Ovation Publisher, Bashorun Dele Momodu, has been around in the media for a long time. The colourful character whose friends fondly call Adekilumo hosted YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, AZUH ARINZE, at his Ikeja, GRA, Lagos home weeks back. He spoke on journalism, success and more…
What is the greatest thing that journalism has done for you?
Visibility and influence. There is no where I have been in the world that someone, somewhere would not stop me; sometimes the person may not even immediately remember my name and they will say ah-ah, I know you and then immediately, we will start talking. I go to restaurants, I’m sitting down quietly in a corner and I’m about to pay and people say oh, those people sitting down there have paid for your food. These are people I’ve never met. I went into Tastee Fried Chicken one day, on Opebi; I go everywhere, and this old woman saw me and ran after me and right inside the restaurant, laid her hand on my head and started praying. I mean, I had tears in my eyes. I couldn’t imagine such love and raw emotion. She said everything about me, about my family, my wife, my children – she knew the names of my children. People even phone me to say please, I hope you don’t mind if I adopt the names of your children, because I love those names and I’m like these names are not exclusive to anybody. Anybody can use a name. Then, in terms of influence, I mean, for me to say I want to be the president of Nigeria; that’s the highest position in any country – The Presidency. It tells you that journalism has taken me to the very zenith.
What hasn’t journalism done for you?
It hasn’t given me money yet (General laughter). You know if you want to do things properly, it is very difficult to make money in journalism. Very, very difficult! All over the world, not just Nigeria. But Nigeria in particular because there are just too many obstacles.
Why do we have too many unsuccessful journalists?
I think there are many variables. The first is that the quality of education has gone very, very down. It’s very low in Nigeria now. Without education, there will be no reading culture; without a reading culture, there will be no media. Especially the print. That’s No. 1. No. 2 is that we must also put some of the blames on ourselves. Being a brilliant journalist does not make you a brilliant businessman. And journalists have not learnt to separate journalism from running a business. Someone like me, I’ve reached a stage now where I have decided that yes, we’ve done the trial and error, which is what we do in journalism, if you look at it. Most of the media houses, except maybe The Punch that was lucky to have a chairman like Ajibola Ogunshola at that time, who was a strict businessman. He came in from that background of business to run The Punch as a business concern. Most newspapers in Nigeria cannot make it because a journalist is the Editor-in-Chief, he’s the publisher, he’s the Managing Director, he’s the businessman, he’s the business developer, he’s the Marketing Manager…You can’t do that and expect to make it. If you look at the publications that have stood the test of time in Nigeria, they are publications that have businessmen in the background. Look at The Guardian; I can use that to buttress my argument. The Guardian was owned by Alex Ibru of blessed memory and he was a strict businessman. So, for journalism to thrive, we must begin to see it as business. One more important factor that I must mention to you – journalists must stop this tradition of just thinking I need good stories. How do you translate those good stories into money? That should be the question. And I will give you an example about what we’ve done in Ovation. Someone wants to get married, he will call an event planner, pay him; the event planner will get a venue, pay; the event planner will get a caterer, pay; they will buy champagne, pay; they will call Ali Baba or Basketmouth or Julius Agwu or any of them to come and do MC and crack jokes, they will pay. They will pay everybody. The only budget that will not be included is media coverage. It’s an editorial. Yes! But you see, Africa is not a place where you have the Lady Beckham who can sell you millions of copies. So, in Africa, the only way a journalist can also make it is when people begin to see that it’s a business. A lot of my friends, I quarrel with them. They just call me up, Dele, my 50th birthday is coming, come and cover it. Ehen! You’ve paid everybody except me. There’s no way I can survive that way. I’m printing in London. How do I pay my bills if I do freebies? And people will say shebi you are going to sell the magazine? They don’t understand. So, we have to let them know that even if you sell every copy of that magazine, you cannot break even. In our own case, if we spend let’s say £100,000 this month, you will be lucky to get £20,000 back.
By the time you do production, by the time you go to press, by the time you do cargo, by the time you do clearing at NAHCO when it arrives in the country, by the time you do distribution, from point A to point B to point C, there is no way you can break even. It’s not possible! Because the agents are going to collect minimum, about 35 percent commission. In fact, in other climes, there are places where they collect more. I mean, W.H Smith in London, the minimum they will collect is about 55 percent of your cover price – after you’ve done all the other things. You have to pay salaries, you have to pay rent, people have to travel all over the world to get the stories. It’s money! Even if you drive your own car, you have to buy fuel. So, by the time you add up all these things; then on top of it, you are dealing with street agents that you may never be able to trace. If they take your money away, you may never be able to trace them. So, by the time you look at all those variables, it’s almost impossible for a media organisation to make it in Nigeria. You can’t do shipping within Nigeria, so you have to go by road. I mean, just imagine how long it will take just driving from Lagos to Benin City. The roads are bad! So, government has to make things easy for the media. I’ve concentrated on the print medium because that’s my area of specialization. I can do a PhD thesis on this issue. I’m so passionate about this thing I’m talking about.
What is the best way for a journalist to make money from the profession?
