Alhaji Monsor Olowosago makes a good definition of a determined entrepreneur. The publisher of Oriwu Sun, Nigeria’s leading community newspaper, is amongst other things a committed community leader and public commentator. In this interview with Dare Odufowokan, he tells the story of the challenges of running the nation’s first community media outfit for thirty unbroken years.
You started Oriwu Sun 30 years ago. What was the community like then?
If I had not travelled abroad in 1972, maybe I wouldn’t have known what is called community newspaper. While I was in Britain, I lived in North London. I discovered that there were so many community newspapers operating and flourishing over there. These are publications that deal with community news only. In London alone, we had about 50 community newspapers. So on graduating from the famous School of Journalism in London, I told myself I must establish a community newspaper back home in Nigeria. At that time, community journalism wasn’t such a popular idea here. I can say that I am among the first people to think in that direction in the country. When I returned from London, I worked with the defunct Concord newspaper from 1980-1985, under the late Dele Giwa, who was a very good boss to me. But all that while, I continued to nurture the dream of owning a community paper.
What was the major challenge you encountered then?
Sincerely, my major challenge stemmed from differentiating from what we were taught in school and what obtains on the field. In school, we were groomed to ‘publish and be damned.’ But when I started the community newspaper, I realised I could not afford to ignore the feelings of my readers. Once, I wrote a story with the headline ‘The cocaine boys are in town,’ I can never forget that story. That was when I learnt the real meaning of being damned. It was attacks right, left and centre. It was so bad that one of the people I wrote about told me he liked me, but if I was not careful with my stories, they would eliminate me. As a result of that experience, I had to change my style. I told myself that since the paper is for Ikorodu people, I don’t need to intentionally offend their sensibilities if I can help it. That is why am writing a book on community journalism.
Aside editorial challenges, were there other difficulties you encountered in the thirty years of steering this ship?
Advertisement was and is still a major challenge. And to surmount this, I changed my editorial style once again. I had to ensure that my paper is not seen as a permanent enemy of the government at all levels. Before, our style was to look for the failures of government and report. But that had to change because government is the biggest advertiser in our paper. The change started with Governor Ohai Mike Akhigbe in 1987. Conscious of the impact Oriwu Sun was making as a grassroots publication, he called and asked me what I wanted him to do for me. I told him all I needed was advertisement. At the end of our discussion, he approved a monthly advert on the issuance of Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) for Oriwu Sun. That helped my business greatly.
My next encounter was with Governor Buba Marwa. He also called me to his office one day and asked the same questions. I cannot say the reasons they did this but I want to guess that it was because Oriwu Sun was important and they couldn’t ignore its impact at the community level. I told him all I needed was advertisement, and he gave us adverts worth one million naira. You can imagine N1million at that time. I was surprised. That is not all. I also told him about the outstanding money owed Oriwu Sun by some local governments worth N3million. I was shocked when he gave a state wide instruction that all LGAs owing Oriwu Sun should pay immediately. Same day, as if he was sent by God to turn the fortunes of Oriwu Sun, Marwa gave me a contract worth N5million. That was the turning point for my community newspaper. Within nine months, I built my corporate headquarters. Since then I have being getting support from Lagos State governments.
How will you describe the readership of Oriwu Sun in the last 30 years?
Readership has increased. It is increasing gradually every year even now. News is proximity and the people of Ikorodu have no choice than to patronise Oriwu Sun because we are reporting them. We are now online, so the readership is easier. So, readership no problem but adverts is the problem.
You had contemporaries when you started. How was the competition like then?
I don’t think I had any competition; this is a job I went to university to study and practice before setting up mine. How can a teacher set up a newspaper business and think he can compete with a professional? My so called contemporaries were not professionals. Even the late Ayangbure and his wife owned a community newspaper. Where is it today? You see, as a mass communication graduate, it was easy for me to outshine them all. They were no competitors because I was the only professional around then.
Another thing is the quality of production. I am a specialist in production. Some of these new community newspapers around here do have good stories but they don’t know how to ensure the best of production. The way you display your stories matters and will go a long way in attracting the readers. That is another edge I have over others in this field.
Who are those who worked with you these years?
We started with two people and lots of freelance reporters. I can recall that at some point, Mike Awoyinka, Dimgba Igwe, Chuma Adiche, and even Dele Alake free-lanced for Oriwu Sun. Today, they are all big names in the industry but they contributed to the success story of the paper. I had a clerk, Kazeem, who is now the Editor of Oriwu Sun. But today, we have a staff strength of nearly fifty. We started in a two bedroom apartment in my father’s house but today, we have this edifice as our corporate headquarters. It is indeed a worthy experience in the last thirty years.