Governor Bassey Otu
OPINION
By Okar Ibor
On Saturday, August 31, 2024, the sensibilities of well meaning Cross Riverians and indeed, Editorial Staff of the Cross River State Newspaper Corporation (CRSNC), were assaulted by an “Open letter to the Governor on the blatant desecration of the Nigerian Chronicle,” and circulated on the social media by a one-time General Manager of the Corporation, Publishers of the Chronicle Group of Newspapers, Mr. Dominic Kidzu.
Ordinarily, Mr. Kidzu’s write-up deserves no response, but for the glaring misrepresentation of facts and deliberate misinformation of the general public on the true position of the current state of the State-owned newspaper corporation. So, this is solely out to correct the falsehood peddled in the said open letter.
It is indeed very disappointing that, as a former General Manager of the Cross River State Newspaper Corporation, the author could not differentiate between the Newspaper Corporation and the Nigerian Chronicle. For goodness sake, the Newspaper Corporation is the whole and the Nigerian Chronicle is just one of the many parts of the whole and a product of the Cross River State Newspaper Corporation.
To face the facts: Mr. Kidzu claimed that his action was spurred by an early morning call from a national officer of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE). As a member of the NGE, I know quite well that no national officer of the Guild is from Cross River State, meaning that, whoever called him did so on the strength of here say, especially as he/she had not been to the Cross River State Newspaper Corporation.
As a professional journalist, Mr. Kidzu, who resides in Calabar, should have taken the pains to fact check the false information from the purported national officer of NGE before deciding to write to the governor. But this, he did not do, thus throwing the revered ethics of journalism profession to the winds. Mr. Kidzu did not also consider it imperative to balance his facts, accord fair hearing to all concerned and to remain objective as obtained before feeding the public with falsehood.
Apparently, the grouse of the former General Manager of the corporation and his co-voyagers against Keyu Edet is that, the current General Manager, who served the corporation as Administrative staff for 35 meritorious years and retired as the General Manager in December 2023, has been appointed as the new General Manager by His Excellency, The Governor.
Unarguably, she is not the first non-journalist to be appointed the General Manager of the corporation since its inception, as there were seven others before her and who had performed creditably. They include, the first General Manager, Mr. Effiong Essien. Mr. Nyong Udoh Eyop, Mr. Archibong Udoh, Chief Michael Morn, Chief Patrick Okem, Pastor Brown Ubom and Engr. Nya Nya. Interestingly, all these past General Managers performed excellently well during their respective periods, even better than some General Managers with journalism background. Kidzu must have been in a hurry to mislead the public, hence could not check the history of the Corporation.
The question here is, what is the function of the General Manager of the Cross River State Newspaper Corporation? It is simply the administration of the daily activities of the corporation. The General Manager is also to oversee the smooth functioning of all the departments of the corporation without unnecessary interference. If this is true, then, the General Manager has no business in story writing, editing, and any other editorial function as expected by Mr. Kidzu, as that is purely the function of the Editorial Staff. Even Mr. Kidzu would attest to the fact that as General Manager, he had no business editing the newspaper as this was strictly handled by the Editorial Staff under the supervision of the Editor-In-Chief and the Editors.
His claim also that because the General Manager is a novice in editorial responsibilities, is the reason the Chronicle Newspaper is “a sham and no longer readable,” is again, untrue. This is to tell one how disconnected Mr. Kidzu is to the Chronicle Newspaper. I think, he is the only one with this view! The Editorial Staff of Nigerian Chronicle are worth their onions anytime, anywhere and are committed to upholding the legacy of the founding fathers of the premier State-owned newspaper, East of the Niger. It is on record that, I and other editorial staff occupied top editorial positions during the tenure of Mr. Kidzu as the General Manager. For instance, I was the Deputy Features Editor, News Editor and Features Editor at various times, when the former Head of Service, Ogban Akwaji was the Editor-In- Chief (EIC) and the current Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information, Comrade Samuel Egbala, was the Editor, Nigerian Chronicle. Could this experience and that of other Editorial Staff suddenly vanish into thin air instead of adding up simply because Keyu Edet is now the General Manager? That my former colleagues who left Nigerian Chronicle to other national dailies are doing better is an attestation to the fact that the knowledge gained in Nigerian Chronicle over the years cannot be easily eroded.