It’s to treat it as business. There’s no other way. It is business! Yes, I hear people are doing deals these days, I don’t know how they do it; I hear they blackmail people. But for me, that’s not journalism. That is bolekajaism. Come down make we fight. It’s roforofo fight. That’s not journalism! If you are truly a journalist and you want to do it professionally, then you must do it as a business. It has gotten to a stage where I’ve come to that realization. If you look at all the big companies in Nigeria; you go to Glo, you go to Dangote Group, you go to all those places, you will see them; they even bring foreigners who understand the world of business, because you have to play at the global level, if you must be very big. Hello! Magazine, which I will probably say we copied, is doing 136 pages, Ovation is doing 364 pages. That’s a huge volume of a magazine. So, how do you now translate that into a mega force? How do we become an Ebony? How do we become an Oprah magazine? How do we become a GQ? That means you have to go international. That’s my dream.
What makes a good journalist?
A good journalist, No. 1, must be a good writer, because if you have a good story and you cannot present it, it doesn’t make any sense. It’s like the Chinese food. To write a good story is about presentation. Everybody is a reporter. That is why my first editor at African Concord magazine, Lewis Obi, said he would rather hire a good writer than hire a trained reporter. He said anybody can report, but how do you now present your report? That is key.
In writing a story, where do most reporters get it wrong?
Most times they can’t present their work well; most times they don’t do any research. I come from a background of research. I have a Master’s degree from Ife and we were trained that everything must be researched. Things are even a lot easier these days. Because all you have to do is google. Go on Youtube, go on facebook, you can get almost any information you require these days online. Whereas in the past, you had to move from point A to B. But these days, it’s so easy. People don’t do research. If you look at most newspapers, it’s the same press release that Reuben Abati has released that you will find in all the papers and everybody will lead with it. Again, we must begin to de-emphasise government news. Everything in Nigeria is about government. If you go on NTA, they will start with the President, then go to the Vice President, go to the First Lady, go to the Second Lady, go to the Ministers, go to the Governors. One hour is gone! That’s not journalism! You can do developmental journalism, you can chronicle the lifestyle of the rich and famous, you can do stories about achievers, you can do stories about education, you can do stories about security. We have more than enough to work on, but no. And that is because an average media organisation in Nigeria cannot survive without government. That is the sad reality in our country. If you don’t do government, you cannot get easy money.
With the benefit of hindsight, what is the biggest challenge confronting the media industry today?
It’s how to survive. It’s funding! Funding!! Nobody wants to invest in the media because there are no good returns. Nigeria is a country where most of our money men are traders; it’s cash and carry. And they have realised over the years anyway that all the big people who went into publishing wasted their money practically. I mean, The Concord died; you just imagine how much The Champion would have spent; imagine what Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu would have spent on The Champion? But for the Awolowos’ strict discipline, there will be no Tribune today. The Tribune has survived, and I think it’s the longest surviving publication right now in the country. I don’t know of any other. So, most of our businessmen, if they invest at all in the media, it’s either they are eyeing politics or they want to use it as a bargaining tool with the government. There’s always a motive.
What do you like most about being a journalist?
I think my access to information. Information is knowledge and knowledge is power. The amount of information I have in my brain, I tell you, sometimes I wonder why the ordinary man on the street or how the ordinary man on the street is still alive. Because we know so much about this society that the ordinary man on the street does not know of. When I read tweets and people are abusing us, who is Dele Momodu, he hobnobs with governors… They don’t know that I don’t hobnob with anybody (Laughs). They don’t even know. Nigeria is a place where every poor man sees every successful man as the source of his poverty. So, how do you educate such a citizenry? But I know for a fact that what people see is different from what we see where we are. But it’s not everything you see that you can even publish.
What don’t you like about being a journalist?
I think I love almost everything, except that sometimes people misconstrue everything that you do in Nigeria. Nigeria is a place where people cannot read, but they will start commentaries and form a good independent opinion. Everything in Nigeria, there is always a conspiracy theory. If I write about Jonathan; oh, it’s because you lost election. If I write about Amaechi; oh, it’s because he has paid me. So, in Nigeria, as a journalist, you never win. Everything that has affected Nigeria has also affected us as journalists. If it is religion, if it is ethnicity, if you write now, they will say, oh, Azuh is Igbo. That is the thing. The prejudice against the journalist, and I think we also caused some of the problems, by not being out rightly upright in our dealings with society; so society has come to suspect everything we do.
What is the best way to succeed in journalism?
Try to be as professional as possible, be well informed, be objective. I remember the best edition we ever sold in Ovation was the Abacha edition we did that has caused me so much controversy. Why would you show us that? But someone showed us Ghaddafi’s place; some publications abroad will pay anything to have interviewed Osama Bin Laden. But in Nigeria, an average Nigerian is a dictator. We have been under military rule for so long that we don’t even know the roles of the journalist again. If someone kills my mother, I must still cover it as a journalist! That is the tradition. But Nigerians will tell you where to go, where not to go. So, how do you now determine where to go and where not to go? How do you determine what will please your readers and what will not please them? But I tell you, the best way to do it is to be objective. Don’t practice censorship. What people are telling us to do is tantamount to censorship. When Abacha was in government, we said he didn’t allow us to talk; now we are covering Abacha, you are saying no, we should not give him a voice. So, it means that two wrongs must now make a right. No! And when you are objective, trust me, their enemies will buy, their friends will buy. It’s double gain for you.
