Most journalists who entered politics or received government political appointments either became poorer or richer, but lost their voices with their fans.
How did John Momoh, the founder of Channels TV, establish such an excellent TV station to date after he left a notable TV station in Nigeria? How has Sam Amuka-Pemu of the Vanguard survived to date?
Nduka Obiagbena of Arise TV and This Day Newspaper is still surviving because they never accepted government appointments; rather prefer to be government contractors in the media industry
Since 1999 to date, tell me one journalist appointed in Aso Rock who returned after service and established a TV station that is popular today. Either they returned to their former place of work and became irrelevant.
Aside from Aso Rock, those who worked with governors and senators also suffered the same financial setback. The only journalists who turned into billionaires are those who became politicians as thieves in government.
Don’t admire any spokesperson to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; they can travel with the president to all the countries of this world, but minting money is zero percent.
Technology has affected the media profession from the beginning, even before AI came.
For only a few months, I worked with a politician to join campaigns; I was never happy with my life. I never saw a future that could establish me as a wealthy media personality; living on a monthly salary couldn’t sustain me. If I did not have a brand, I would have been a beggar.
The truth is that if you work with a politician as a journalist, the enemies of the politician become your enemies. You will be limited in your thinking.
Politicians prefer to empower touts in billions rather than professional journalists. Only a few politicians admire the services of media professionals.
Most media aides are living in poverty while defending these politicians.
The biggest mistake in my life was once accepting a media political appointment. You can’t flow with the system unless you play at a high level of sycophancy.
I don’t blame experienced journalists for playing sycophancy on social media platforms, praising the government that is turning more Nigerians into poor people.
Once you start working with a politician directly as an employee or as a journalist, you can’t survive unless you steal to become a millionaire.
If you want to survive as a journalist, you turn it into a vilification job that can earn you big money but comes with risk.
I would have become a billionaire if I had chosen this path, but my life is at risk unless I choose to leave Nigeria for life.
No journalist working with a politician earning a monthly salary can live a fulfilled life.
How can you work with a President or governor and still return to your workstation after your service is over? Speaking about grammar on TV while your stomach is empty behind the scenes.
If the generation of Nduka Obiagbena, John Momoh, and Sam Amuka-Pemu leaves, how do we survive? Let us ponder on these things.