The night Editors became ‘Media Ancestors’

By Ijeoma Popoola

Laughter rippled softly across the Banquet Hall of the Benue Government House in Makurdi that evening.

It wasn’t the loud, rehearsed laughter of official functions, but the spontaneous kind—triggered by a phrase no one quite expected. “Media ancestors.”

The words had just been used by Chief Solomon Terver Lorpev, Technical Adviser to the Benue Governor on Media, Publicity and Strategic Communication, to acknowledge the presence of editors at a dinner hosted by his principal, Gov. Hyacinth Alia, for media professionals on a project tour of the state.

At first, the editors chuckled and waved it off. It sounded curious, even funny. After all, ancestors were meant to be revered—but also long gone.

Minutes later, Gov. Alia, the sixth democratically elected governor of Benue, walked into the hall. Instead of proceeding straight to the podium, he chose a slower, more personal route.

He moved from table to table, greeting every journalist with a handshake.

Then he asked each editor to introduce himself or herself. The exercise took nearly 20 minutes, but no one seemed in a hurry.

“I have read many articles written by those of you here,” Alia later explained. “I knew your names, but I hadn’t been able to attach faces to them. Now I have.”

The room held some of the most recognisable names in Nigerian journalism: Mr Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Strategy; Mr Eze Anaba, President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE); Mr Onuoha Ukeh, Managing Director of The Sun Newspaper; Mr Azu Ishiekwene, Editor-in-Chief of Leadership Newspaper; Mr Martins Oloja, former Managing Director of The Guardian Newspaper; and Mr Danlami Nmodu, President of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP).

As the evening progressed, the phrase “media ancestors” returned—this time from the governor himself.

Alia praised the editors for decades of sacrifice, resilience and service to national development through information dissemination and constructive criticism.

According to him, words such as experienced, dedicated and determined hardly captured the depth of their contribution.That was how “media ancestors” stuck.

Still, among themselves, the editors teased one another.

“Media ancestors? Are we dead already?” some whispered, laughing quietly.

Yet beneath the humour lay a deeper meaning.

Media analysts said the phrase, though unusual, carried weight — speaking to longevity, institutional memory, and responsibility.

Mr Adeleye Ajayi, Chairman of the Lagos State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), believed the term underscored the editor’s role as the final gatekeeper of information.

“An editor has seen it all,” Ajayi said. “That experience demands that his final judgment must be factual, balanced and accurate, always guided by national interest.”

For Chief Lorpev, “the phrase is simply a recognition of years spent shaping public discourse.

“Think of how long names like the late Dan Agbese or Bayo Onanuga have been part of Nigeria’s media history,” he said. “Those years count.”

According to a sociologist, Mr Ihechukwu Elemuo, such experience positions editors as co-builders of society.

“With that experience comes the courage to criticise when necessary and the fairness to commend when deserved,” he said. “We often criticise governments, but encouragement also matters.”

Gov. Alia said the editors’ experience was critical to nation-building, especially in helping citizens better understand government programmes and policies.

He outlined his administration’s interventions in agriculture, education, healthcare, human capital development and infrastructure, noting that security challenges in the state had significantly reduced.

Benue, he said, should not be known only for insecurity but also for development.

It was therefore heart-warming to see widespread media reports on the ongoing reconstruction and dualisation of a 55.09-kilometre road network in Gboko and its environs, valued at N62.1 billion, with the progress attributed to the support of President Bola Tinubu.

“I cannot do this effectively without the support I enjoy from President Tinubu,” he said.

The economic conversation extended beyond roads.

Dr Raymond Asemakaha, Group Managing Director of the Benue Investment and Property Company (BIPC), said the newly established Food Basket Brewery and Benue Fruit and Juice Concentrate Company had created 1,000 direct jobs and 2,000 indirect ones, with employment slots reserved for host communities.

He said, the brewery, currently undergoing test runs, produces Zeva Lager Beer, non-alcoholic beverages and bitters, and was established to reduce post-harvest losses and boost employment.

Onanuga described the Alia administration’s programmes as people-oriented, highlighting improvements at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, including molecular laboratories, in-vitro fertilisation facilities and a 64-slice CT scanner.

He also commended the establishment of a Special Needs and Therapeutic Centre to cater for children with Down syndrome, autism and speech disorders.

Though impressed, NGE President, Anaba, however, offered a note of caution: sustainability!

“Projects must outlive administrations,” he said, urging continued focus on job creation, road infrastructure and workers’ welfare.

As the evening wound down, one thing was clear—the phrase “media ancestors” had evolved from a casual remark into a reflection on experience, responsibility and legacy.

And if ancestors are those whose wisdom guides the living, then perhaps the editors wear the title—humour and all—with quiet pride.
(NANFeature)

***If used, please credit the writer and the News Agency of Nigeria.