The 20th Anniversary Celebration of Afikpo Today Magazine

Mr. Chairman Sir, learned paper presenter, your royal highness, distinguished ladies and gentlemen; on behalf of the entire crew of Afikpo Today magazine, I heartily welcome all of you to this august occasion of the celebration of the 20th Anniversary of our darling magazine. Thank you so much for honouring our invitation.

As we celebrate twenty years of robust and objective news reporting, I want to thank the Almighty God for His grace, favours and blessings in the past years. Suffice it to say that without His blessings upon us, it would have been impossible for us to come this far.

Anybody living in Nigeria today knows how difficult things have been for Nigerians in the past ten years. Afikpo Today is not in any way insulated from the economic hardship that pervades Nigeria and the world at large. If anything, Afikpo Today bears a great brunt of the infrastructural problems in Nigeria. Electricity, which every production company needs to survive, has been at its lowest ebb in the past ten years. We depend mainly on generators to do our business. This has made life very difficult for us. It also causes delays.

Because we depend solely on generators, we no longer work day and night as we used to do in the past. This is the reason that some issues of Afikpo Today come out late. At this juncture, let me seize this opportunity to plead with our leaders to kindly give us electricity. We need electricity to drive the Nigerian economy. Without adequate electricity power supply, the well articulated Vision 20.20.20 will remain an ordinary document and so we cannot achieve the desired goal of making Nigeria one of the twenty most developed nations in the world in the year 2020, which is just ten years away. Nigerians had thought that with the emergence of a democratic government, poor electric power supply would be a thing of the past. But alas, they were wrong. Nobody has bothered to tell us why after ten years of democracy we cannot have electricity in Nigeria. This is contributing seriously to the growing poverty in the land.

Even though there is so much to do to develop Ebonyi State, I commend Ebonyi political leaders for the effort they have made in the past ten years in their quest to make Ebonyi State better.

The free primary and secondary education programme introduced by the former governor, Dr. Sam Egwu, is being continued by his successor, Chief Martin Elechi, who has introduced boarding house facilities in some secondary schools. Governor Elechi is also building unity bridges to link up all the towns of Ebonyi State. These are big strides in the development of the state, which will have a very positive impact on our people. Because of these, people no longer see Ebonyi State as backward. Today, every Ebonyi man walks with his head raised high wherever he finds himself. The era when people looked down on the Ebonyi man is gone.

Let me add with every sense of humility that Afikpo Today has also contributed in no small way to this new image of the Ebonyi man. I am happy to say that because of our efforts in creating a positive image for the Ebonyi man through Afikpo Today, we are changing the negative perception that people had of Ebonyi people. Anybody who reads the thought-provoking articles written by Ebonyians in Afikpo Today can never regard us as a backward people. We will continue to work hard in our efforts to mold people’s opinion of the Ebonyi man in a positive way.

What remains is for our leaders to put in more effort in their struggles to create employment opportunities for our teeming youths. So many of our youths are unemployed and this does not augur well for the state. The crime rate in the state will continue to grow in progression with unemployment. Agriculture, which is the mainstay of the state’s economy, should be accorded more attention. The vast arable land in Ebonyi State should be utilized and our farmers encouraged through subsidies to create job opportunities for our youths. Farming should be mechanized in the state so as to make it attractive and profitable for our youths.

Sometimes, some of our political leaders consider some of our reports in Afikpo Today “offensive.” We do not deliberately set out to offend anybody in our reports. As a news magazine that wants to see positive development in every sphere of life in Ebonyi State, we owe it a duty to the common people of the state to call the attention of our leaders to the areas which we feel need attention in the state. That is what we consider our primary duty as a news magazine. This should not be considered “offensive.” We try as much as possible to be balanced in our reports. The government and news media should, in fact, be partners in progress.

I want to repeat the appeal I made in my address ten years ago when we celebrated our tenth anniversary: If you have anything you are celebrating in your family or community that you want reported in Afikpo Today, please inform us in advance. Most of the time when we hear that an event has taken place, we start making enquiries on how it happened. This is poor way of reporting news. Events should be reported first-hand. Let me also appeal to our elite class, some of whom feel that Afikpo Today should seek them out for interviews. If you have something to tell Ebonyians, please do not hesitate to call us. You can call the publisher or any of our men listed below:

Emmanuel Irem - 08052800483
Barnabas Orji - 08058474021
Nwachi Ogbonnia - 08134597923
Sower E. Inya - 08060176785
Justin Okoroegwu - 08051220675

I had hoped that before now, we would have been able to make Afikpo Today a quarterly magazine. But the high cost of production, the lamentable lack of a reading culture by our people and the low volume of advertisement have conspired to make this impossible. When we produced the first issue of the magazine in 1990, the cost of production was so low that the cover price of magazines in Nigeria then was just five naira. Today, the cover price of magazines is three hundred naira. This is sixty times the cost twenty years ago. But in spite of this high cover price, publishers are still going through very difficult times trying to break even.

