The media industry in Nigeria witnessed the birth of another newspaper on Sunday, June 10, this year. The newspaper, Wazobia, was on that day presented to members of the public at the Opera Classic Suite, FESTAC Link Road in Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State. Manager and graphics designer of the newspaper, Mr. Emmanuel Melvin, said Wazobia was published by the Chandon Communications, Lagos, and would serve people from every stratum of the society.
His words: “This newspaper will be published once every week. It will give information to every class of people in an entertaining way. This newspaper was conceived to commemorate the 36th anniversary of the global Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC) held in Lagos in 1977.” “We chose the name Wazobia because it is a household name in the country. It is a name that has something to do with three major ethnic groups in Nigeria; Yorubas, Hausas and Igbos.
So, it is a name that every Nigerian likes to hear and that’s why we chose the name for our newspaper. “In the next two years Wazobia Newspaper will compete with high profile newspapers. By the grace of God, as a baby grows from crawling to walking, jogging to running, so will Wazobia Newspaper grow from crawling to walking, from walking to running.”
Melvin explained that the newspaper is an independent organisation from a popular radio station that also goes by the name. Management of the Chandon Communications, he maintained, has contacted the management of the radio station on the newspaper.
“Let me say at this point that we will always give our readers the best. In order to achieve this, we will embark on a continuous consumer, market and product research. This will position our company to know what our readers want, the dictate of the market and how to improve on the content of the newspaper.
Mr. John Etoh is the Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper. He described Wazobia as the first tabloid to be published in Pidgin English in Nigeria. He asserted that the newspaper would carry local and international news on sports, business, politics, religion, fashion, entertainment and so on. The company, according to him, will print 350, 000 copies of Wazobia Newspaper every week, adding that the cover price is N60.
In a chat with Daily Sun during the event, Pastor Michael Agwu, who is into laundry business, urged the management of the newspaper not relent in their efforts towards ensuring the success of the newspaper. He enjoined the company to be prepared for the challenges ahead, saying: “it is not easy to publish a newspaper in a country like Nigeria.
“For this newspaper to succeed, the management should maintain and build on the contacts they have made. The sky is the limit. The Bible says everything that is built by God, founded on Christ will always succeed. If they can commit the newspaper into the hands of God, they will do well,” he said. Another participant, Pastor Williams Ehiorenren, from the Christ Dominion Bible Church, Lagos, expressed hope that the newspaper would succeed if the management and the editorial crew members had unassailable grit to blaze the trail.
“I believe that they will go far. Isaiah chapter 60, verse 22 says a little one shall become a thousand. I am happy at the courage they put in. I see determination. When you are determined to achieve anything in life, with God on your side, nothing can stop you,”
