THISDAY - ARISE: THE EMPIRE THAT NDUKA OBAIGBENA BUILT
According to Sahara Reporters, "The source disclosed that investigation has so far not established a nexus between the funds paid to General Hydrocarbon and the alleged monies paid to NPAN members by (Chief Nduka) Obaigbena.
“There is so far no established trail of funds moving from General Hydrocarbon’s account and the NPAN account which should have confirmed the claim by Nduka that he received money from ONSA for onward delivery to NPAN members."
Obaigbena is nothing if not flamboyant. The question is what exactly does Obaigbena want. It cannot be money, since he apparently has what most of us will consider more than enough. It must then be power in one form or the other. The kind of connections that he relentlessly cultivates says it all. To what end one may ask. It obviously goes beyond the steady stream of photo - ops. Apart from the local champions Babangida and others, Obaigbena has found it absolutely necessary to drag in former US President Bill Clinton, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and a host of others to Thisday/Arise events. I am surprised that he has not yet found a way to drag in Christine Lagarde to offer dubious credibility to one other of his projects tinted with egomania. God have mercy on Nigeria!
About three years ago, when the Arise Television Network hit the airwaves in the UK and US simultaneously, I welcomed the development with a mixture of awe and muted admiration. At the back of my mind was the question "How on earth can he afford it?" At that time, the programme offering was scanty at best, helped along with YouTube based reporting easily accessed by interested viewers like me.
What got me seriously worried was a report culled from one of the other media houses where Chief Obaigbena was confronted with the same question that I asked above, in the absence of advertising revenue. He had blurted out, "I have deep pockets." My reaction then was "Really!" . This was an industry that had literally eaten the likes of Al Gore and his main sidekick Cent "Young Turk" Uygur at their CurrentTV, that is until Aljazeera was belatedly allowed by the broadcast regulators to come to the rescue.
So, exactly how deep was/are Obaigbena's pockets? Based on whatever was his original business model, Arise was clearly unsustainable. It thus needed to be propped up by all manners of machinations. Was graft liberally in the mix? I have a feeling that we are going to find out very soon. This current armsgate or Dasukigate scandal reminds one of the Igbo saying that when some poor or ordinary folks get to know how some people get rich, they wish to remain as they are.
The matter became clearer by the day. I normally hold some sort of court at The Lagos Country Club, Ikeja surrounded mainly by 45 to 55year olds. A good many of them, professionals, had done and still do business with Obaigbena and his vast business empire. The experience, as I am told, left a sour taste in the mouth. For those of us, ardent admirers from the sidelines, it is inexplicable how an apparently successful operation like Thisday will not pay it's journalists and other employees well and regularly. The most galling is this story making the rounds that Nduka Obaigbena unapologetically asks his top editors to GO FEND FOR THEMSELVES, whatever that means! Could this have been true? This was a response when one of the editors requested for a car to enhance his performance delivery.
In view of the above established facts, side comments, rumours and innuendoes, is it then any surprise that the oga-at-top at Thisday would collect money supposedly on behalf of The Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria, NPAN? We are grateful that Chief Obaigbena has owned up. What remains is the logical explanation of what transpired. I am sure that right now he is working hard at it. We are waiting (in)patiently.
I must commend the management of The Punch Newspapers for promptly distancing itself from this sordid disclosure. Perhaps, Nigeria may yet be saved.
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