This high inflationary rate in our economy has eroded the purchasing power of Nigerians and has made life difficult for them. This is why we cannot go beyond the two issues per year for now. In fact, every issue of Afikpo Today costs over seven hundred and fifty thousand naira to produce. This is outside the unquantifiable cost of labour that goes into the production. Most times, we do not generate up to five hundred thousand naira. This in effect, means that every year, we lose at least five hundred thousand naira to produce the two issues of the magazine.

However, the loud ovation Afikpo Today has received and continues to receive from Ebonyians and non-Ebonyians alike more than makes up for the financial losses we incur in our quest to contribute our own little quota to the development of our state.

At this juncture, I think it is pertinent that we accord respect to those deserving of it. I remember with nostalgia my very dear father, late Omezue Agha Mbey 1, whose fatherly love, encouragement and great achievements inspired me to start the publication of the magazine we are celebrating today.

I also remember the late Ezeogo Michael Akpu Chukwu, Omakaejali Ehugbo, who, in recognition of our efforts and with the people of Afikpo, conferred on me, the chieftaincy title of Enyo Ehugbo in 1992. Because he was a visionary leader, he foresaw that Afikpo Today was going to be a veritable source of information and education for our people, and so encouraged us.

I remember also, one of the great sons of Ebonyi State, His Excellency, Dr. Emmanuel Oko Isu, the former Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, who passed away on the 22nd of August, 2009. He was a very special friend of Afikpo Today, whose love for and interest in the magazine cannot be measured.

The late Mr. Joseph Item, our senior correspondent, who passed away in 2005 is another notable person. He worked very hard to make Afikpo Today the great magazine it has become. Late Rev. Fr. Dr. Innocent Ekumauche Okoh, my bosom friend and brother-in-law, who passed away ten years ago. I recall that he and I dreamt of publishing a news magazine over thirty three years ago. He greatly encouraged me when I started the publication of Afikpo Today. These are some of our heroes past and we shall never forget them or let their labour be in vain.

Ladies and gentlemen, please, kindly indulge me, as I ask you to stand up to observe a minute's silence in honour of these fallen heroes of ours. May their gentle souls continue to rest in perfect peace. Amen.

I thank also contributors of articles, whose well-articulated write-ups edify the pages of Afikpo Today. May your pen never run dry. I appreciate also our readers, without whom our efforts would be in vain. You are the reason we are plodding on in spite of all the difficulties. I thank also those who advertise in the magazine. It is a known fact that many journals cannot survive without advertisements. Thank you for your patronage. I thank also the entire people of Afikpo and Ebonyi State in general for their goodwill messages and support all these years. I thank His Excellency, Chief Martin Elechi, the Executive Governor of Ebonyi State and his Deputy, Prof. Chigozie Ogbu, for their support. I thank in a special way His Excellency, Dr. Sam Egwu, the former Governor of Ebonyi State for the support and encouragement his government gave Afikpo Today. I thank also Dr. John Otu for the support he gave us when he was Ebonyi State commissioner for information. May God reward you all.

This address will not be complete if I should fail to appreciate the members of our editorial and production teams: I thank Dr. Oko Okoro, our Editor-in-Chief, for the labour he has put in the service of our fatherland via Afikpo Today. I thank also our hard working Editor, Mr Justin Okoroegwu. Sometimes when the heat of production gets high and patience wears thin, I snap at him. But when the “baby is delivered” we can behold the product of our labour, we easily forget the “pangs of labour” we went through until the next production time.

I thank also our senior correspondents, Chief Gabriel Agwo, Chief Lawrence Oko, Chief Michael Njoku and Sir Emmanuel Irem. Chief Agwo has made the Reflections Column of our magazine a must-read with his deep and searing comments on our present day warped values, which negate our cherished cultural values. He is our present day gadfly. The law column, which Chief Michael Njoku handles and has elevated to an art form is one of the columns that has made Afikpo Today widely acceptable. I thank Sir Emmanuel Irem, who works very hard to ensure that Afikpo Today remains the icon it has become. Whenever there is delay in production at the Lagos end, he takes it upon himself to phone me repeatedly until I give him what he wants.

I also appreciate in a very special way, our correspondents: Mr Barnabas Orji, Sower Egwu, Eugene Otu Chukwu, Elder Pius Ugo and the inimitable Nwachi Ogbonnia. These are very hard working gentlemen and prolific writers who comb every nook and cranny of Ebonyi State to bring us the goings-on in the communities of the state and beyond. I salute you all.

I appreciate also Mr Ben Obasi Egwu, our Reader, who ensures that all the “Ts” and “Is” are crossed and dotted in his quest to reduce typographical errors in Afikpo Today to a tolerable level. As we all continue to labour with little or no pay, all in our quest to make Ebonyi State great, may the Good Lord bless and reward you all. And may the well of your ink never run dry. Amen.

I thank the computer operators, lithographers, graphic artists and the entire staff of Mbey & Associates (Nig.) Ltd., who sometimes spend sleepless nights in order that we may have Afikpo Today. Thank you so much for your loyalty.

It was Mother Theresa, the great Catholic nun, and Noble laureate, who lived all her life serving the very poor people of India, who said that: “We can do no great things – only little things with great love. You can do what I cannot do. I can do what you cannot do. Together we can do something beautiful for God.” Our labour of love in producing Afikpo Today, which we do with passion, is something beautiful we are doing for God and humanity. Thank you and may God bless you all.

