James Ibori: Governor in the Newsroom
Newspaper publication is said to be a trust, not merely a business. It follows that practitioners and investors are expected to be above board to fulfill the trustee responsibilities imposed on them. With the reported personal involvement of James O Ibori in the running of Daily Independent, Kenneth O Eze and Joseph Ekeng write that the public is wondering where the move is taking the newspaper to.
The immediate past governor of Delta State, James O Ibori, has moved to take charge of his investment in Daily Independent Newspapers, which he floated while in office as executive governor, in a manner akin to assuming the position of chief executive officer (CEO). He hopes to turn around the business in a jiffy, with a promise to pay all outstanding salaries on or before March 2010, insider sources told M2. By this Ibori makes history as the first former executive governor to be actively involved in newspaper management at this level.
Speaking on this development to M2 in a telephone conversation, James Akpadem, the managing editor of Daily Independent refutes that Ibori assumed position as CEO of the newspaper. He however confirms that the former governor now comes to the Ogba head office of the newspaper often. “He uses my office. We are restructuring, so he comes to find out one or two things. At such times, I call the necessary staff to clarify issues for him,” he says.
He explains that Ibori’s involvement as that of an investor desiring to reposition his business. That amounts to no interference, in his opinion.
It looks like the woes of outstanding salaries might persist as the managing editor denies that Ibori has given a definite promise to clear the debt. “We are not a government parastatal and cannot be expecting a subvention from the government,” he adds. He describes the salary issue as an internal matter, admitting that a labourer is worthy of his wage. His stance in that regard is that “we have to generate money to pay salaries.” He however, disclosed that the arrears are already being reduced.
The travails of the newspaper have led to the forced exit of former managing editor, Ted Iwere, with Akpadem coming in as replacement. Ibori, an astute businessman, said to have invested heavily in the media house with no returns to show for it, is reported to have brought in two expatriates to aid a turnaround after Iwere’s exit. M2′s findings show that one of the expatriates has already been frustrated by the realities he met on ground and has thrown in the towel, leaving his colleague identified as Mr Garlan to continue with efforts to steady the ship.
Contacted on the telephone, Iwere denied knowledge of recent developments in his former company.
However, industry watchers consider this move very interesting with a former employee of the newspaper house, who would rather not have his name in print, telling M2 on telephone that the place “has been run aground, hence the Publisher getting personally involved in the day-to-day running.”
Ibori brings to his new position his reputation of a successful, aggressive and wealthy businessman/politician. Industry observers maintain that this is the first time a man of this economic and social stature is taking active part in newspaper management in Nigeria. Part of issues being played up by those who spoke to M2 is the outstanding salaries of the employees. The former employee says the new CEO has no choice but to keep his word and pay up, despite reneging on an earlier promise in 2009. He reasons that “Ibori cannot be coming to work three times weekly, and seeing the workers face to face without honouring the company’s financial obligations to them.”
On benefits accruable to the media on this high profile involvement, sources say that his deep pocket will not be without impact on the employees.
Is This A Huge Joke?
Industry watchers are pondering if this adventure would be successful, being unprecedented. A media consultant who spoke to us on telephone, with no desire to be named in print, asked whether the ex-governor possesses the technical competence to provide day-to-day leadership in a newspaper house. Supposing that he is taking a cue from the likes of Nduka Obaigbena, the consultant reminded that Obaigbena has always been a journalist.
Noting that the media environment can be very tasking, the source wondered whether Ibori has the temperament to survive in the media terrain. But Akpadem clarifies that Ibori does not have the time. “He doesn’t have an office. He comes in to see how things are going.”
Another area of interest to industry watchers is how Ibori will react to his paper that he takes active part in running publishing critical stories on PDP and other political cronies. Another competent source told M2 that the astute businessman might be stepping in because of the high tempo of activities that would attend pending electioneering. Being a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he knows what political budgets are; he wants to stay on ground so that nobody will make attempts to pool the wool over his eyes on what comes in for Daily Independent.”
The managing editor however denies all these saying that “Daily Independent has a properly constituted board that is not chaired by Ibori. His interest in the business is limited to that of an investor, asking questions and getting clarifications.”
Other issues plaguing the minds of the people are: Can Ibori’s staff stand-up to him? If the staff cannot stand-up to him, will it lead to a better newspaper?
A school of thought is also wondering what credibility the former governor is bringing to his new position, with all the issues the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are raising against him.
All these leave the public pondering if the move by the adventurous politician and businessman is a huge joke.
Issues of Reputation
The decision by Ibori to get involved in the running of Daily Independent has raised a few questions. Apart from the implications of the decision on the welfare of the long suffering staff and the organization, media analysts are relatively uneasy about the reputation the former Delta State governor might bring on board. Until few weeks back, Ibori faced a 170-count charge, including grievous corruption cases, brought against him by the EFCC in the Federal High Court, Asaba. Though the former governor managed to wriggle out of the charges, after he was controversially freed of all transgressions by the court, he still has a case to answer in London over a huge money laundering charge involving his associates.
Indeed, Ibori is alleged to be one of the most corrupt Nigerian politicians and an indispensable kingmaker in Nigerian politics. Analysts have raised concerns that his direct involvement in a media organization could have some negative implications given his reputation. “The media is not just a business, but a public trust, where its operators are supposed to be seen as reasonably unbiased and an emblem of fairness,” an analyst who asked for anonymity says.
Some of the other questions that have kept cropping up is whether Daily Independent can sustain an objective position on matters that have to do with PDP and if the paper will be fair to other political parties in its reporting. Civil rights leaders have expressed misgivings at the development saying that Ibori should first clear all charges against him both in Nigeria and London before he can be morally qualified to take up responsibilities in a newspaper.
“For a long time, this former governor has been moving from one scandal to another and his associates are being tried for money laundering in London. We don’t see the moral ground on which he will stand to proffer solutions,” Debo Adeniran, a civil rights activist says.
But in spite of the criticisms and reservations that trail the shake up in the newspaper, some members of staff are upbeat that the development will soften the tension in the company and help drag Daily Independent out of trouble. One of the staff, who craved anonymity, told M2 that they expect that Ibori will help resolve the financial crisis plaguing the organization and also make it more profitable by attracting some of his rich friends to patronize the outfit. It would be recalled that Ibori’s first foray into the media was with Diet Newspaper, which was established in the nineties.