It is indeed laughable that Mr. Kidzu whose last visit to the Cross River State Newspaper Corporation was his last day as General Manager in October 2014, would now tell the public how Editorial Staff are complaining of how the new General Manager is “power drunk.” I think, this is just a figment of his imagination! Rather than being “power drunk,” the concern of the new General Manager is not only how to consistently publish the newspaper, but also see to the welfare of staff. One wonders what would have made Keyu to be power drunk when she had already been a General Manager before retirement in 2023. A power drunk General Manager would have been concerned about fixing the befitting office of the General Manager destroyed during the EndSARS protest for her use. But this is not the case. All that is the concern of the General Manager, is how to make the newspaper regain its lost feat. It would also interest one to know that, today, Keyu has ensured inclusiveness of staff in taking major decisions in the corporation. She has also enthroned cohesive team work among the staff and this has made it possible for the regular and timely publication of the Nigerian Chronicle since her assumption of office.
Perhaps, those staff who are complaining to Kidzu that the General Manager is power drunk are those existing in Kidzu’s imaginations or probably his cohorts who have elected to operate outside the newspaper corporation, “since Keyu is the General Manager that is not appointed by the governor.”
Agreed that the Nigerian Chronicle was once circulated widely in Nigeria and abroad, that is due largely to the funding the corporation was receiving from the government. But today, such funding is no more coming. Let me inform Mr. Kidzu that, unlike when he was receiving a monthly impress of N1.5 million in addition to several millions received from the Ministry of Local Government Affairs for Local Government Council’s advertisement, in Keyu’s case, there is nothing like that for now. But in spite of this, she has ensured that the Chronicle Newspaper is consistently published every week. Interestingly, she ensures that the property belonging to the Cross River State Newspaper Corporation remain intact, in her effort to publish the newspaper to promote government’s policies and programmes. This is unlike some General Managers who saw their appointment as an opportunity to sell the corporation’s property to themselves and their cohorts.
Kidzu should also be reminded that the appointment of the General Manager of Cross River Newspaper Corporation is the prerogative of the Governor, hence shouldn’t insult such powers as he already did while claiming that Keyu Edet’s appointment “was shrouded in secrecy, being neither announced nor published,” adding that, “it was a ghostly transmutation that left a lot of questions unanswered.” What an insult!
For the benefit of the public, let me state here that Keyu’s appointment was the outcome of her performance first, as Acting General Manager and later, as General Manager before her retirement from service in December 2023 after her mandatory 35 years of service.
As Acting General Manager, She ensured that the Computer Unit of the Newspaper Corporation which was domiciled at the Ernest Etim Bassey Press Centre, State Housing Estate, Calabar, following the massive EndSARS destruction of the newspaper corporation, was moved to the Barracks Road premises of the State Newspaper Corporation in less than five months after three years that the NUJ accommodated the unit there.
Also, within this period, she ensured that both the Nigerian Chronicle and the Weekend Chronicle were alternatively published every week, unlike the period before her assumption of office.
She further reached out to well meaning individuals and corporate organisations to assist the corporation and the Editorial Department to function effectively in the production of the newspaper
Added to this was the increase of the pages of the newspaper from 12 to 16 as well as the increase of the print run.
In addition, she ensured that the Cross River State Newspaper Corporation Office is given a new look, while awaiting proper government intervention.
On her reappointment and assumption of office in February 2024, the General Manager has opened a Business Centre with the help of the equipment donated by the Commissioner for Information, Dr. Erasmus Ekpang. This is in a bid to look inwards to generate funds that would help her publish the Nigerian Chronicle.
She also engaged relevant authorities to ensure that inflight complimentary copies are introduced in all the airlines that use the Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar.
Keyu Edet in partnership with her few editorial staff have continued to demonstrate their resolve to publishing the newspaper which goal is to promote and propagate government’s policies and programmes.
In all, I am not convinced that Mr. Kidzu’s open letter to the governor was borne out of his love for the Cross River State Newspaper Corporation or the Nigerian Chronicle. No! I think there must be more to it! If he has any iota of love for the corporation, as former General Manager, nothing should have stopped him from not only approaching the new General Manager for confirmation of any information at his disposal as well as offering advice where necessary. Or could it be the fear of the unknown? Whatever is the reason, only time will tell.
I know that many people, especially those whose records are unclean in the corporation dread Keyu Edet as the encyclopaedia of Cross River State Newspaper Corporation and a strict administrator, who does not compromise standards?
For this group, there is nothing they cannot do to see her removal. But they fail to understand that, before her appointment, the governor had conducted necessary security checks on her and was satisfied that she could deliver in line with the present administration’s policy thrust.
Let us therefore, allow the governor to be dissatisfied with her performance and not resort to peddling unfounded falsehood in order to achieve our interest.
Oka Ibor, Editor, Nigerian Chronicle.
For: Editorial Staff
