By Tobi Oyetunde

In order to remain relevant and to fulfil the mandate and purpose of impactful reporting, Christian media entrepreneurs, publishers, writers and journalists have been enjoined to prioritize their faith in God and strive for excellence in the media industry.

The call came from Olawale Perfect, Chief Executive Officer of WiGRadio; Gbenga Osinaike, Publisher of Church Times; and Blessing Oladunjoye, Publisher of BONEWS, among others at a virtual forum organised by the Christian Press Association of Nigeria (CPAN).

The discussants, who provided diverse perspectives of their work as Christian media entrepreneurs noted that coverage of Christian news should not be limited to reporting on pastors and church events, but should also report on other issues that are important to the Christian Faith

The session, which focused on insight, lessons and testimonies in pursuing the vision and passion for media ministry, was moderated by Sanmi Falobi, Chair of CPAN interim Management committee and Managing Editor at SUCCESSTACT.

In a compelling testimony, Mr Olawale Perfect, who pioneered WiGradio, one of Nigeria’s foremost online/internet radio stations, shared his journey into the media landscape.

According to him, his journey into media was a divine calling received during his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) year. He said that he initially wanted to be a lecturer, but God led him into the media.

“When we started, the journey of internet radio was actually something new and I realised that there were very few people in the field of online radio and so there was a need for me to do a lot of research.

“I graduated with a first class in biochemistry, and the thought on my mind was that I wanted to be a lecturer and my lecturers really wanted me to come back to the school. So, when I went for my NYSC, I began to pray and to ask God what I was to do and God began to lay it on my heart that he had an assignment for me in the media, even though I did not have my origin in the media initially. So I then went to the University of Lagos, and I did a post-graduate diploma in mass communication and from there I began to see one or two opportunities to do one or two things in radio.

“God began to lay to my heart that the next phase is, you need to start your own radio station. And I was like, it is either God does not know what it takes to start a radio station in Nigeria, or maybe someone is trying to deceive me, most likely I’m trying to deceive myself because by my estimate, to start a radio station in Nigeria, you need not less than 40 million. So I was praying and fasting and one of those days while I was fasting, it just came to my heart, I can’t really explain it, but there should be a way that radio can operate over the Internet.

“We started one of the first online radio in Nigeria then, and gradually, we began to move it step by step and we began to see results with time such that within a short period of time, we were able to reach about 126 countries,” Perfect narrated.

Reflecting on the challenges faced, Perfect emphasized the importance of faith, prayer, and innovative thinking in overcoming obstacles not only in the media but in life generally.

Mr Gbenga Osinaike, who also shared his experience as a publisher, said he was motivated to start a church newspaper because he noticed that newspapers hardly reported church events and Christian news except it is scandalous events that involved churches and pastors.

Osinaike, who was an Assistant Editor in Punch newspaper from where he resigned to start Church Times, highlighted the lack of coverage for church events and positive Christian news in mainstream media.

Speaking on how he started Church Times, he said, “the idea of Church Times came to me around 2005 when I attended a retreat program and I was wondering, who is documenting this event.

“There was no space, as it were, for Christian news in the mainstream media, it is only when it is negative or scandal that you get pastors mentioned. They were not allowing stories that can edify lives and there are a lot of things happening in the church that were not reported. So the idea came to me that it would be a good idea to start a church newspaper.

“By 2006, the Lord said to me it was time for me to leave and start this thing, but I was really afraid because how do I start a paper when I know that the mortality rate of papers in Nigeria is so high? Those who had money, who had millions were finding it hard and were dying.

“We actually printed the first edition in April 2007.”

Recalling how the journey has been over the years in publishing Church Times, he urged that those pursuing Christian media ventures to spend more time with God rather than look up to people for support.  He also urged Christian journalists to be ethical and professional in their work. Citing testimonies of God’s providence and favours with which the newspaper have thrived over the years, he warned on the need to put focus and trust in God, rather than some persons because man, as it were would disappoint.

“Don’t depend on yourself and put your faith in people because they will fail. The lesson is to stay with God and depend on him for supply.

“Don’t be under pressure, nobody should define success for you. Let your success be based on what God wants you to do, and remain there.

“Christian publishers can report beats from a Christian point of view. The church papers should not be limited to reporting pastors and church events, it is a wide field,” the Church Times Publisher added.

Ms Blessing Oladunjoye, who shared her experience of starting a news platform that focuses on women, children and persons with disabilities, said her platform started from a blog during her days in the tertiary institution and evolved into a news platform in 2018.

Oladunjoye highlighted the importance of professional experiences, especially in reporting on women and persons with disabilities, in shaping the platform’s niche.

She said, “I created it on blogspot.com and it was called Blessing Oladunjoye Community News as of the time. Sometimes, in 2018, I had an encounter with someone, a senior colleague within this space, who just said, ‘you are doing well with what you’re writing. We checked the rating on alexa.com and it was ranked. So, he felt and said that if the website could be ranked because of the content you put in, and just you as of the time, I think you should register it.”

She noted that in determining the focus of what niche to pursue, she had to do a scan of the available potentials and opportunities.

“To determine what BONews will be doing, as of that time, I had worked with Women Radio, which is a women’s radio station which focuses specifically on women’s issues, I had worked with an NGO called CEE Hope Nigeria with focus on child rights issues in informal communities and at that time also, I was interacting with members of the disability community. And so due to my experience back then in school with the challenges and experiences that persons with disabilities encounter, I feel like why not just create a niche within this space because I’ve gathered some form of experience reporting these issues. So I then decided to officially register BONews Service in 2018 and started publishing content on children, women and persons with disabilities.”

Noting that running BOnews as an independent outfit was challenging, she said that she had to find sources of sustenance from other media and journalism-related tasks on a personal level, in order to fund the operations of BOnews.

“Of course, there are numerous challenges and there are issues. I had asked myself, am I sure I should be doing this, am I sure I should do that, but then, the tenacity, being focused over the years really made me realise that it pays a lot, it pays to do this.”

The award-winning and journalism Fellow noted that though there were challenges faced, she encouraged aspiring journalists to persevere, stay focused, and find fulfilment in reporting on critical issues. She also spoke of the need for journalists to be creative and innovative in their work.

In adding to the discourse, Mr Lekan Otufodunrin, Executive Director of Media Career Development Network, emphasised the importance of fostering international connections and collaborating with both local and global colleagues.

Otufodunrin encouraged Christian journalists to actively engage in events and participate to unlock new opportunities.

Highlighting the ever-evolving landscape of technology, Otufodunrin stressed the necessity of embracing change and exploring innovative approaches in reporting.

“Every day, technology changes, and it is important to see how we can do things differently. As much as possible, let us improve on what we are doing.

“Technology is changing everything and we should see what can be adopted locally and how we can benefit from it. We should always seek to expand and not stick to narrow ways of focus,” Otufodunrin said.

The forum, also received robust engagement during the questions, answers and comments sessions. According to the organisers, the forum is part of the series of capacity development initiatives of CPAN, and to reposition the Association for greater relevance. The Association, which has been in existence for some years is made up of Christian news outlets, publishers, editors, writers and related independent media professionals.  

The audio recording of CPAN forum#2 is accessible @ https://bit.ly/CPANFORUM2 while update about subsequent editions of CPAN forum can be accessed @ bit.ly/CPAN_FORUM