Beatific Calabar
“The editors were frank, though. Even when newspaper’s names were mentioned as guilty of unprofessionalism, the editors didn’t fly off. Some in government-owned newspapers pleaded undue pressure from the state governors, those not in government-owned papers asked fairly enough: would the free editors, if any existed, offer them jobs if they lost their positions for kicking against their owners.”
Onyema Ugochukwu, editor of Business Times, who was in Calabar to attend the annual conference of the Nigeria Guild of Editors, kept asking. Where is Calabar? It is an amusing question since Onyema was asking the question right in the dining room of the Metropolitan Hotel in Calabar. Unlike most metropolitans in Nigeria, Calabar is airy, with open space, clean air and engaging people who considered the hoopla surrounding the president’s visit to their town as a little too much. Calabarians, as some of the people of the town call themselves, love quite. To hear some of them say it, the noise brought down by the president and the convening editors is not something they are used to. Many Nigerians have different tales to sell about Calabar, and it is a place most males like to visit without their female companions for reasons best known to them. The visiting editors and members of the president’s entourage who took the city by storm let loose on the town nightly. The state’s government did everything possible to make the visitors comfortable. The Metropolitan Hotel, the tallest building in the city, was commandeered for the president’s men, while smaller hotels all over the city were more or less taken over by the editors.
On the first night of the convention, Senator Victor Akan gave a garden cocktail party for the visiting editors on the lawn located in the centre of his Sacramento Estate. Sacramento, as it is simply located on Marian Avenue, and it is probably the most beatific of real estate in the city. Comprising ten bungalows numbered 1 to 10, Sacramento is set in a circle, with each house shielded plants and fences closely watched by uniformed guards. There are ample. The estate has a swimming pool, a tennis our squash court, located on the quadrangle where the cocktail hosted. Most of the editors who were attending the conference the party for the first time. Senator Akan himself was simply in Wrangler denim shirt and slacks. He moved forward to all his guests who included high government officials in the state those who came from Lagos with the president. Professor Essan Federal Minister of Finance, was there as well. From Sacramento editors spread out into town to make arrangement for their conference and leisure for the following four or so nights. A couple of the editors stayed in Victor Akan’s Sacramento.
On the last night of the president’s visit, parties were held at city the president’s men and the editors jumping from venue of partying to another. Some ended up in Senator Joseph Wayas’ house for a late night rendezvous. After late night outing editors returned early in the morning for day-long meeting duty which they threw barbs at each other, agreed and disagreed on is a free press and what should be done to safeguard editors would like to stay true to their conscience and professional . The deliberations at the editors’ conference were surprisingly rancor. The guy from the Herald put his arm around the guy Tribune as though they were long lost friends. Nobody talked about why one editor once wrote vitriolic stuff against another. The editors were frank, though. Even when newspaper names mentioned as guilty of unprofessionalism, the editors didn’t. Some in government-owned newspapers pleaded undue press from their state governors. Those not in government-owned papers asked fairly enough: would the free editors, if any existed jobs if they lost their positions for kicking against their owners. Editors of government-owned papers asked the same question.
Probably the high point of the visit was the dinner hosted for editors by Governor Clement Isong of Cross River State Government Guest House. After a feast of chicken, fish and pounded yam, among other delectable’s, the governor delivered a well-pre statement in which he challenged the editors to publish the truth nothing but the truth. At the end of the night, he announced a donation of N10, 000 from his state to the guild. Governor Sam Mbakwe also dispatched his Deputy Permanent Secretary for Information to wish the editors well and present a gift of N500. Statements were read from the Governor of Plateau State, Mr. Solomon Lar, and the publisher of the Concord newspapers, Chief Moshood Abiola. As usual, in his forthright manner, Chief Abiola dared the press to live up to the challenge of journalism. The editors asked this writer to tell his employer, Chief Abiola, to send them donation for their Free Press Trust Fund. The message was delivered to the Chief’s grin.
After all the messages, the editors always trooped out in the evenings. They all attended a disco party at the Sinatra night club and the governor’s dinner. It was the last event as the editors began to fly back to their various stations the following day. Those who spent Monday in Calabar used the daylight to go round the city, wondering, as did Onyema Ugochukwu, where the town was. They asked the question apparently because Calabar simply spreads out with houses situated in ample acres separated by well-heeled greens. But they were in Calabar anf they knew it. They were simply surprised at the orderliness and cleanliness of the city. Since some of them were from places like Lagos and Ibadan, they couldn’t believe that a capital town could look as peaceful and beautiful as Calabar.
©Sunday Concord, May 11, 1980
(Pp.63-65)
