The Oba (Eze Ogba) of Ogbaland, His Eminence, Sir Dr Chukwuemela Nnam Obi II, OON, JP, has lauded the tenacity and focus of the management and staff of National Network Newspaper that has seen them through the several years of the paper’s existence.
Oba Nnam Obi made the commendation on Monday, October 31, 2011, at his palace in Omoku, when a team of National Network management and staff paid a courtesy call on him to intimate him of their up coming seventh anniversary of uninterrupted appearance at the news stands.
The great monarch, full of fortitude, said it was an achievement for a newspaper to traverse the difficult terrain of journalism for such a length of time and still be in existence, adding that so many other local tabloids have gone to extinct after few years of existence.
A lover of journalists and journalism, the monarch who whole-heartedly welcomed the idea of the celebration of the seventh anniversary, pledged to be present with his council of chiefs and revealed how he was instrumental to the acquisition of buildings for the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in different states, including Rivers State, through his connections with state governors.
He also availed the team of his strides towards the growth of Rivers State that led him into some bitter but courageous encounters with some governors.
Earlier, revealing their mission to the monarch, Jerry Needam, JP, Publisher of National Network, stated that Rivers history cannot be complete without mention of the name of His Eminence, Sir, Dr. Chukwuemela Nnam Obi.
He went on, “We are also aware that after you set the place, after you taught them what to do, after you have opened the door, after you have given them the grace, they abandoned you. But God did not abandon you. Journalists will not abandon you.
“We have decided to use our seventh anniversary to celebrate you, to appreciate you, to thank you for what you have done for Rivers State”.
Also speaking and handing over the invitation letter to the monarch, the General Manager and Editor-in-chief of National Network, Chris Konkwo, eulogized the monarch for his friendly disposure to journalists and narrated the several travails of the newspaper in its endeavour to hit the newsstands regularly.
Chris Konkwo, who is also the chairman of the anniversary planning committee, said, among others, “He (the monarch) is a great patron of the NUJ. Anywhere we encounter him, we remain confident, we remain courageous and we rest assured we are safe.
“We celebrate our 7th year anniversary with thanksgiving to God for seeing us through the challenges, the turbulent environment of journalism, gathering and disseminating news and publishing and hitting the newsstands uninterrupted for complete seven years. It has not been easy, it has not been rosy. There are sometimes police harassment, we suffered detention in the hands of security agents within Port Harcourt and in Abuja and taken to court, accused of this and that. All these not withstanding we have remained unruffled, we have continued to publish, we have continued to carry out our mandate, that is, speaking the minds of the masses, representing the interest of the lower wrung of the ladder.
“All of us cannot be reporting what the government is doing, what they said and what they did not say. Some of us will equally be telling them how we feel about what they are doing. That is the special assignment we have as a body and a printing outfit”.
The team of National Network had earlier met and invited the Provost of Federal College of Education, Omoku, Dr N. S. Oguzor who willingly accepted the invitation for the anniversary that will take place at the Civic Centre, Moscow Road, Port Harcourt, on Friday November 25, 2011 .###
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