The man, Chief Dr. Engr. Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Iwuanyanwu, Aghaejiagamba (4 September 1942 – 25 July 2024) bestrode all spheres of
By Clement Nwoji
The man, Chief Dr. Engr. Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Iwuanyanwu, Aghaejiagamba (4 September 1942 – 25 July 2024) bestrode all spheres of human endeavors and left an indelible footprint on the sands of time – be it in Building and Construction, Banking and Finance, Insurance, Transportation, Media, Sports, Aviation, Estate development, Bakery and Confectionery, Hospitality and Tourism sectors of the economy, among others. These were in addition to being an astute politician and acknowledged philanthropist with a large heart, who was unanimously appointed as the President-General of Ohan’eze Nd’Igbo on 30 April 2023, a position he held till his demise on – 25 July 2024.
He can best be described as a man with a Midas Touch who every business he ventured into turned out to be a success. Thus, his active years yielded the conglomeration of businesses and companies including: Hardel and Enic Construction Company Limited, Magil Industries Limited, Champion Newspapers Limited, National Post Newspapers Limited, Sunrise Insurance Brokers Limited, Oriental Shipping Lines Limited, Paradise City Hotel Calabar, Iwuanyanwu Nationale Football Club and Oriental Airlines, among so many other business interests, which were so dear to him.
Out of all these business interests, the one that probably encapsulated his driving force of spreading his tentacles to virtually all spheres of human endeavors, is the Champion Newspapers Limited, which Motto is “For A Better Society.” He had a craving for bequeathing a better society, especially in Nigeria, where justice, equity, peace, equality, fair play; freedom of association, movement and speech will be the norm rather than aberrations, to enable every Nigerian to realize his/her potentials anywhere in the country without discrimination based on religious or ethnic background. This, ostensibly propelled Chief Iwuanyanwu into establishment Champion Newspapers Limited in 1988, not for money making, but to afford Nigerians a veritable tool for ventilating their opinions, views, plights and suggestions on how to achieve a sustainable better Nigeria.
Prior to the establishment of Champion Newspapers, there was apparent gap yearning to be filled by a vibrant and national newspaper with origin from the South-East geopolitical zone of the country to properly ventilate the people’s views undiluted at the center stage of national discourse. Views, opinions, feelings and issues afflicting the South East had long suffered high degree of deprivations from being brought to the front burner by the then existing media organisations dominant in Lagos and Ibadan axis of the country. They, of course, had to give priority attention to the South-West zone. Therefore, the birth of Champion Newspapers was seen as a dream come true and an answered call for the people of the South East in particular.
To actually get what he desired to accomplish by delving into media sector, which was then considered to be a “thankless profession” and a “risky business venture,” Chief Iwuanyanwu hunted for the eggheads in newspapering industry and assembled the likes of the pioneer Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief, Prince Henry Odukomaiya (1988), a media guru and a Yoruba man; and the pioneer Editor, Mr. Emma Agu (1988 -1992), a veteran journalist whose name later became synonymous with Champion Newspapers Limited (as he rose through the ranks to also became the pioneer Group Managing Director of the organization from 2007 -2008). To give the Champion Newspapers the national command and outlook needed, Chief Iwuanyanwu acquired a huge strategically located property, a two-storey building complex at Ilasamaja, along the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Lagos. The imposing edifice, transformed to Champion House, became a beehive of media activities.
Champion Newspapers Limited came out in a big way in terms of the company’s rare media organogram, infrastructure and widespread editorial contents – covering all aspects of human endeavors to suit Chief Iwuanyanwu’s aspirations of giving Nigerians what they desired and rightly deserved. Consequently, being the first Newspaper in Nigeria distinctively identified by its blue-coloured masthead, it took the nation’s newspapering industry by storm in contents and layouts, to the extent that the organisation became a destination for most aspiring journalists and job seekers. At a point, the Champion Newspapers which debuted with only Daily Champion, expanded to have other titles, including Saturday Champion, Sunday Champion, Sporting Champion and Business Champion. These were with structures and staff in virtually all the state capitals and other major cities to achieve inclusiveness and access to medium of expression by majority of voiceless citizens, in addition to educating, informing and entertaining them.
