Editor of Daily Independent newspapers, Mr Don Okere has urged staffers of the newspaper to put in their best as the media house is about to witness a transformation.
Okere gave the charge during the annual thanksgiving service of the Independent Christian fellowship in Lagos last Thursday.
The event organised by the Christian fellowship of the organisation was attended by guests, friends of the organisation and staff members dressed in a uniform fabric to mark the annual thanksgiving.
In his charge, Okere started with a quote by the late international motivational speaker, Norman Vincent-Pearle who said, “Stay alive when you are alive.”
He implored members of the staff to be optimistic as the newspaper is trying to come back into big business.
“Cultivate the attitude of optimism. Today is a day of reckoning because it has brought forth what I have in mind- hope. The guest speaker said you will be whatever you see, as for me, I see hope, I see progress. I am not seeing it as an incurable optimist, but I see hope.
“What we just demand is that all of us should reciprocate what the company is doing now. If you remember late last year, Asaba was our key market, our bias is south-south and south-east but this year as God would have it, we have gone back to our market; we are stronger.
“We may not necessarily see it now until it materializes. It is because some of us are already pessimistic. This is our year of progress, our year of opportunities. If we can’t make it this year, we cannot make it again because of things that are already in place. We are the pace setter team,” he said.
Charging the workers further, Okere said, “Some of us may just be lackadaisical in our duties. Those who feel they are down, are already down. I know some of the things we have lost will be gained. I am not just an optimist but I am in the kitchen where the food is being cooked, maybe you are outside you may only perceive the aroma so let us reciprocate the gesture.
“It is when the situation gets hard that tough people keep going. If you say because of one issue or the other, you want the place to collapse, you are a stakeholder and you have what to lose because you are being owed and you won’t get your pay,” he said.
Okere however enjoined those laid back to brace up and put in their best.
“It is important for those who are laid back to take up the fight. It is important for us to work hard. I can tell you it is the election year, a year we should take our market share from other newspapers. So what it means is that if you have been lackadaisical, you have to wake up.
“We must not be passengers who something will be happening in their sector and they will not report it while other newspapers are reporting. As the news breaks in our sector, we will get it, that is a way we can get ahead, not by saying it is their job. In the first place, this job is the job of all of us,” he said, stating further, “I know that from today some of us will wake up, do this job and you will be proud.
“Some of us will write rubbish and forget it is their byline on it. I wonder if your wife would feel if she reads that rubbish. It is important that all hands be on deck. I am assuring you we are leaving point A to point B, to point C and so on.”
The Editor however sounded a strong warning. “It is important to warn that those who don’t key into this should key into it. This is because, by the time we get to the Promised Land, some will not be in that Promised Land. So it is important for all of us to key into this. We have started printing and our papers are everywhere. We must all key into this progress now. It should not be that you will be on the mountain and seeing the Promised Land afar off. All of us must work ourselves out of where we have found ourselves.”