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I thank you once again for honouring our invitation. Do have a nice time celebrating with us.

Long live Afikpo Today!
Long live Ebonyi State!
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

Chief Emmanuel Agha Mbey

Afikpo Today Magazine at Twenty: A Special Appeal by the Afikpo Today Team

From about August 1988 to December, 1989 Mr. Agha Mbey of Ugwuegu in Afikpo Local Government Area of the then Imo State undertook a rigorous and cost intensive terminal title, Omume Title. At the successful conclusion of the sixteen-month long title ceremonies, Agha Mbey became an Omezue (the Complete Achiever).

Mr. (later Chief) Emmanuel Agha Mbey, a Lagos based professional printer and the first son of Omezue thought of how best to honour and appreciate his father’s achievement as an Omezue. The idea of doing a profile of him to commemorate his father’s Omume title taking came to young Agha Mbey. According to him, “half way through, the idea of a quarterly magazine took root and culminated in the publication of Afikpo Today.”

The Magazine made its debut in April, 1990 and was formally launched at the then Imo Hotels, Afikpo on 13th April, 1990. How has this magazine fared, at twenty, one would like to ask? Come along with us.

The publisher’s vision and mission otherwise described as his “manifesto” were contained in his foreword of the maiden edition, parts of which are: “Afikpo Today is conceived in scope to cover the Old Afikpo Division . . .” The publication is undertaken even in the face of prohibitive production costs and the lamentable lack of a reading public with the principal objective of contributing to the development of our area, through educative and thought-provoking articles that can motivate our people to cast aside that pathological apathy that has remained our bane for long. We do not intend to take sides in any internal squabbles or to serve any individual or group interests. Rather, it is our determination to look at events (globally) and tell our people in simple language their import and how they affect them. “Afikpo Today intends to examine issues gravely and proffer only constructive criticisms. Its amour is truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth”.

It may interest you to note that within the past twenty years of her existence, Afikpo Today has had thirty editions divided into three volumes, one, two and three. She has been jealously guarding the objectives of the magazine. Among the outstanding cover stories this Magazine has dwelt on so far include: Medicare in Ebonyi State – Orthodox and Traditional, Formal and Informal Education in Ebonyi State, Road Network in Ebonyi State, Investment Opportunities in

Ebonyi State, Culture and Religion in Ebonyi State, Democracy Dividends in Ebonyi State: Facts and Fallacies, Water Resources in Ebonyi State, Economic Activities in Ebonyi State, The Shape and Realities of Witch Craft, Teenage Pregnancy: A menace to the Society.

Our interview columns, chats and dialogues cut across every section of the society – from political and government chieftains, members of parliament at all levels, business tycoons, the judiciary, heads of tertiary institutions, university dons, great achievers who rose from grass to grace, aspiring politicians, traditional rulers, career civil servants, retired primary school teachers, heads and workers in the medical profession, to heads and workers in the lord’s vine yard – the clergy and the laity, name it. We’ve even recorded the activities of clowns in the society. School children and students at all levels do not escape our notice.

Our regular columns include: Publisher’s Notes; Editorials; Reflections on the Ways of our people; Law; Culture; Local, State and World news items. We are second to none in color adverts and supplements.

When Afikpo Today hit the public stands in 1990, it was published once a year up to 1999, usually around Easter Period. From 2000 to date the magazine is published bi-annually, normally about April and September, respectively.

The unique thing about Afikpo Today is that for these twenty years the initiator and sole founder has borne the financial burden alone, yet the quality of the stationery, the standard of the contents and aesthetic production get better in every next publication. Those in the print and publishing business will appreciate the cost effects on that caliber of magazine. Despite the comparative few paid advertisements in each edition, it has not broken even in over ninety five percent of the thirty productions so far. Chief Emmanuel Agha Mbey, Enyo Ehugbo, has carried the cross in the name of patriotism for Ehugbo, the State and admirers of documented records, worldwide. But there is a limit to everything.

The spiraling cost of the needed stationery, cost of living, poor reading attitude (leading to very low sales) coupled with the unfortunate nonchalant attitude of those at the helm of government, is very crippling. Afikpo Today now needs the support of all patriotic lovers of knowledge, including those who wish to preserve what we can for our children and those who may be interested in tomorrow’s research about the rich history and culture of our people as documented in past publications.

PLEASE DO NOT ALLOW AFIKPO TODAY to fizzle out of existence for lack of patronage – be it in the form of buying copies, taking up advert pages, endowments, grants, donations, etc. Individuals and groups as well as government ministries and parastatals should please look the way of Afikpo Today to, at least, keep her afloat.

Chief (Onikara) Gabriel. A. Agwo
For the Afikpo Today Team

Afikpo Today on Sale

Bound copies of Afikpo Today are now available in hard cover.

Volume 1: Numbers 1–10, (1990 -1999)

Volume 2: Numbers 1–10, (Janary 2000 – December 2004)

Volume 3: Numbers 1–10, (January 2005 – December 2009)

Price: N6, 000.00 for each volume.

Get your copies now!