Home Local News FEATURES: Alfred Egbegi, a rugged journalist and Newspaper mogul, by Esumai Ambros

FEATURES: Alfred Egbegi, a rugged journalist and Newspaper mogul, by Esumai Ambros

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Alfred Egbegi Publisher Izonlink Newspaper

Afred Egbegi, publisher of “Izonlink,” is a survivor. He knows what it means to take his destiny into his own hands. As the English gentlemen would say, he knows how to pull himself up by his shoe laces. His tabloid, one of the private newspapers in the Niger Delta notorious for carrying the other side of the story, was rebellious in content and non-conformist in editorial disposition.

The paper remains an extension of the independent-minded character of its proprietor, and it is a mark of Egbegi’s sense of longevity that “Izonlink” has continued to be on the news stands in good and bad times, in and out of government, and quite in spite of the veteran publisher’s sundry adventures in printing.

The private newspaper industry in the Niger Delta may well have begun with “Ijaw News,” published by Presidor Gomorrhai of blessed memory in Patani late in 1983, following the establishment of “The Guardian” that same year. Alfred Egbegi’s Izonlink began business in 1986, before Evans Osi of blessed memory overtook the private media market with the Port Harcourt-based “Independent Monitor” in the mid-90s.

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As a newspaper mogul with a record of endurance in the Niger Delta, Alfred Egbegi holds a strong opinion on the media in the region. “We have failed so far,” he says. “Apart from the Bayelsa State Newspaper Corporation which has showd to be a true watchdog with the emergence of WWW, we have all proven to be sycophants.

“We don’t recognize news even when it stares us in the face. A good number of us are not professionals. We are publishing because we have to keep busy. We are expert at bootlicking. Conscience, in short, is out of the question. Our ranks are full of quacks, hypocrites and gate-crashers.”

Alfred Egbegi should know. He was once chairman of the Bayelsa Independent Publishers Association, BIPA, set up by a body of indigenous journalists who have passed through the painful pen-pushing mill. But, he says, he has no regrets for his rooted stance.

“I’m not a sycophant. That’s why I am Public Enemy Number One on a regular basis. Not being a praise singer has left me relatively poor, and poverty is not good, but I cannot compromise the ideals of objective journalism.”

The responsibility of a journalist, as far as Egbegi knows, is to address social, political and economic injustice. Having practised with independent publishers in Lagos, trained in the very hub of the Nigerian media industry, Egbegi sees the news from his own point of view, an independent and objective viewpoint, a path of righteousness.

“Among my colleagues in Bayelsa, I can vouch for B. Oreku of “The Atlantic Express,” Union Oyadongha of “Banner News,” and Francis Dufugha, publisher of “Niger Delta Herald,” who holds a Masters degree in Mass Communications. In my time as chairman, I didn’t lead them as individuals. I simply represented the interest of those qualified to go by the title of journalists.”

Alfred does not hesitate to extend respect and honour to his forebears in the profession, nor does he fail to acknowledge the contributions of those who have made distinctive marks ahead of him. “I know my mates in this pen-pushing business,” he says. “Why should I say I’m better than Clinton Thompson or Stanley Opokuma or Stephen Oweibigha?”

Indeed Egbegi expressed special adulation for Robert Bikefe whom he remembers in the fondest of terms, describing him only in superlative veneration. “He was a terrific journalist, an independent-minded thinker whom the state lost when we needed him most.”

Alfred says he wants to be fully equipped with all the tools he needs to succeed. Journalism has eaten deep into his marrows, and he doesn’t even want to divorce himself from this marriage. “I find myself asking questions. I seek answers to the troubles of the Niger Delta. My presentation has to come out excellent. I want to be an all-round journalist like Pope Pen. He is perhaps our most accomplished and, unarguably, the most influential journalist in active service in the Niger Delta today.

“His command of the English language is not only impressive. It gives cause for envy. He is a direct off-shoot of Ernest Sisei Ikoli, the mentor of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and confirms the promise of that illustrious son of Brass descent. But, in fact, one of my greatest ambitions in life is to make Pope Pen look small. I want to dwarf his record. I want to make my mark in the literary world,” he said.

In spite of his accomplishments so far, Alfred Egbegi still feels inadequate over the patriotic assignment on his lap. Accordingly, in 2006, he enrolled for a diploma in journalism. He is still thinking of acquiring a full-fledged degree in English language. In his own way, Alfred Egbegi is a one-man riot act when it comes to getting at the substance of the story.

