance, Economy and Business, Gender and Social Justice, Security and Strife, Health, Religion etc.
In spite of this daily rush to chronicle the many events of society, journalism still remains the one occupation which is instantly assessed, scrutinized, challenged, most of the time thrown away with the dirty bath water on a daily bases, even as it is nevertheless avidly consumed.
But so much is expected of the journalist because so much has been conceded to him by society and by law. It is after all, the one profession which is referred to as the fourth estate of the realm. Therefore, the journalist needs to assume a commensurate sense of importance to match the level of responsibility thrust on him. Such an assumption is the critical prerequisite for engaging his community effectively, comprehensively and credibly in a heterogeneous field of play such as Nigeria. Such an assumption imbues him with the uncommon passion that immediately dresses him up as a spontaneous historian/chronicler, as well as an advocate/activist, even an evangelist/prophet.
The journalist has the privilege or burden of being a repository of rarified or emerging information by the very nature of his daily engagements. Therefore, he cannot belong in the level of society which indulges in indifference, having done its bit at the end of a hard long day. Journalism as I know it has no end of any day.
The admonition that the journalist must resist the temptation to get too involved, to volunteer opinion, to slant stories remains valid. But theories adjust as they contend with the caprices of reality. While news items can remain sacrosanct, they are no longer the main content of today’s newspaper or magazine. Even when it is not explicitly called ‘General Interest,’ the content of the usual newspaper now goes into many more compartments than ever before to address a society that is becoming more and more complex, even more and more abrasive and therefore needing more intensive mediation and advocacy.
This complexity is partly because we have since gone beyond the euphoria of a worldwide web global village, a 21st century cyberspace, to contemplating the other side of the coin: the result of being so close knit. As so much information swirls around: soft copy, hard copy, online, offline, emails, text messages, voicemails, voice calls, people are in a frenzy as they position to make sense, or capital of it all.
Online or hard copy, production process in the newsroom, which was so cumbersome that Prof GG Darah once asserted that it was more tedious than running one of the states of Nigeria, has suddenly become simpler, faster, more efficient, all because of technology input. I have not checked, but today, I do not think that editors still sleep in their offices and newsrooms.
Suddenly, many, especially school leavers, with time on their hands, are online dealing in the business of information dissemination and sharing, advocacy, opinion projection and the like. For online practitioners, it costs relatively less to own a canvass with virtually unlimited space to play as compared to the newspaper as we know it.
What is worse, some are further emboldened by the anonymity of this new medium to explore many deviant directions. With no social responsibility that comes with training, tutelage, and dedicated institutions, we now have bands of adventurous and unscrupulous individuals who practise as blackmailers, guerillas, fraudsters, all under the banner of this same profession.
All these are not saying that the world has not made a positive fantastic leap in the aspect of information technology. In fact we sometimes pause and contemplate the present and all the convenience in place just for information flow, and we wonder how we coped few decades ago in our business and social lives. More and more entrepreneurs who have figured out the internet as a force for clean, genuine ventures in publishing, blogging and other transactions are taking the happy leap of fate.
The internet has endless possibilities especially for publishing. Ipso facto, journalism as we knew it has changed forever. Publishers who still produce hard copies, from Thisday, SUN and Vangurd to Guardian and Punch, are also flowing free online. Few years ago, one needed to pay some fee to access Punch for instance. But as this relentless tide flows, the process keeps throwing up even further possibilities. Would we still have our vendors on roadsides, and would we still pick up The News or Tell magazines as we know them? Even the big issue of marketing and the business of it all is also sorted correspondingly depending on how far an enterprise is willing to embrace this new space and therefore drive for its patronage.
As it is in our clime so it is elsewhere.
The good news therefore, is that the internet may be running free and uncensored attracting the so called online trolls, but as the proverbial light chases away darkness so, it is hoped that genuine concerns will in due course, take up their niche, balance and stabilize this wonderful ship of social engineering.
At such an intersection, the question will arise; while the process of production is now simpler, and the environment for display fairly affordable, how does the professional juxtapose this against a social fabric which gets more complex by the day, throws up some incendiary social issues such as security (kidnapping, terrorism, armed robbery), food security and poverty, governance, religion, etc. This therefore requires seasoned heads to handle with responsibility, patriotism, reservoir of knowledge and sense of history, who would not be seduced by this assumed simplicity of backdrop to transfer it to content handling. Far from relaxing, the question becomes even more strident and urgent for a practitioner of the internet and its carefree atmosphere.
Paragon of Journalism is a gesture by Ms Chigbo, a seasoned journalist who understands these issues and has resolved that even while she goes with the flow to the new world of the internet she needs to stay in touch with her origin and its tradition of discipline which approaches issues objectively and from all the possible sides, hesitate for her first audience, many of whom still buy the hard copy.
Realnews Magazine is the first full blown magazine on comparable levels with Tell, The News, Source etc. to be published online in Nigeria. Thus apart from ushering her audience to her new online environment, this is also a proclamation by Chigbo that what resides in the internet is not all yahoo yahoo, that it can be as substantial and valuable as this 800 – page treasure – a selection from the body of work she and her team have done in the past two years on the website; www.realnewsmagazine.net .
Going through this volume which covers virtually every aspect of our society gives the impression of a passionate social crusader, out to save the world. And I say this with every sense of respect and gratitude on behalf of all the present and future visitors to this website.
www.realnewsmagazine.net is a treasure trove for Nigerians anywhere in the world who need to follow the trend of major events in this country with all the thoughts and analyses, conjectures and predictions, misgivings, forebodings and warnings that go with them. These events and issues span the whole spectrum of society from those pertaining to the oppressors to the oppressed, the mighty and powerful to the poor, vulnerable, voiceless, deprived and forgotten, to the social engineers, service providers, business people. It is a huge undertaking.
