Journalist and media career development specialist, Lekan Otufodunrin writes on his 24 years work experiences in The Punch and The Nation Newspapers.
The 12th anniversary of The Nation Newspaper last Tuesday is very significant for my media career.
The significance is that I have equaled the number of years I spent in The Punch where I was a staff from 1987-1999.
When I left The Punch Newspapers in 1999, I didn’t plan to work in another newspaper.
My plan was to run full-time, Journalists for Christ, the fellowship of Christian journalists which I founded in 1998 and Media Career Development Network, training and mentoring organization for journalists.
Unfortunately my plans did not work out due to what I would like to admit was due to lack of adequate preparations and understanding of what I wanted to do.
Within a few years, I worked in National Interest, Financial Standard and New Age for an average of three months in each of the papers while struggling to fully establish my media projects.
Eventually I joined the defunct Comet Newspaper and within months, The Nation was launched and I had the privilege of being one of the pioneer staff.
24 years of working in the two media organizations have indeed been fulfilling in many ways.
From the starting days in The Punch of being Ogun State Correspondent in Abeokuta, recalled to Lagos to join the Political desk , heading the desk, promoted Assistant News Editor and eventually becoming the Group News Editor to being appointed Sunday Editor and presently Managing Editor, Online at The Nation, it has been an exhilarating journey in accomplishing my career dreams.
There have been lots of learning, memorable experiences and opportunities which have made the journey worthwhile for which I will always be very grateful.
As a fresh graduate, I was entrusted to cover Ogun state for about four years in The Punch. Nothing prepares one for a long haul in journalism like that kind of experience. I could have lost my job early in my career when I colluded with other reporters not to report about the state governor who collapsed while reading a speech at a graduation ceremony but I was given a second chance.
When I took time to write more than routine reports that most state correspondents file, my efforts were acknowledged and I was recalled to the headquarters for higher responsibilities. Working on the Political desk took me round the country and made me a more knowledgeable journalist.
It was at The Punch that I was sponsored for three-month Advanced Journalism training at Thomson Foundation, Cardiff, United Kingdom. It was during the training that I caught the vision for promoting media career development.
Working at The Punch in the years when the company was not as prosperous as it is now and any one, irrespective of your position, could get sacked was tough, but on the whole I cherish the grounding I got which has helped me tremendously to succeed in many things I have done in the industry.
Twelve years at The Nation have not been less exciting and rewarding. It was here I got the chance to be appointed Sunday Editor by my former Head of Political desk at The Punch, Victor Ifijeh, who is the Managing Director.
Editing Sunday Comet and later The Nation was the icing of my career with fond memories of some great stories we published along with the great team I worked with. I once got nominated as Editor of the Year in the Nigeria Media Merit Award.
Moving to the Online department initially seemed like ‘red card’ to end my career, but it has turned out to be an opportunity to lead shaping the digital future of the industry. The opportunities, local and international that have come my way working online are too numerous to enumerate.
At The Nation my journalism and media career development initiatives have simply blossom beyond my imagination.
When not many gave us the chance of making The Nation a newspaper to reckon with, the great team at paper lead by the indefatigable and all-round media-knowledgeable Ifijeh has accomplished the major feat of turning the brand to a multi-award-winning publication.
After The Punch and The Nation, one thing I am sure of is that I will not work for another newspaper for twelve years!
It’s time to be the full-time Media Career Development Specialist I have always wanted to be and give young journalists the benefit of my combined 24 years experience in The Punch and The Nation.
