Blueprint @10: We Pioneered It Through!
BY CLEMENT OLUWOLE
Indeed, time flies! It is a little over 13 years now that I relocated from Jos to Abuja, precisely in December 2007. My intention was to continue with the printing and publishing business which was my main focus after I bid farewell to the challenging newspaper industry. Upon taking a bow from The Nigeria Standard Newspapers, Jos, of which I was a pioneer staff and after my stint with the Sun Newspaper that I co-published with the late Col. William GodangWalbe, I did not in my wildest dream think I would be sucked into the murky, shark-infested water of private newspaper trade.
However, after my first year in Abuja, I had a change of mind. All the printing jobs I got within the period came from outside Abuja. My Jos contacts were still alive. My very good friend, Chief Anthony Goyol of blessed memory, would not let go of me. I had handled a number of publications for him when he was the chairman of the Pankshin Local Government Council. By the time the manuscript of his autobiography was ready, he requested me to handle it…from editing to printing. Chief Goyol was a jolly good fellow.
Another client of mine was the Emir of Nasarawa, Alhaji Hassan Ahmed II also of blessed memory. The late emir was like a brother to me. Let me stop at that. For, if I go any further, we would not leave this place by sunset. The late emir got me to edit and print a collection of his selected papers and speeches when he was the Director-General of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Jos, as well as a book on the history of the Nasarawa Emirate.
My first year of going after printing jobs in Abuja was like looking for a cock with teeth! Doing printing business or any business for that matter in Abuja was not a stroll in the park like it was in Jos. One was required to be armed with his valid company papers and tax clearance certificate to qualify to bid for jobs in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). I paid heavily to equip myself with all the requirements. I also registered with some MDAs which was a condition to bid for jobs. But all my efforts came to zilch. This was because all the pre-qualification activities were just photo tricks. The procurement units of various MDAs aimed at ensuring due process were huge scams. The more I looked, the more confused I was. I later discovered that the folks in charge of the due process operated in cahoots with their fellow civil servants who had floated various businesses with which to corner the jobs.
Having found no cocks with teeth, I decided to ditch printing and embraced media consultancy. To be effective as a media consultant, I needed a platform. I had in mind the Daily Trust which was the flagship newspaper in the industry in Abuja. I met with Alhaji Ish’aq Ajibola who was the Managing Director at the time. I discussed with him the possibility of introducing two weekly columns in the paper… one on humour and the other on sports. Those were and are still my specialties. While awaiting a response from the Trust, I got to know that the Publisher of LEADERSHIP Group, Mr. Sam Nda Isaiah of blessed memory, was the son of my immediate boss when I was cutting my journalism teeth at the New Nigerian Newspapers.
One afternoon, I sauntered into the premises of the paper located at Garki II. My mission was to meet with Sam for the phone line of his father so that I could link up with him. By the time I finished feeding him with my background, he requested me to join his editorial board as an external member. I could not turn down his request. It was like what I was waiting for in Trust was being presented to me on a platter of gold. A couple of days later, I got a call from Theophilus Abah who was the Editor of the Sunday Trust, inviting me to come over for a discussion in respect of my request. I told him that I had already been pocketed by Sam.
It was at the board meeting(s) that I met Malam Ibrahim Sheme who was the immediate past editor of the paper. Mr. Aniebo Nwamu was the chairman of the editorial board. Much later, Hajia Zainab Suleiman-Okino and Mr. Murtala Opoola came over from Trust to join the paper and automatically became members of the board.
I told Sam I wanted to introduce a humour column to be known as “The Other Side of LEADERSHIP”. He gave me the nod. When my maiden piece was published, Malam Sheme reacted that he loved humour and the write-up entitled “The swinging arms of Yar’Adua”. The former president was battling with health challenges and many had concluded that his days at the Aso Rock Villa were numbered. But he trudged for much longer until he finally answered his final summons barely two years into his presidency.
Malam Abdulmumini Balogun, one of the aides of Sam, upon reading my maiden piece, expressed his worries thus: “Oga Clem, I read your piece. It was like starting from the top. Do you think you can sustain this high tempo?”
