Ovie Edomi is the publisher of The South South International (TSSI) magazine. Edomi, in this chat with SENIOR REPORTER Anthonia Soyingbe, speaks on the importance of the lecture series the magazine holds and why they don’t monetize the company’s awards, and how they have sustained the event for years. Excerpts:
There are so many lecture series in town, what do you intend to achieve with TSSI awards and lecture series?
We discovered that from January to December we are always reporting the ills in the society and by so doing, neglect the good things people do around us. It is the bad things that make news in every society. So as a way of letting people to know that as watchdogs we also see the good things all around us and, in our zeal to contribute to nation building through development journalism, we introduced the annual lecture where we bring people to discuss issues of national and tropical issues and in so doing set agenda for national discourse. Through our annual lectures we have created so much awareness over the years especially for our young adults on the opportunities in the maritime sector. We were the first media house to get the governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, to deliver a lecture on ‘One man, One vote’ and that lecture galvanized the electorate. Prince Tony Momoh, former Minister for Information and Culture, has also delivered agenda setting lectures for the media and the legislature in the past. So our list is endless. At the end of each lecture we take time to recognise few Nigerians who have provided transparent and exemplary leadership as well as contribute to society through their service. We give the award to the recipient for the society to know that while we report the ills in the society we also see the good things that they are doing. Like our motto goes: ‘Show the light for the people to find the way’, we use the event to showcase some of the brains the nation has by getting them to deliver lecture and in the end celebrate good leaders in different spheres of life.
Having highlighted some of the strides of TSSI annual lecture, how do you intend to sustain this tempo?
Nothing good comes easy but the good thing is that we have a crop of committed young men and ladies who are sound in education and good strategic thinkers. Every year new topics are treated and people leave the venue of the annual lecture more informed and delighted. As long as we put on the thinking cap we hope to improve on the annual lecture and sustain the tempo and in so doing, we need to work more on corporate sponsorship because we do not collect a kobo from our award recipients and that is how it should be. Otherwise the recipient will think he or she bought the award. We don’t give ‘cash and carry’ awards. But getting corporate sponsorship for a hard news cum investigative magazine is an uphill task. Nevertheless, since it is our altruistic effort to develop society we will not give up. We believe strongly that with the way we are going we shall invite the President of our beloved country to deliver a lecture at our annual lecture and award programme. One day too this media outfit will gather the key stakeholders of the globe to discuss issue of global interest.
Since you don’t commercialise your awards, what criteria’s do you consider to give out any award?
Good moral standing as well as quality, exemplary and transparent leadership are qualities that our award recipients must demonstrate. The award is recognition of service to humanity and society by persons who are carefully selected by the award committee who in turn forward the names to the editorial board who do a check on the selected persons before taking the names to the public domain for a random opinion poll. You will discover that none of our award recipients have been involved in any controversy over the last eight years. It will also interest you to know that we will be the first to openly criticise any of our award recipients if they go off the mark. This project annually consumes good money from our corporate account but it is what we are committed to doing and we will keep doing it as long as we live, sponsorship or no sponsorship. The fact that we are able to start this thing that is impacting so much on the lives of men and our society is a good thing, and we must all begin to think of how to mould men and build our society. Life is not about what you get from society sometimes you think of what to give back to society to make it a better place.
We may not have so much in our bank account but when the time for the annual lecture comes, God will see us through.
What are the major contributions of your magazine to nation building?
Our peerless editorial comments and stories have attracted government’s attention at different times. We were the first to report how NNPC awarded $6 billion contract without the President’s consent. After the publication, President Yar’Adua cancelled the contract. We were the first to draw the nation to the building of a maritime academy in Badagry, Lagos. Today, the Badagry Maritime Academy is a forgotten issue. We were the first to report the amazing wealth of Ibori. The list is endless. As gatekeepers, we have played our roles efficiently and in the area of developmental journalism we have used the annual lecture to promote peaceful election, good journalism, governance as well as create awareness among young adults on the vast opportunities in the maritime and allied industries.
What is your legacy for the TSSI award?
When people are recognised for their distinguished service to humanity and society it will motivate up and coming leaders to shun mediocrity and crime. We want to promote the culture of recognising the honest and hard working person. We want to leave a legacy of selfless and exemplary leadership so that future generation will know that in our time we gave meaning to life and human existence in such a way that our works will be recorded in gold.
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