Onoja James Okpanachi, publisher and editor-in-chief of ARISE IGALA Magazine, is also the chief executive officer of ARISE IGALA Television which is planned to open soon and to ignite hunger for cultural values among Nigerians.
In this exclusive interview, Okpanachi talked about the dream behind the upcoming TV Station, the challenges to a private station and sundry.
Excerpts:
What has been the media journey that brought you to this day when you are talking about magazine and television station?
My passion right from early days has revolved around media, entertainment, culture and tourism development, so I seize any opportunity that comes my way in these fields. My pursuit of this passion has seen me through the various fields mentioned and across many states in the country particularly Lagos, Kano, Abuja, Kaduna, Enugu, and Kogi. In Lagos I was involved in the music industry and in Nollywood too but mostly at the management, consultancy and promotion levels. It was in Lagos that I launched my first culture and tourism magazine, ‘Beauty from Badagry’. It was a huge success. The monthly publication was on till 2010.
What has been the focus and editorial outlook of ARISE IGALA Magazine?
It was primarily created with the mandate to celebrate, inspire and challenge the people into positive ventures for the benefit of mankind. With this platform we are influencing the people’s orientation to raise their self esteem. We are telling non-Igala people too that we are ready to contribute our quota in building the nation instead of the continuous blame game that will not take us anywhere as a people.
In what ways has the magazine been able to achieve its objectives?
First, it started on social media with a different kind of agenda that endears many people to its ideals of bringing out the beauty of the Igala people and the land, its cultural values and tourism potentials. We ventured into celebrating the successes of our people instead of the regular blame game. With this approach we started inspiring people and today they take pride in associating with the ARISE IGALA Project. Interestingly, we can now stand up boldly to make fundamental and profound contributions to events and happenings. Ours is about pushing for a new breed of Igala people in this digital age by changing orientation and perspectives of ourselves. We launched the annual ARISE IGALA Leadership Awards/Lectures in 2014 and the second edition took place May 2015. Both editions were held successfully at the Abuja Sheraton Hotel & Towers. The essence is to bring our people out to the center of activities in the nation’s capital so the world can appreciate us better. But accepting our concept was extremely tough from the beginning as we encountered many obstacles. But today we are enjoying considerable success and acceptance and we believe strongly that the reason we are having such acceptance is because the magazine is not aligned to any political party, politician, interest or divide, but focuses purely on the things that are of general interest to the people and for the good of all.
Now you are diversifying into television with the ARISE IGALA Television Project. What informed that decision?
The motto for ARISE IGALA Project is ‘...Building Our Future’ and one sure way to achieve this is by sending out good and right information. So, the magazine is one platform and the television is another which we strongly believe will open many locked doors for our people particularly for those in the media, entertainment and arts industries as we will be able to export our cultural heritage to the world.
Do you think you can effectively manage a magazine and television outfit at the same time?
We can, with the right media management structure in place and we am putting all that is needed in order. Honestly, we are not going to take any aspect of the business for granted. It will be strictly business to ensure quality output.
Who are your expected audience and what will be the coverage extent of the television?
You may not believe me yet until we start airing. But I will simply put it to you that beyond the Igala people, our audience will include anyone who wants something different, something out of the box in television production and programming. Undoubtedly, our audience will cut across tribal and racial divides.
What kind of programmes will the station give prominence to?
Programmes that are truly entertaining and educational as well, particularly those that teach morals and promote African cultural values.
What strategies have you put in place to break through in the television industry and compete favourably with other existing stations?
We are creatively designing and developing our own kind of concepts for the television production and unique presentations. We are working out strategies that will make the ARISE IGALA Television outstanding in all ramifications.
Do you have any distinctive feature and unprecedented programming to bring into the television industry?
We will certainly carve our own niche and with that, our programming will be out of the box presentations that will keep our audience glued to the to the TV sets.
Will the television station be compliant with the digital switchover stipulation for all broadcasting outfits in the country?
Definitely. The ARISE IGALA Television is taking off as a satellite TV station broadcasting via cable network. So, automatically, we will be digital compliant from day one.
The station’s name has “Igala” in it. Does that mean it is exclusively for promoting the interest of the Igala nation?
The ‘Igala’ therein will not be a limitation to our reach to other ethnic groups in the country. Instead, with our unique programming, the ARISE IGALA Television will be a rallying point for all Nigerians as we will be promoting cultural values and encouraging integration among the people. One of our salient objectives is to ignite cultural hunger among Nigerians. We will inspire Nigerians to venture into activities that will benefit mankind and glorify the nation.
To what extent has the Kogi State Government created an enabling environment for you to operate?
We started from Lagos, then to Abuja and now our headquarters is in Lokoja. So, let me say that the enabling environment we have been enjoying is a creation of Nigeria as a country and the Great Igala Kingdom. However, we are hoping seriously that a government that will appreciate our socio-cultural and economic contributions to the development of the state and the nation at large will come on board some day.
How will you ensure that the state government and politicians in general do not interfere in your programmes and programming?
Making the venture a business entity saves one from unnecessary interference from the state, politicians and others with interfering tendencies. We have displayed what we can do and how neutral we can really be through our publication, the ARISE IGALA Magazine.