I told Balogun not to lose his sleep, assuring him that I had been in the business of cracking people’s ribs for more than a zillion years! He did not believe me until he started suffering rib aches on weekly basis till I exited the paper for Blueprint.
One afternoon in the month of February 2011, Malam Sheme hinted me about the Blueprint and that he was going to edit the paper. Two months earlier, Mr. Isaiah invited me to Malam Sheme’s office with Mr. Aniebo Nwamu in attendance. The issue of making me the chairman of the paper’s editorial board was tabled. Declining the offer was not easy for me.
Malam Sheme got me interested in the Blueprint even though I had wanted my spouse to pioneer for the paper because of her specialty in editing and penchant in catching errors. I turned in my application as editor-at-large with sports as my main focus. Before then, I was introduced to the Publisher, Alhaji Mohammed Idris. From the picture Malam Sheme painted of him, I was expecting an encounter with a Godzilla. But Alhaji Idris turned out to be a medium built, likable young man, light-skinned, suave and articulate. The other qualities the publisher possesses are his humility and approachability. Those attributes swept me off my feet but I quickly regained my balance!
I was also introduced to Malam Salisu Umar, the pioneer Executive Director (Operations) who was excited to see me. Malam Umar was a course mate of one of my senior features writers, Samuel Dung Dangyang, in The Nigeria Standard Newspapers of Jos in the 80s when I was the editor. He was a regular visitor to the corporate headquarters of the paper. We both shared a laugh when he told me that he used to admire me from afar whenever he came to visit his friend. That was how my own voyage with the Blueprint began.
Eventually, the Blueprint did not only debut on May 2, 2011 as a weekly but also took the entire media space by storm. The design and editorial contents of the paper were professionally packaged in such a way that you would think the paper had existed for decades. Several newspaper houses in the country went into a panic mode because of the way we were breaking stories. Many of them were forced to race back to the drawing board to restrategise for survival… the Blueprint had suddenly become a tsunami!
Those who engineered the tsunami included the editorial arrowhead and pioneer Editor, Malam Ibrahim Sheme, Hajia Zainab Suleiman Okino who had left the LEADERSHIP to the SUN Newspapers to take charge of the Northern Operations. She was sucked into the Blueprint family as the Executive Editor. Simon Reef and Amos Dunia held the posts of Deputy Editor and Associate Editor (Politics), respectively. The Blueprint was an offshoot of a magazine, the MARKET, so to speak. A handful of the staff automatically transited to the new publication. Among them were Chamba Simeh who was the editor, Jibrin Baba Ndace, a special project specialist, Ayoni Agbabiaka, a correspondent and Thomas Joseph Imonichie (now late), who also was a driving force as an administrative backbone.
Other key pioneer staff of the paper included Mr. Ajibola Oyetubo, the General Manager (Finance), Garba Dangida and Tajudeen Ango anchored the circulation, Leke Adelere, Deputy General Manager (Business Strategy) and Musa Aliyu (Head of Adverts). Jerry Uwah also crossed over from the LEADERSHIP to head the Lagos Office of the paper.
The Editorial Board was headed by the one and only Malam Ish’aq Modibbo Kawu. Ibrahim Sheme, Hajia Okino, Simon Reef, Amos Dunia and yours truly, constituted the membership of the board.
Owing to pressure from readers across the country, the management was forced to turn daily after just four months of weekly production. More hands had to be engaged. Among them was Malam Abdurahman Abdulrauf who joined the Politics Desk and has risen to be the incumbent Editor of the daily title.
The decision to turn daily put a lot of financial pressure on the publisher who was the sole financier of the paper at a time the economy of the country was mired in the woods. He also turned down the requests from moneybags join the board for fear that the paper might be highjacked by people who might not share the same vision with him.
Consequently, the paper slipped into a storm between 2013 and 2015 but the resilience of the non-fair weather staff who refused to jump ship because they believed in the publisher, whose disposition towards them was unique compared to other high-handed media promoters around, kept the paper afloat. Some of the ship-jumpers soon returned to the fold in October 2017 when the paper added a weekend title to its stable… a proof that we had bounced back!
