‘Blame FG for the crisis in New Nigerian newspapers’
How did you join New Nigerian newspapers? My father was an ex-service man who worked in the Premier’s office and as at that time, he worked together with late Tatari Ali in Kaduna. While in Kaduna, I attended the 1 Recce Squadron Children School before I was transferred to LEA school and then went to […]
How did you join New Nigerian newspapers?
My father was an ex-service man who worked in the Premier’s office and as at that time, he worked together with late Tatari Ali in Kaduna. While in Kaduna, I attended the 1 Recce Squadron Children School before I was transferred to LEA school and then went to the Sabon Gari Elementary School in Kaduna. I proceeded to Funtua Government Secondary School and Kaduna Government College and after I left, I started working with the North Central State Water Board (NCSWB) as clerical assistant in 1970. The same month, I got employment with the New Nigerian newspapers and therefore left the NCSWB. Charles Sharp was the Managing Director of the New Nigerian. Adamu Ciroma was the Editor of the paper; Rasak Aremu was the editor in chief; Chief Michael Ekolopius was the editorial adviser. At the New Nigerian, I worked in the composing room then graduated to the proof-reading section and eventually to the newsroom.
How was the New Nigerian then?
New Nigerian was the most vibrant newspaper that time that you can think of. As a matter of fact, when it published, the whole country shivered. But unfortunately, today, the New Nigerian is an image of itself and this is regrettable.
Why did you say so?
This is because those that are purported to be the leaders in the north today do not appreciate what the New Nigerian stood for. The New Nigerian stood for defending the interest of the north. As at the time, before the New Nigerian was established, the Daily Times newspapers was not even publicizing the activities of northerners and therefore the late Premier of Northern Nigeria Sir Ahmadu Bello the Sardauna of Sokoto established the New Nigerian and the BCNN (Broadcasting Corporation of Northern Nigeria) to promote the image of northern Nigeria. It has its motto as: “Mirrors the age in which we live in”.
How was the editorial content of the New Nigerian at that time?
The editorial content of the New Nigerian was mainly predicated on unchaining the masses from squalor, deceit, illiteracy, want and deprivation as well as injustice and what have you. It promoted socio-economic growth within the north in particular and the country in general. It promoted cohesion and unity among its people within the north because, at that time, we were operating regional government. And as a region, the Sardauna of Sokoto did not care whether you are a Muslim or a Christian or from whatever tribe you come from. This is why when the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) was established, the late premier was approached by late Sunday Awoniyi, Dr Christopher Apashia, Mr. Ishaya Michael Audu Buba and Chief Solomon Lar who was also a junior minister of economic planning as at that time. They told Sardauna: ‘Sardauna you have set up Jama’atu Nasril Islam for the Muslims, what about we the Christians?’ and the Sardauna said: ‘Go and set up the Christian Association of Northern Nigeria (CANN)’ and that was the beginning of CAN. CAN is the creation of Sardauna and not any other person. Sardauna set the CANN despite the fact that he is a Muslim and he did that in the interest of peace and tranquility across the north.
How were the journalists carrying out their editorial responsibilities during your time?
The art and craft of journalism profession was such that your allegiance was to your employer, but your responsibility was absolutely to the public and that was all. You are to stand and speak for the public, minding the fact that you are operating between the devil and the deep blue sea. There was a time I was having some discussions with late Rasak Aremu, the editor-in-chief of the New Nigerian in his office in 1976 when he told me that a journalist was expected to know more about little or little about more and Chief Mike Olumpias chipped in and said a journalist should know more about everything. That is the more reason why a journalist is expected to be slightly ahead of an intelligent person for him to be able to get the news, synthesize it, collate it and then publish it as a hard solid fact and let the reader make his own deductions.
Do the editors in the New Nigerian influence your write-ups especially on controversial issues that had to do with the powers that be?
Nobody influenced me or told me what to write or not to write. I wrote precisely what I saw. Our editors always insisted that we must try and describe what happened, to give the reader a picture of what transpired so that he will appear as if he was watching a photograph while reading the story…That was the standing rule during our times and that was how the journalism profession should be. But today, if you go into most newsrooms, you will find out that they don’t even follow the ethics of the profession. You find a lead with over 35 words because journalists no longer respect the inverted pyramid style to write their stories.
New Nigerian was owned by the government. Have you ever written any story that affected on the powers that be and your editors killed the story?
On the contrary, there was an incident which transpired when I was the Plateau State Editor of the New Nigerian. I wrote a story on certain N3.6m that went missing and had to do with the late Gbong Gwom Jos Mr. Fom Bot and the Late Christopher Dareng who was the then Commissioner for Education in Plateau State. It went to the extent that I was arrested and I told the then police commissioner that he should take me to court. I also went and told the then SSG (Secretary to the State Government) Alhaji Kassim Idris that he should please ensure that I appear before the court. After talking with the SSG and I was about to go, I didn’t realize that my Managing Director, the late Mohammed Turi, the editor and my news editor (was my managing director, late Abdullahi Adamu was my editor, Steve, Bangbele was my news editor. That was around 1978 or 1979 or there about. There was a rejoinder from the government that what I wrote was a figment of my imagination. The then governor, Group Captain Dan Suleiman wrote to the New Nigerian that I should be removed from Plateau State because I constituted a security risk. But Turi Mohammed Turi, typical of a leader, typical of a journalist, typical of a man who knows his onions wrote back and said: “Your Excellency, I refer to your later with reference number…. and wish to inform you that I do not take instructions from a governor as to where I should place my reporter. M.A Aliyu Biu is our editor in Plateau State and he remains as such until the board of directors of the New Nigerian decides otherwise”. What I said is the verbatim of what he (Turi) said that time. These days, hardly would you find the chief executive of any newspaper that will rise in defence of his reporter if such a reporter wrote against the chief executive of any state and then. During our time, we were working in the best interest of what the journalism profession professes.
Why do you think the New Nigerian Newspaper is no longer strong as it used to be?
Oh my God! The New Nigerian Newspaper died as a result of putting people who didn’t even know what the paper stands for. It is in the position it is today because the leaders that we have don’t want the New Nigerian to bring them down. In a situation where you find somebody who has inappropriate credentials in a position of authority, he wouldn’t like any challenge from any outsider and that is why the New Nigerian had to die.
Many workers of the New Nigerian are now wallowing in poverty and many others have died without collecting their pensions. Are you happy with this?
Following the dissolution of the Interim Common Services Agency (ICZA), headed by Mallam Adamu Ciroma, and the powers of the newspaper was transferred from the North to the federal government. The federal government did not find the New Nigerian comfortable because when the New Nigerian sneezed, the whole country caught cold. And today, for the leadership at the federal level to find some solace, to find some level of comfort, they deliberately brought the New Nigerian off the hands of the north, to the federal level and then starved it of funds and gradually grounded it.