As that a drama or the real thing? I’m referring to the picture that adorned pages of Nigerian newspapers a few days ago. A frustrated job-seeker, Sunday Olutayo, was shown lying on his back on a public road in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. He described himself as a mechanical engineer with 10 years post-qualification job-hunting experience.
Sam Akpe
Pathetic feelings raced through my mind as I stared at the photograph. What I saw was not an embittered job-seeker about to commit suicide; but a country stranded in poverty in the midst of plenty. I saw Nigeria lying on a highway waiting to be crushed by corrupt practices. I saw a country, 100 years old but still learning how to walk. Olutayo is a metaphor called Nigeria.
The Biblical Abraham, at 75, married and childless, still lived with his parents. Things only changed when he clocked 100 years. That was when he did what his age mates did 75 years earlier: he began to live as an adult; and even had children. Will this be the story of Nigeria at 100?
There are so many Olutayos walking the streets of Nigeria seeking transformation into meaningful citizens. When will their story change? When will their tears dry? When will their drums beat, and their dance begin?
Another blast, roasted bones and burnt flesh
Monday, April 14, came with a remarkable brightness. Trust Abuja sun; it hit the ground hard with its unrepentant bone-drying touch. It was hot before cockcrow. For workers living outside Abuja City, it is traditional to wake up early and make it to the city before the traffic builds up. Monday was not an exception. And that was when the evil-at-heart chose to strike.
In their hundreds, innocent Nigerians trooped to the branded el-Rufai Bus Stop in Nyanya where several long buses had lined up. Some were filled to capacity with passengers. Inside one of them was the devil himself, a blood-thirsty idiot, clothed in deadly attire. It’s difficult to know whether it was a suicide bomber or a time bomb that did the havoc. Those who should know have been torn to pieces. About 7am, the entire area shook with the intensity of hell as deadly balls of fire rose skyward.
Hell released its worst heat, and within a few seconds, the buses became valleys of dry bones and burnt flesh. It could have been any of us. The victims were mainly public servants. Some were Christians, some Muslims. No discrimination.
As mangled bodies of the victims hit the social media, not a few tears dropped from eyes across the nation. Telephone calls raced across the networks as people made effort to contact their loved ones. The dead are still being counted. The injured wear hopeless looks.
Why should this happen in Nigeria? Who are these people and what do they want? If they are killing both Muslims and Christians, whose interest are they protecting? How did we arrive here? It’s difficult to understand; extremely difficult….
Coming at TheNiche of TIME
The above headline does not sound like acceptable English expression. Reason: What you are holding in your hands, what your sparkling eyes are focused on and your mind is consuming, is a product like no other. It is new and refreshing. It may not yet be perfect, surely it is not; but it is in a class of its own. There is something unique about The Niche. Even the name is not alarming, neither is the page layout conventional.
TheNiche is not just a product of necessity, or a vision whose time is ripe; it is an acceptance of a challenge.
For some days this month, I have been reading a huge 431-page book: The Illustrated History of the World’s Most Influential Magazine, TIME, written by Norberto Angeletti and Alberto Oliva. I love good biographies and autobiographies. This one is a book every writer and aspiring newspaper publisher should read. It is the story of a dream and its reality.
TIME was determined to offer what other newspapers did not: interpretation of news. From its first edition on March 3, 1923, TIME set out in its news presentation to transport the reader to the venue of each event, draw connections, and tell the history behind them. In simple expression, putting the events within context.
This is the vision upon which TheNiche is built. It may not all manifest in one edition; but gradually, it will reach there. There are hundreds of newspapers and magazines in Nigeria, several opinion journals and weekend newspapers; but there is only one Sunday newspaper: The Niche.
TheNiche has arrived at the turn of the century marking the birth of Nigeria. It has come to turn the political page of a nation periled by ethnic bickering and corrupt practices. It has come at a time many pessimists believe Nigeria will not survive another century as one nation with one destiny. As the first copy of the paper hits the streets, the nation is meeting in Abuja to discuss its future. What a time to be born!
TheNiche has come to compete for space in a thickly-populated media market. From news writing to news packaging, TheNiche, like TIME, intends to combine clarity of message with elegant presentation, with that “extra dose of significance that no other publication can quite match”.