But the headlines attest to the fact that Realnews is up to the task.
Cleansing the Rot in the Oil Industry. The Gang – Up Against PIB.
Why Jonathan’s Power Deadline Won’t work. The Pre – paid Metering Fraud
Mismanaging Nigerian Football.
Why Corruption, Poverty Thrive in Nigeria. Conspiracy of the Elite. A Word for African Billionaires
Crime Fighter as the Criminal. Turning Police Recruitment into Big Business
National Conference: Is it a Greek Gift? Squaring Up for 2015.
University Education: A System in Progressive Decay. Primary Education: Building on a Weak Foundation
Weighed Down by Culture and Tradition. The Scourge of Maternal Mortality.
The Ticking Time Bomb. Waltzing Through Landmines. The World of Street Children
Economy: Growth Only in Theory. Growth Without the Real Sector.
Unemployment: Wasting the Youth.
Security: Still an Elusive Search. Global Forces Against Boko Haram.
Hacking: The Ugly Side of the Internet. No Longer a Safe World.
There are also some segments which focus on individuals either as interviews or searchlights such as the following:
In the Name of the General
The Other Side of David Mark
The Big Boots Saraki Left Behind
Emeka Okwuosa: A Man of Many Parts
NDLEA is Underfunded, Understaffed, Ill – Equipped – Ajayi
The Gang – Up Against PIB for instance is a story we are familiar with, but it bears repetition. The special highlight on the faces behind the plots and intrigues is a dimension which I had not encountered before.
In the Name of the General is one of those scary underground digging around a former head of state, in spite of layers of security and secrecy around him, to make sense of a scam syndicate using his name to fleece his friends. In the end his reaction was typical: shocked to learn that someone out of his circle knew about it; how much more investigate it.
Who is this General? If I tell you, the joy of reading for yourself will have been denied.
The World of Street Children will bother even the heartless reader. This is because we all still harbour some sense of self preservation. And the obvious message from Realnews is; these street children may have been conveniently cast aside and forgotten by the system, but they will in one form or another fight their way back in. One day. Unemployment: Wasting the Youth evokes the same dread also.
The other side of David Mark is a very thorough searchlight on the private, past professional life of the retired general.
Hacking: The Ugly Side of the Internet, is truly ugly. Do Read.
Adventurous and gutsy journalists usually embark on these dangerous quests unarmed except for their mighty pens. Some lose lives and limbs; the lucky ones are stripped of everything and turned away. I am sure that even at this moment memories of many who were felled in the line of duty over the decades are swirling up some emotions in our heads.
Our society is strewn with minefields which Nigerians steer away from and carry on as if all is well. Certain journalists consider it their job to stir up such nests before the dust under the carpet accumulates to a treacherous bump. Journalists dive beyond the calm surface into festering ugliness to the usually rotten underbelly. It is the stuff thrillers are made of.
Paragon of Journalism, the compendium we have gathered to receive from Realnews is an excerpt from the website, www.realnewsmagazine.net .
Somewhere in that website is also the hair raising account of a trip by Realnews to the Boko Haram den! Although my brief today is to focus on the book, I hope that I have whet some appetite enough to want to tuck into the book. You will have a satisfactory reading.
The internet holds in its infinite belly everything; trade and commerce, services, relationships, ideas, education, information above all. It is the most powerful enabler for capitalism and its buzzword entrepreneurship. The world and its people are happy to waltz into this virtual world, sweeping in everything it would accept and display. Nigeria has about 43million internet users already. Few days ago, I read that the creator of Facebook, Mr. Mark Zuckerberg has concluded arrangements to make the internet free in Africa.
Nobody, not even he can fully conjecture on the resulting social reverberations. But even in our limited imagination we are already excited. Entrepreneurs are already repositioning. It is a dream for sellers and buyers.
But we know that advertisers are still hesitating. Their circumspection is understandable. Change is not easily embraced when the old order is still holding on. But surely they must begin to now see beyond the internet trolls and rats, the yahoo yahoo boys, to behold certain results of accountable hard work and integrity such as Paragon of Journalism. But it is a matter of time now.
‘Nigeria has no reading culture is one of those lines with which we self deprecate. We also say that if you plan to hide something from a Nigerian, you just put it between the pages of a book, chances are high that he would never open it. But we were also taught that the easiest way to catch the nimble hen is to merely drop a line of grains to end up in the appointed enclosure. Books, ought to be promoted by way of presentations such as this, reading sessions and signings. Books should also be made available to be read.
Students in certain schools in rural areas may never catch a glimpse of the vendor, may never read one magazine or newspaper except the odd oily page with which his akara was wrapped. Literally and figuratively, they live in darkness and may never see a television. They do the same examinations where they are tested on Current Affairs, like those in Lagos, Abuja etc. Actually, such students are the majority. Actually, one can hazard that their teachers may not know what NYSC, SURE-P, or the National Assembly stands for. How then can such students dream and aspire? On what peg will they hang their creativity in order to air it?
One copy of Paragon of journalism at a time in any school library could empower endlessly.
I am very happy and proud today to watch as Maureen celebrates this huge result of years of hard work.
I look forward to more of this. I also look forward to a review of omissions. For example the book’s titles are laid out chronologically. It will be better organized in sections of related topics. This is probably because all these were amassed within a short time and such a collation might not work out.
In conclusion, it is my verdict that Realnews achieved its objectives for this publication, namely,
- Attempt a seamless transition from the hard copy environment to online
- Alert its targeted audience who are still in the old world that it resides in the internet
- Persuade advertisers that online activities may have been tarred with some negative brush but the reality is better and stronger than the perception.
All the Best.
Ngozi Anyaegbunam
— Dec. 1, 2014 @ 01:00 GMT
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