He works on his raw scripts with a raw energy. He is simply blessed with a brave heart of endurance, and courage is what objective journalism is all about. In fact, if he does not tell you in person that he truncated his stay at the Institute of Journalism, NIJ, Ogba, Lagos, you would find it hard to believe.

But that’s what happened in 1987, and yet Egbegi did not give up on his dream of becoming a journalist to reckon with. Not that Alfred failed all his courses. Not that he insulted his lecturers by prompting testy questions. Not that he was incompetent. Far from it. He dropped out of class work because he couldn’t pay his fees, and there was really nobody to help.

Born on Wednesday June 16, 1965 in Adagbabiri, Sagbama local government area of Bayelsa State, Alfred Egbegi attended State Primary School in his home town from 1971 to 1977, then proceeded to Oporoza Grammar School, Patani, passing out in 1982. The next time he found himself in class was at NIJ where his ambition was retarded by lack of sponsorship.

So, what happened? What did Alfred do when he found himself up against a wall? He did what he considered sensible enough to do at the time, and under the given circumstance. He relied on the tutorials in his lectures notes, and followed the rules of journalistic engagement. In 1989, the Lagos-based “Mail” newspaper found him worthy to occupy a desk.

From there, he waded through “Vintage People” and finally boarded “The Guardian Express” as a freelance reporter from 1990 to 1991. The following year, Alfred’s adventurous spirit won him a place as pioneer editor of the Kogi State newspaper. He served for one full year in that capacity, then freelanced for “The Nigerian Tide” for all of six months, before returning to “Vintage People.”

No wonder Alfred Egbegi loves writing about people. He likes tossing a coin in the open air and, if his editorial conscience finds you wanting, may God bless you in the very next edition of his paper. If you have dirty linens you have been hiding in your private closet, watch your back. Yet, Egbegi has a golden rule.

“Do not malign anyone simply because you do not like their faces,” says Egbegi. “But if the subject of the scandal turns out to be greedy, then I will go the full hug to make that fellow regret his greed. I stand for the truth, no matter who is involved. I’m glad that my paper is recognized for that.”

As a foot-soldier about town on a regular chase after breaking stories, his reading of the state of mind of citizens on the streets of Yenagoa in the last twenty-three years, is that nobody is truly happy. Everybody is hungry and unhappy with those who have stolen all our wealth and hidden them in their private kitties.

“Things are no longer rosy with Bayelsans,” said he. “Money which answereth all things in the past is no longer flowing freely. There has been hunger in the land in recent times, and we can only hope that it will soon show some sign of abating.”

Alfred Egbegi, field commander of his civil squad of newshounds, may be after you. Indeed this is the image Izonlink has cut for itself over the years, a temperament of intolerance for corruption and nepotism in society, and a willful resolution to ensure that Bayelsa wakes up to its good fortune as a state blessed by God.

According to Alfred, that is the sole reason his newspaper was founded, namely to help balance reports on the Niger Delta by speaking on the side of truth, and to bring all wicked petitioners, antagonists and detractors of Bayelsa, at home and abroad, under the objective gavel of developmental journalism in a bid to secure pride for the profession.

In the first tenure of the famous Restoration Government, Alfred Egbegi served as Special Assistant on Media & Public Affairs to Governor Henry Seriake Dickson. That office enabled him to publish “Country Man,” a glossy, high-quality monthly digest on the progress of the government.

Afterwards, he was appointed as General Manager of the Bayelsa State Newspaper Corporation, publishers of “New Waves.” He held sway in that office till the last days of the Dickson government, and had the pleasure of waving goodbye to management and staff of the corporation, even as he handed over to Ebi Evinson, former Media Assistant to former Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John-Jonah.

In between his editorial duties, Alfred Egbegi also made out time to nurse a few political aspirations. In times past, he had offered to run for the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, representing the good people of Sagbama. He came away with an evident distrust for politics, but his confident pose remained with him right through to the next prospect.

He was cheered and carried shoulder high when he opted later to go for the office of Chairman, Sagbama local government area. Again, for some reason, he was harmonized out of the race and sent back to his editorial desk.

Even so, in the last eight years, Alfred Aremula Egbegi qualifies to be counted as an unrepentant apologist of the erstwhile Dickson government. His loyalty has since extended to the new government under Senator Douye Diri, even as the rugged journalist returns fully to his primary assignment of linking up all of Izon land with his popular paper, Izonlink.

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