What have been the challenges towards the take-off of the television station?
A business venture such as this requires capital, among others. So, we are already talking and negotiating with interested parties and investors. We are hoping to reach an understanding soon and then take off successfully.
My passion right from early days has revolved around media, entertainment, culture and tourism development, so I seize any opportunity that comes my way in these fields. My pursuit of this passion has seen me through the various fields mentioned and across many states in the country particularly Lagos, Kano, Abuja, Kaduna, Enugu, and Kogi. In Lagos I was involved in the music industry and in Nollywood too but mostly at the management, consultancy and promotion levels. It was in Lagos that I launched my first culture and tourism magazine, ‘Beauty from Badagry’. It was a huge success. The monthly publication was on till 2010.
What has been the focus and editorial outlook of ARISE IGALA Magazine?
It was primarily created with the mandate to celebrate, inspire and challenge the people into positive ventures for the benefit of mankind. With this platform we are influencing the people’s orientation to raise their self esteem. We are telling non-Igala people too that we are ready to contribute our quota in building the nation instead of the continuous blame game that will not take us anywhere as a people.
In what ways has the magazine been able to achieve its objectives?
First, it started on social media with a different kind of agenda that endears many people to its ideals of bringing out the beauty of the Igala people and the land, its cultural values and tourism potentials. We ventured into celebrating the successes of our people instead of the regular blame game. With this approach we started inspiring people and today they take pride in associating with the ARISE IGALA Project. Interestingly, we can now stand up boldly to make fundamental and profound contributions to events and happenings. Ours is about pushing for a new breed of Igala people in this digital age by changing orientation and perspectives of ourselves. We launched the annual ARISE IGALA Leadership Awards/Lectures in 2014 and the second edition took place May 2015. Both editions were held successfully at the Abuja Sheraton Hotel & Towers. The essence is to bring our people out to the center of activities in the nation’s capital so the world can appreciate us better. But accepting our concept was extremely tough from the beginning as we encountered many obstacles. But today we are enjoying considerable success and acceptance and we believe strongly that the reason we are having such acceptance is because the magazine is not aligned to any political party, politician, interest or divide, but focuses purely on the things that are of general interest to the people and for the good of all.
Now you are diversifying into television with the ARISE IGALA Television Project. What informed that decision?
The motto for ARISE IGALA Project is ‘...Building Our Future’ and one sure way to achieve this is by sending out good and right information. So, the magazine is one platform and the television is another which we strongly believe will open many locked doors for our people particularly for those in the media, entertainment and arts industries as we will be able to export our cultural heritage to the world.
Do you think you can effectively manage a magazine and television outfit at the same time?
We can, with the right media management structure in place and we am putting all that is needed in order. Honestly, we are not going to take any aspect of the business for granted. It will be strictly business to ensure quality output.
Who are your expected audience and what will be the coverage extent of the television?
You may not believe me yet until we start airing. But I will simply put it to you that beyond the Igala people, our audience will include anyone who wants something different, something out of the box in television production and programming. Undoubtedly, our audience will cut across tribal and racial divides.
What kind of programmes will the station give prominence to?
Programmes that are truly entertaining and educational as well, particularly those that teach morals and promote African cultural values.
What strategies have you put in place to break through in the television industry and compete favourably with other existing stations?
We are creatively designing and developing our own kind of concepts for the television production and unique presentations. We are working out strategies that will make the ARISE IGALA Television outstanding in all ramifications.
Do you have any distinctive feature and unprecedented programming to bring into the television industry?
We will certainly carve our own niche and with that, our programming will be out of the box presentations that will keep our audience glued to the to the TV sets.
Will the television station be compliant with the digital switchover stipulation for all broadcasting outfits in the country?
Definitely. The ARISE IGALA Television is taking off as a satellite TV station broadcasting via cable network. So, automatically, we will be digital compliant from day one.
The station’s name has “Igala” in it. Does that mean it is exclusively for promoting the interest of the Igala nation?
The ‘Igala’ therein will not be a limitation to our reach to other ethnic groups in the country. Instead, with our unique programming, the ARISE IGALA Television will be a rallying point for all Nigerians as we will be promoting cultural values and encouraging integration among the people. One of our salient objectives is to ignite cultural hunger among Nigerians. We will inspire Nigerians to venture into activities that will benefit mankind and glorify the nation.
To what extent has the Kogi State Government created an enabling environment for you to operate?
We started from Lagos, then to Abuja and now our headquarters is in Lokoja. So, let me say that the enabling environment we have been enjoying is a creation of Nigeria as a country and the Great Igala Kingdom. However, we are hoping seriously that a government that will appreciate our socio-cultural and economic contributions to the development of the state and the nation at large will come on board some day.
How will you ensure that the state government and politicians in general do not interfere in your programmes and programming?
Making the venture a business entity saves one from unnecessary interference from the state, politicians and others with interfering tendencies. We have displayed what we can do and how neutral we can really be through our publication, the ARISE IGALA Magazine.
What have been the challenges towards the take-off of the television station?
A business venture such as this requires capital, among others. So, we are already talking and negotiating with interested parties and investors. We are hoping to reach an understanding soon and then take off successfully.
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