One unforgettable experience is worth recalling here. A few months into the existence of the paper, we had a brush with the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) when they invaded the Corporate Office of the paper at the Mississippi Street, Maitama, Abuja. Our offence? The paper could not have hit the ground running without the owner possessing a very deep pocket which called for questioning. So, the publisher was targeted for grilling. Of course, we all smelt a rat! Besides, some top security guns in government were not comfortable with the way we were breaking stories on the insurgency that was ravaging the North-east axis.
Crocodiles are to Kaduna what kangaroos are to Australia. Having lived in Kaduna for years, Alhaji Idris must have known how to navigate his way to safety when the EFCC crocodiles invaded the Mississippi River on the fateful day. When they arrived and could not find the publisher, they sealed off the place. But as luck would have it and unknown to them, the editorial and production departments were located across the street. To be on the safer side, the management quickly evacuated all the necessary work tools to a safe location at Utako to continue with our business.
The evacuation exercise coincided with a prediction by a popular foreign prophet that the world would come to an end. It was not the first time that such prophecy would be made. But the entire world was gripped by the grim possibility. When I got to the office, unaware of the evacuation, I was greeted by an empty space. Apart from the furniture, no colleagues were in sight. No computers, nothing! I panicked and began to make calls. Curiously, I could not get across to anyone. Then, I began to wonder aloud whether those I could not reach had gone on rapture!
Eventually, I got through to Simon Reef. When he picked the call, the question I asked him was this: “Simon, you mean you did not go on rapture too?!”
He dissolved into a guffaw and gave me the address of the location my colleagues had been evacuated to.
The paper has not only weathered the storm but also come out stronger and given birth to two other titles, the Blueprint Weekend (edited by Adoyi Aba, a semi pioneer) and Blueprint Manhaja… the latter is serving its Hausa readers spread across the country. The three titles also have strong online presence within and beyond the shores of the land.
As the paper clocks its 10th anniversary tomorrow which also coincides with the 55th birthday of the publisher, we cannot but backslap one another in congratulations for making the landmark a reality. It has been 10 years of dedication, endurance and self-belief. Within the period, many of us with low endurance capacity left. A few of us were lost to the cold hands of death.
“Pioneers do not last”, those were the words of my former boss, Mr. Clement Isaiah. He made the declaration when he visited Jos in company of some staff of the New Nigerian for an official engagement. Those of us in the Standard who were ex-New Nigerian staff decided to host them. He had his reasons for drawing that conclusion. But I resolved to last with the Standard. And as it turned out, I was the last editorial staff to exit the paper after nursing it to sweet 16!
And as it is today, I am one of the senior editorial pioneer staff standing, one decade on! The pioneer editor who also doubled as a director of the paper, Malam Sheme, was sucked out by the immediate past Vice Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria, Prof. Abdulla Uba Adam, to head the Information and Public Affairs Unit of the institution five years ago. A couple of others have gone and come back. Hajia Okino was appointed into the Kogi state cabinet as Information Commissioner in 2014 by former Governor Idris Wada, Jibrin Baba Ndace left for Niger to serve as the Chief Press Secretary to the incumbent Governor Sani Bello, Abdulrauf became the Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister of National Planning, Prof. Abubakar Suleiman, during the regime of Goodluck Jonathan also in 2014. The troika returned to the system after serving out their tours.
Samuel Aruwan, our correspondent in Kaduna, applied for a leave of absence to work with Nasiru el-Rufa’i ahead of the 2015 election. El-Rufa’i’s success was our loss. Today, Sam is the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs in Kaduna state.
As we begin the voyage into another decade, one can only pray for a more palatable story to tell.
Congratulations to the Chairman, Board, Management and Staff of this great outfit. May God Almighty continue to strengthen us and see us through the next phase of our service to humanity as we strive for a better Nigeria.
…Oluwole is the Managing Editor of Blueprint newspaper
