Triumph bounces back with many promises

From Yusha’u A. Ibrahim, Kano

The Triumph, a Kano-based newspaper, was established in June 1980 by a former governor of Kano State, the late Alhaji Muhammadu Abubakar Rimi, primarily to enlighten readers on government policies and programmes at local, state and federal levels.

The newspaper was also expected to constructively criticise the performance of public institutions and officers and educate the populace as the mouthpiece of government.

The Triumph Publishing Company was publishing Daily Triumph, Weekend Triumph and Sunday Triumph and Albishir, a Hausa language edition, as well as Alfijir. The Triumph newspaper was considered a novelty in the media industry in Nigeria.

However, after operating for three decades uninterrupted, the newspaper company was shut down on October 2012 by the administration of Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, and all its personnel were redeployed to various government ministries, agencies and parastatals.

The company remained closed until January last year when the Commissioner for Information in the state, Malam Muhammad Garba, announced the intention of the Governor Abdullahi Ganduje-led administration to revive it.

Garba made the disclosure during a two-day seminar organised for media practitioners in the state by TEECEE Media Services, in collaboration with the state government.

The maiden edition of the newspaper after its return was published during the 50th anniversary of Kano State. Presently, it is produced weekly, but it is expected to go daily soon.

Alhaji Adamu Abdullahi Gabari, popularly known as BK Gabari, who advised the late Rimi to establish the newspaper, expressed happiness at its return.

Gabari said, “I can vividly recall that after the late Abubakar Rimi emerged governor of Kano State, my best friend and right hand man of Rimi, Peter Ogwu, came to Kano to congratulate him on his election victory. He asked me to accompany him to Rimi’s house. During our discussion, I advised Governor Rimi to establish a newspaper; and he promised to do it.”

Gabari said he felt very bad when the Kwankwaso-led administration closed down the company. “I could not do anything about it, otherwise I would have stopped Kwankwaso. It was an unwise decision. As a governor, if you want to run a successful government, you must have a newspaper to propagate your programmes and policies , as well as protect your government.

“I am the happiest person today to witness the return of The Triumph because it is my darling newspaper. I worked for its establishment and I will be happy to see it again being displayed at various newspaper stands. I am sure it will greatly help the Ganduje-led administration because government cannot do without a means of mass communication to propagate its programmes.”

A veteran journalist and a fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Alhaji Abdulkadir Ahmed Ibrahim (Kwakwatawa), also commended Ganduje for resuscitating the newspaper.

Ibrahim, a former chairman of the Kano State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and later, national vice president of the union, recalled, “The Triumph Newspaper was highly respected for its professionalism, balanced editorial contents and the readers’ services pages, where the diverse interests of the public were taken care of.

“The company produced two former presidents of the Nigerian Guild of Editors: Malam Garba Shehu and Alhaji Baba Halilu Dantiye, as well as two former presidents of the Nigeria Union of Journalists: Alhaji Muhammad Sani Zorro and Malam Muhammad Garba, the present Kano State Commissioner for Information.

The former NUJ chairman commended Governor Ganduje for fulfilling his pledge by reopening the publishing company, which he said was in response to the resolutions of participants at a seminar on media and the society held in January this year at the NUJ Press Centre, Kano.

Alhaji Bashir Muhammad Bashir, popularly known as Bash M. Bash, is a renowned journalist and ardent columnist and reader of The Triumph newspaper. Bashir said he was impressed with the effort of the Ganduje administration to bring the newspaper back to limelight.

“The people of Kano stand to benefit from government’s social responsibility. We are still in skeletal services, but I can assure you that we will soon resume full production. We have gotten a new office at Nasiru Kabara Housing Estate for our temporary operation. We have identified some of our old personnel that are still active, and we are hoping to recruit fresh graduates with degrees Closing the paper had some negative repercussion on the drive for credible information dissemination. As one of the most vibrant state-owned newspapers in the country, it had blazed the veritable means of mass communication. Governor Ganduje deserves a pass mark as far as the revival of The Triumph newspaper is concerned,” he said.

Another journalist who worked for The Triumph for many years, Muhammad Kabir Ya’u said, “In the first place, the closure of the glorious newspaper by the Kwankwasoled administration was a great mistake. As the mouthpiece of government, it would have been a better means of propagating its agenda rather than relying on privateowned newspapers to disseminate such information to people.

“The Triumph can do a wonderful job of protecting, projecting and promoting government’s image and laudable policies. So in a nutshell, the revival of the newspaper is a step in the right direction. However, I will like to advise the government to give a freehand to those assigned to man the paper.”

The state’s Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, said reviving the newspaper became imperative, especially at this critical time when the state, and indeed, the entire northern region was lagging behind in terms of medium of communication.

Garba said government also deemed it necessary to revive the newspaper as it is one of the good legacies left behind by the late Rimi and its founder. “Our aim is not to make the newspaper a government’s mouthpiece; rather, it will be an independent newspaper that will compete with others in the industry.

“We are still in skeletal services, but I can assure you that we will soon resume full production. We have gotten a new office at Nasiru Kabara Housing Estate for our temporary operation. We have identified some of our old personnel that are still active, and we are hoping to recruit fresh graduates with degrees.

“The main rehabilitation of The Triumph Newspaper Company will be captured in the 2018 budget. Our intention is to start with three titles: Daily Triumph, the Hausa Albishir and the Ajami manuscript, Alfijir. We also planned to go online like other newspapers, and I can assure you that by the time we resume full operation, we will compete with Daily Trust,” he said.

The newly appointed Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper, Alhaji Lawal Sabo Ibrahim, said, “Immediately I was appointed, the governor directed me to resume work with immediate effect. But on my first visit to the premises of The Triumph, I discovered a desolate place with heaps of refuse, even within the main reception and the printing department.

“I observed that after it was closed down, the place was porous and left at the mercy of vandals because no one was virtually put in charge. Thus, to enable us resume production immediately, Governor Ganduje directed for the allocation of a house at Nasiru Kabara Estate, which is being furnished now. We resumed production about five weeks ago with a weekly publication, and we are happy with this development.

“I am confident that by the time we resume full operation, the government and people of Kano State will be happy with the revival of the newspaper,” he concluded.