THE gale of reforms initiated by the proprietor of The Guardian newspaper, the twenty-nine year old moderate outfit based in Lagos, on Friday swept aside its top managers, Mr. Debo Adeshina, who was editor for fourteen years and Mr. Emeka Izeze, its managing editor. The newspaper’s Abuja editor of thirteen years, Mr. Martins Oloja has been announced as the acting editor.
Martins Oloja, a well known cool-headed and authoritative hand in news reporting in Nigeria, graduated from the University of Lagos. He came to Abuja in the early 1990s when so many people were skeptical about the workability of the then-developing capital city. He subsequently edited the federal capital city’s first newspaper, Abuja Newsday. Thereafter, he became the bureau chief of The Source newsmagazine, where he authored the epic report How Abuja Works, a must-read for every new comer to Abuja.
In a profession of journalism, where many often fail to find rewarding bliss, Oloja, a prince of Ajagba in Ondo State, through an organized private life and disciplined inter-personal relationships, was able to make comfortable living, being one of the first property owners in Abuja.
There has been intense boardroom politics at The Guardian stables since the death of its founder, Mr. Alex Ibru, last year. Mr. Debo Adeshina was advised to proceed on a compulsory leave about a fortnight ago. The company’s managing editor, Mr. Emeka Izeze, is also presently on a tour of Eastern Europe. Had the two been around, the change of guard would have deepened the in-fighting in the company.
The new helmsperson of the company, Mrs. Mabel Ibru, was said to have been persuaded by some of her children, all new-entrants to the board of the company after their father passed on, to do something about the fortunes of the newspapers, whose circulation and sales have dwindled with stiffer competition among coming from conventional media outfits and the new-media of online journalism.
The company first did a radical thing by hiring the company’s pioneer editor and former managing director, Mr. Lade Bonuola, as a consultant. Martins Oloja would now perform the magic surgical renaissance that would draw back old faithful and new admirers for the flagship.