The Genesis, Concept Of Nsukka Journalists' Forum -------- Felix Ogueniofor Abugu

What is known today as Nsukka Journalists Forum, NJF, was originally Nsukka Journalists Foundation (same NJF initials). But, like many other new associations, NJF had to confront some teething problems that, unfortunately, led to the permanent loss of its original CAC documents. Let’s not bore you with the hows and whys of the loss. But suffice it to say that the loss meant that we had to register another association. And as we can all see, the word Forum came handy and we ended up with another NJF! Nothing lost in real terms.

NJF was conceived as a body of professional journalists and media practitioners of Nsukka extraction come together to develop a template for a positive Nsukka media narrative. They say that you are who you say you are. For long, we had let others mischaracterize us, you know, stereotype our people and land into nothing more than a physical space, a people of little or no value to the human family beyond its (their) existence in time and space. But we have always known that we are more than who and what they say we are. So, NJF came as our own contribution to the age-long fight to consign the Nwa Nsukka syndrome to the garbage heap and make others see us in a more positive light as a people. We were convinced that through deliberate use of our considerable influence in the media, at least as practitioners, to redefine us, to highlight more of the positive attributes of Nsukka people and land than the stereotypes, we could, indeed would, change a lot of the negative perceptions about us. We haven’t measured the particular impact of our contributions. But we can confidently say that, along with other constituencies or sections of the polity, media practitioners have contributed a lot to the gradual, if not dramatic, diminution of the disdain in which others had hitherto held nd Nska.

We are grateful to Hon. Harrison Ogara, MESHA, the publisher of Starlight newspaper and firm face of NJF, and other behind-the-scene influencers and strategic thinkers, who came up with the NJF initiative and painstakingly sought out and assembled journalists and other categories of media practitioners from across the original seven local government areas of Nsukkaland into the one big body of agenda setters and watchdogs of this land that NJF, we dare say, has become. We like to say that we are the conscience of the people. We thank them not only for the initiative but also, perhaps even more importantly, for the take-off funds that enabled us to effectively take off and stabilize.

Modus Operandi

Our MO is to develop strategic communications around political and business leaders, academics/educationists, artistes/entertainers, legal and development experts, culture ambassadors, among others, of Nsukka extraction, using our members who either own publishing outfits or are working in most of the country’s mainstream media establishments in Lagos and Abuja, as channels. Such strategic communications, when critical, must be constructively so.  In other words, a politician or business leader from Nsukka, for instance, isn’t always right – in point of fact, nobody is. However, even we have had to go against some of our members who took criticisms to ridiculous heights. That is to say that while one of our MO is to work with other stakeholders to bring about socio-economic and political development and progress in all parts of Nsukka Cultural Zone, we will also not overlook any political, business, academic or cultural skullduggery by any Nsukka person, irrespective of age, political/ educational attainments or wealth. But we will always ensure to not pull anyone down!

LEADERSHIP

Make no mistake about it, NJF has had its fair share of leadership crisis since its founding in 2018. But that we are all here today at an event organized by the Forum is enough indication that it has weathered much of that crisis. Mr. Benson Whyte Ezugwu, the chief host of today’s event is the storm calmer and third elected Chairman of NJF. We lost our pioneer Chairman, Professor Nick Idoko to death in 2021. One of our Chairmen resigned under controversial circumstances, paving way for a caretaker executive, which organized the election that brought in the current Benson Whyte Ezugwu-led executive in April last year.

Now that the storm is over, we assure everyone that the Ezugwu-led team will continue to keep NJF on an even keel for a steady sail to its final destination.

Once again, welcome to this event and thank you for listening.