Apart from being competitive in Sports journalism as one of the pioneer newspapers focusing on detailed sports reporting, Chief Iwuanyanwu, through the five titles of Champion Newspapers, provided the much sought medium for expression of opinions, views, interests and aspirations and to that extent championed causes of the diverse heterogenous people of Nigeria. As a detribalised philanthropist with a broad- minded disposition, he applied from inception of the organization the policy of engagement from all parts of the country in terms of creating mass employment opportunities for the people without religious, ethnic or political biases.
This explained why Champion Newspapers staff strength, which was in thousands at inception, was a conglomerate of multi-ethnic and religious species of the country.
Even after Chief Iwuanyanwu had achieved success in owning national newspapers with five domineering titles, he did not lose sight of taking care of the rural communities in the South East. As a result, he further delved into Community Newspapering with the establishment of National Post Newspapers in the mid- 1990s with the operational headquarters situated in Oji, Owerri, Imo state. National Post Newspapers served the local needs in terms of highlighting their problems as well as development programs around South-South and South East geopolitical zones while it lasted.
It is pertinent to clearly put on record that Chief Iwuanyanwu brought his inherent benevolence to bare in Champion Newspapers Limited, that apart from providing mass employment opportunities with the organisation, becoming training platforms which catapulted many of the management personnel and staff to clinch higher political appointments and other enviable positions in the society at various times, and still, others branched off to also become publishers of different brands of newspapers till date.
Suffice it to mention but a few, the likes of former Minister of Health, Dr. Ihechukwu Madubuike who was the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of Champion Newspapers prior to his appointment; Mr. Emma Agu (who served as Chief Press Secretary to the then Interim Head of State, Ernest Shonekan and at one time became the Managing Director of THE UNION Newspapers); Parchi Umoh of blessed memory (who served as a Commissioner in Akwa Ibom State before his demise); Labaran Maku (became Minister of Information); Dr. Cletus Akwaya (now the Publisher of Daily Asset Newspapers after serving as Commissioner in Benue State); Declan Mbadiwe Emelumba (who served as a Commissioner in Imo state); Nick Dazang (who rose to became Director of Public Affairs at INEC Headquarters); Paul Bassey (later became an influential Board Member of CAF); and Sisaa Agboh (recently retired as a Deputy Director at the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE), among others. All these were at one time or the other staff of Champion Newspapers.
There are many others who had their tutelage in Champion Newspapers at one time or the other and are still having their foothold in journalism today. These include Iheanacho Nwosu, who is now the Editor of Daily SUN Newspapers; Malachy Uzendu, Editor of The Authority Newspapers (who previously served as a former NUJ Chairman, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja); Rose Moses (Publisher of Newsmart); Clement Nwoji, Publisher of Optimum Times; Max Amuchie, Publisher of Sundiata Post; Sufuyan Ojeifo, Publisher of The Conclave; Victoria Ibang, Publisher of Next Edition; Dr. Ray Echebiri, Publisher of Next Money; Justus Nwakanma, Publisher of Daily Review; Remmy Nweke, Publisher of ITREAMS; Iroh Ibe, Publisher of Global Patriot; Ken Nwogbo, Publisher of Nigeria Communication Week, Ken Ugbeche, who served at different times as Editor of The Post Express and later Editor of Daily Times (and currently the Publisher of Political Economists online);. Anthony Maliki, a pioneer staff of Champion, who is the current Publisher of Apex NewExclusive and Mr. Jonathan Isyaku, the pioneer Editor of Sunday Champion who later held top management positions in THISDAY and Daily Times and Ody Chuwube, also a pioneer staff, who later served as Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju of Anambra State (1999 – 2023), among others.
In addition to the forgoing, Chief Iwuanyanwu is reputed for being a private individual investor who had contributed immensely to infrastructural development of the media industry in Nigeria. Through his Champion and National Post Newspapers, Chief Iwuanyanwu, in no small measure facilitated the development of the nation’s economy through payment of taxes, purchase of Newsprint and other newspaper production materials; payment of salaries and pensions; acquisition of houses used for operational offices across Nigeria; purchase of fleets of circulation vehicles/vans and even for editorial and administrative purposes. Indeed, his contributions to the development of the nation’s media industry is multi-dimensional and inexhaustible.
As Chief Iwuanyanwu, Ahaejiagamba Nd’Igbo is being bid farewell, his imprints in the media sector will forever be remembered for the impact he created.
-By CLEMENT NWOJI, Editor-in-Chief, Optimum Times
