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About this iReport
- Posted March 11, 2013 by
- VivianIsrael Follow
Location
Owerri
Owerri
Assignment
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My Work Place and Play
I am an editorial Staff of Statesman newspaper, which belongs to Imo Newspapers Ltd, a publishing company owned by Imo State of Nigerian Government. It is a limited liability Company established in 1978 by the then administration of Governor De Sam Onunaka Mbakwe, who was a visionary leader crying all over the world when it mattered, in pursuit of fund to develop the State.
Imo Newspapers Ltd was one of such developmental initiatives and one of the media establishments because he saw the need to harness the power of information to make the people’s life better through employment and technological advancement.
The company occupied a large expanse of land along Egbu road in Owerri, the Imo State Capital as the different departments had blocks built beautifully in a natural and serene ambience to identify them. Unique species of Trees were planted on the landscape to protect the beautiful structures, which contained a football field, a volley ball pitch, fuel station, green gardens, car park and canteen.
The large football pitch served as play arena, which also entertained visitors who used the compound for their events. The company also used the field for promotional events which motivated the staff to be committed to duty because they were proud to have a nice ambience to work in.
The Company was well established with state of the art equipment as at then. It was one of the few media houses in Nigeria that had an organizational structure, and works under the administrative department, the editorial department, the works department and the clinic, while the organizational structure has the board and members, management, union and staff controlled by academic qualifications, commitment to duty, diligence and seniority in service.
Imo newspapers Ltd since inception boasts of producing most of the stakeholders who are successful in their different lives endeavors having passed through Statesman, which was known to have boosted the State revenue in those days because the people had sentimental attachment to it and patronized it.
However, over the years, different government administrations that ruled the State neglected the company as well as exulted corruption by employing people out of sentiments and non maintenance of the equipments, which later went obsolete, and were finally carted away to unknown destination with the coming of the incumbent government in power, the administration of Governor Rochas Okorocha.
The company had become a ghost of itself with backlog of salaries and allowances owed to staff, retired and retrenched workers before the immediate past administration of Governor Ikedi Ohakim, which tried to bring back the successful media guru who had passed through the company in the past to resuscitate the company. The company gradually picked up and was gathering momentum before the present administration.
It was in the last administration that I joined the company as the House of assembly correspondent while the company was gathering momentum to take off with internet presence at www. Statesmannews.com, a computer room that enabled reporters to type their own stories, beautiful natural ambiance that made one eager to be in the office, the football fielded and volley ball pitch remained bubbling with activities. There were play activities to encourage staff commitment and customer relationship.
But all this is in the past now because the present administration of Governor Okorocha which has opened many roads in the State that are still under construction two years into his four year tenure, domestication of free education of the federal republic of Nigeria under SUBEB, and erection of many unutilized structures, unrealizable rural development ideas yet to implemented and reconstruction of roundabout and covets in the capital city.
Although governor Okorocha had on assumption of office on May 29, 2011 visited the Statesman newspaper promising to carryon from where De Sam Onunaka Mbakwe stopped because by his own judgment Governor Sam Mbakwe was the only governor that worked for Imo State. He had proclaimed that he would set the company on a sound footing by August 1, 2011 but in reality the company has suffered the worst kind of fate such that even the so-called twenty thousand naira minimum wage the governor is being congratulated as the best in the country turned out to be an instrument to destroy the salary structure in the company., because what came to reality was the addition of fifteen thousand naira on once in the salaries and later reduction of over twenty thousand naira in the salaries such the no one knows what their salaries are any more.
This administration has also taken play out of the Company since the natural ambience has been badly tampered with, erecting structures on the once natural serene environment to serve as Imo College of Advanced Studies, ICAPS, believed to promote education.
With this development, Imo Newspapers lost the obsolete equipments without new once in place and the play grounds producing only the platform to train military security persons. Faced with so many uncertainties like forceful ejection or relocation to the State electronic media house or outright closure, the only play moments are when the small generating set parks up, people gather in clusters to gossip and this has been counterproductive.
Imo Newspapers Ltd was one of such developmental initiatives and one of the media establishments because he saw the need to harness the power of information to make the people’s life better through employment and technological advancement.
The company occupied a large expanse of land along Egbu road in Owerri, the Imo State Capital as the different departments had blocks built beautifully in a natural and serene ambience to identify them. Unique species of Trees were planted on the landscape to protect the beautiful structures, which contained a football field, a volley ball pitch, fuel station, green gardens, car park and canteen.
The large football pitch served as play arena, which also entertained visitors who used the compound for their events. The company also used the field for promotional events which motivated the staff to be committed to duty because they were proud to have a nice ambience to work in.
The Company was well established with state of the art equipment as at then. It was one of the few media houses in Nigeria that had an organizational structure, and works under the administrative department, the editorial department, the works department and the clinic, while the organizational structure has the board and members, management, union and staff controlled by academic qualifications, commitment to duty, diligence and seniority in service.
Imo newspapers Ltd since inception boasts of producing most of the stakeholders who are successful in their different lives endeavors having passed through Statesman, which was known to have boosted the State revenue in those days because the people had sentimental attachment to it and patronized it.
However, over the years, different government administrations that ruled the State neglected the company as well as exulted corruption by employing people out of sentiments and non maintenance of the equipments, which later went obsolete, and were finally carted away to unknown destination with the coming of the incumbent government in power, the administration of Governor Rochas Okorocha.
The company had become a ghost of itself with backlog of salaries and allowances owed to staff, retired and retrenched workers before the immediate past administration of Governor Ikedi Ohakim, which tried to bring back the successful media guru who had passed through the company in the past to resuscitate the company. The company gradually picked up and was gathering momentum before the present administration.
It was in the last administration that I joined the company as the House of assembly correspondent while the company was gathering momentum to take off with internet presence at www. Statesmannews.com, a computer room that enabled reporters to type their own stories, beautiful natural ambiance that made one eager to be in the office, the football fielded and volley ball pitch remained bubbling with activities. There were play activities to encourage staff commitment and customer relationship.
But all this is in the past now because the present administration of Governor Okorocha which has opened many roads in the State that are still under construction two years into his four year tenure, domestication of free education of the federal republic of Nigeria under SUBEB, and erection of many unutilized structures, unrealizable rural development ideas yet to implemented and reconstruction of roundabout and covets in the capital city.
Although governor Okorocha had on assumption of office on May 29, 2011 visited the Statesman newspaper promising to carryon from where De Sam Onunaka Mbakwe stopped because by his own judgment Governor Sam Mbakwe was the only governor that worked for Imo State. He had proclaimed that he would set the company on a sound footing by August 1, 2011 but in reality the company has suffered the worst kind of fate such that even the so-called twenty thousand naira minimum wage the governor is being congratulated as the best in the country turned out to be an instrument to destroy the salary structure in the company., because what came to reality was the addition of fifteen thousand naira on once in the salaries and later reduction of over twenty thousand naira in the salaries such the no one knows what their salaries are any more.
This administration has also taken play out of the Company since the natural ambience has been badly tampered with, erecting structures on the once natural serene environment to serve as Imo College of Advanced Studies, ICAPS, believed to promote education.
With this development, Imo Newspapers lost the obsolete equipments without new once in place and the play grounds producing only the platform to train military security persons. Faced with so many uncertainties like forceful ejection or relocation to the State electronic media house or outright closure, the only play moments are when the small generating set parks up, people gather in clusters to gossip and this has been counterproductive.
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