There are many newspapers in Nigeria. Out of these is the Nigerian observer. The Nigerian observer was published on the 29th of May, 1968. It is owned by the Edo state government. The publishing company that carries out the publishing work is the Bendel newspapers company limited. The daily observer is a newspaper that is published daily.
THE HISTORY OF THE NIGERIAN OBSERVER
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The publishing company of the Nigerian Observer, the Bendel newspapers company limited, was established by late General Samuel Ogbemudia on the 29th of May, 1968. After Nigeria got her independence, this was one of the first newspaper companies owned by the Nigerian government. The name that was originally planned for the newspaper was the “Midwestern Nigeria Sentinel” and it was as at this time planned to be a weekly newspaper. However, this plan was not only conceived but did not come into reality until Colonel Ogbemudia was posted as the Governor of the then Midwest State.
The first General manager of the NIGERIAN OBSERVER was Mr. Abiodun Aloba. He had come to Benin from Lagos for a Holiday to spend time with his people. On his way back to Lagos, the Military Governor sent for him and the outcome of his meeting with the governor was that he was taken to various locations in Benin City searching for a preferable location for the newspaper company.
In about 1972, when the company 11 was 4 years old, the daily publication of The Nigerian OBSERVER throughout 12 states of Nigeria federation had increased to about 95,000, while another newspaper called The Sunday OBSERVER was distributed weekly at about 180,000.
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On January 1, 1989, the name of the corporation was changed to Bendel Newspapers Company Limited (BNCL) as the first name of the corporation was MIDWEST newspaper corporation. And, this new name is the name that the corporation uses till date. When the Midwest newspapers corporation was first established, Colonel Ogbemudia said that in order for The Nigerian OBSERVER to perform its functions effectively and independently, it would need to break loose from the control of the Nigerian government. This was as a result of the fact that any organization that has its functions being overseen by the government will not be bold enough to criticize the abnormalities of the government and as a newspaper, the NIGERIAN OBSERVER is expected to be open to the citizens. However, the Nigerian OBSERVER remained a government-owned newspaper and faced lots of challenges with existence, as there were many other newspaper agencies that were in existence at that time.
Challenges faced by the NIGERIAN OBSERVER
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In the history of the NIGERIAN OBSERVER newspaper, a correspondent of the newspaper in Rivers state, Mr. Amakiri Minere, made a publication about the teachers’ strike that was ongoing. This publication was made on the birthday of the Rivers state governor, Alfred Diette. The governor felt offended by this claiming that it was published to make a mockery of him on his birthday. Mr. Amakiri Minere was called and was punished publicly. His head was shaved with a piece of broken bottle and was beaten publicly. Consequential upon the insult caused by governor Diette and his accomplices to Mr. Amakiri, the populace raised alarm and it became a public topic for discussion. In fact, till today, the incident is still a topic to be remembered and considered when the topic “press freedom” is being discussed.
In the 80s, the NIGERIAN OBSERVER and some other newspapers faced the challenge of reduction in followers and public acknowledgment. And, in July,1993, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida closed the NIGERIAN OBSERVER alongside other newspapers companies, because of the report they gathered and published on the Crises that occurred on the 12th of June.
Another notable challenge faced by the NIGERIAN OBSERVER is the financial challenge. At a point, a military administrator I’m Edo state introduced a policy called the “self-sustenance” policy. With this “self-sustenance” policy, Bendel newspaper company and some other organizations were left to cater for their needs by themselves. That is, they had to pay their workers by themselves. This caused workers to go on strike and some resigned. This ugly challenge continued for a long time. After about a year and some months, there arose governor Lucky Igbinedion who paid off the company’s debt of salary for about a year plus. He as well employed consultants. The reform of governor Lucky brought about a great rejuvenation to the Bendel newspapers company.
In about 1979- 1983, during the tenure of President Shehu Shagari (1979-83) the newspaper was being harassed by the policemen. Some staff members were detained. This forced the paper to close for some time. Also, On 22 July 1993 General Ibrahim Babangida banned the Nigerian Observer, alongside some other newspaper agencies like the National Concord, The Punch and the Daily Sketch.
With the aim of making the newspaper house grow bigger, Edo state Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, paid an impromptu visit to The Nigerian OBSERVER. He made his intentions known about the renewal and renovation of the media, by installing an art Printing Machine.
The achievement of the newspaper company
The newspaper company has made a lot of achievements. It is about 53 years old and it is still working very effectively. It has produced many journalists who have made important marks in the journalism profession. Some of these individuals are, in fact, working tremendously in other newspaper agencies.