Why do most journalists attain success but find it very difficult to sustain it?
It’s not just journalists. In life, the most difficult thing to sustain is success. It’s not just journalists; anybody! Look at footballers. The footballers you knew 10, 12 years ago, they are not the same footballers you see today. So, it’s not just about journalism; it’s just that people most times don’t know how to hang in there. You have to stay very strong. In whatever you do, you have to reinvent yourself, you can’t be doing the same thing repeatedly. After some time people will get tired and that is why they say Bob Dee, he did this, he did that. You must be a master of re-invention. It is very key.
Which of your stories still excites you?
I think that was the story of Chief Dehinde Fernandez. When we spent 5 days on his island in New York. I mean, that was great. I went with a photographer, Mr. Colin Ramsey. Colin Ramsey, we call the godfather of photography. He’s a man who has flown his own planes from photography. He got to that island and he could not believe what he saw. After that, I think the Mai Deribe in Maidugri. I also flew in Colin Ramsey from London to do the photography for us and this is a man who has photographed Imelda Marcos and all the top stars. When he got to Maidugri, he could not believe he was still on this planet. In fact, he yanked off his shirt (General laughter).
Which is the worst story that you have done?
Ah! That will be difficult. That would be very difficult to remember. I can’t think of any story we’ve done. Every story for us is a work of art. We go into every story meticulously. I can’t think of any bad story.
Who would you want to interview but have not been able to?
(Laughing) – Mike Adenuga…
But you are close to him, how come you’ve not interviewed him?
In fact, it is incredible! That is an impossible task. I would like to sit with him for 3, 4 hours. I am his disciple. He knows that I am one of his devotees, but he’s been impossible to crack. I hope one day he will just surprise me and pick his phone and call me that Dele, I’m ready for that interview…
Is he aware that you would like to interview him?
He knows. He will not even give you a chance. Even when you meet him. I met him one day in Ghana and I said chairman, I don’t even know how you enjoy your money; that it seems we enjoy it on your behalf and the man just started laughing. Because the man is working. There are times I’m with Bode (Opeseitan); when they were doing their project in Ghana, till 2am. These guys can’t sleep! Because they are still waiting for a call. The man does not sleep and I’ve learnt that from him. These days people say I don’t sleep, but how can I when even billionaires are awake? (General laughter).
What sells a magazine?
Nobody knows really! Because when I was in Classique, I learnt that. They will say Chief Olu Falae, he introduced SAP, he’s the current man, talk to him. We will talk to him – unsold will still come in. They will bring so many copies of unsold. Then, they will say let’s do something about Ojukwu and the vendors will come and say ah, Ojukwu don stale now! Dem don write tire about Ojukwu. The vendors even call – why don’t you do this? So, they become your editors and you now get confused. Truly, I don’t know what sells the magazine, but what we have succeeded in doing at Ovation is to have a core readership that follows us. Whatever is on the cover, they must buy. They know that when they go in, they will get good stories and they will get great quality.
What makes a good publisher?
The ability to gain access. Access is everything in publishing. A good publisher is as good as the sources available to him. A lot of places they would say photographers cannot enter, especially in the North, we broke that tradition that a photographer cannot go and photograph people in the North; you can’t go into women’s rooms. We started by using a woman, so if they say a man can’t enter, at least a woman can enter. That was how we started. And today there’s nowhere we can’t enter. Once they hear Ovation, they know, No. 1, we are not going to abuse them; they know, No. 2, we are going to make the thing even look more beautiful than it is; so everybody is ready to be photographed by Ovation and they know we have a tradition. We’ve met presidents, so who are you when we come to say you don’t want to be in Ovation? And that’s why we say if your wedding is not in Ovation, you may have to do it again.
What’s your dream for Ovation?
It’s to truly go global. Right now, we are starting from Africa. We are doing a lot in West Africa; we’ve expanded to East Africa, we are in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania. We are going Southern Africa very soon by the grace of God and then beyond that, we are going to have a new line of business, because you can’t just be doing a mono business for 20 years. We are 17 already; our next birthday will be 18. So, very soon, you would be hearing about the Ovation TV project which we would do strongly online and then of course, it would be syndicated on a few channels.
The name, Ovation is very beautiful, how did you come about it?
It was at the time I left as the editor of Classique and I was thinking of what to do. Kunle Bakare and I were very, very close. We were living together and I told him what I wanted to do. They had started FAME and I wanted a name that could reflect FAME as well and so he brought out his Thesaurus and was looking at it and he was mentioning different names – Glitterati, Quest and immediately he mentioned Ovation, I shouted yes, Ovation, Ovation; loud for a purpose. That was how the name came up.
Even you will attest that God has been good to you, what more do you want from Him?
Good health and definitely prosperity, because I’ve worked too hard not to be prosperous.
NB: First published July 2013