The 1998 AFPF Fellows at our pre-departure gathering in Washinton DC 

By Angela Agoawike

It was a group photograph of the staff of the Post Gazette posted on Facebook by the PG’s illustrious former foreign editor, Greg Victor, that made me aware of the impending closure. Thereafter, I googled: ‘is the Pittsburgh Post Gazette closing?’ read it and got to understand better, the reason for the closure.

 According to the publishers - the Block Communications-,  the newspaper has, for the past two decades, experienced financial loss of over 350 million dollars. Also cited as contributing to the impending closure was a court ruling that, according to The Guardian of London (Post Gazette will not allow me read the story without a subscription), reinstated  the “terms of a 2014 - 2017 labour agreement between the company and the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, which embarked on a 3 years strike” after Block Communications was said to have “unilaterally, implemented changes to working conditions, including health care”. The publisher had said that the court ruling “imposes on the Post-Gazette, outdated and inflexible operational practices unsuited for today’s local journalism”.

 Without taking sides, I would say that it is a tough position to be in for either party. As a worker, you want the best for yourself. That is your primary source of income, plus you have a family to care for - children to clothe and educate, plus bills to pay. So, you have a legitimate need for improved working conditions. A labourer deserves his/her wages.

 Then, as an employer, you are running a business and that business is expected to  generate income with which to pay those that work to grow the business. As a business owner, you also have so many responsibilities including statutory obligations to meet. The business serves the employer and the employee and none should take undue advantage of the other.

 However, if you are running a business that for decades has run at, not just a loss, but one running into more than 300 million, I dare say that you have to find ways to cut your cost, and at some point, make a decision about that business. They come with impact and repercussions.

 You see, when I applied for, and was chosen as one of two winners from Nigeria of the prestigious Press Fellowship that allowed me to experience the Post Gazette, I was the Woman’s Page editor at the Post Express Newspaper in Apapa, Lagos. The Fellowship gave the Fellows an opportunity to live and work in the United States for 6 months. Post-AFPF Fellowship, I was the features editor, and later became the Editor of the Sunday edition of the Post Express Newspaper - The Post Express on Sunday. I also had the opportunity to equally edit the Daily Times on Saturday and National Interest on Saturday.  So, I have a fairly good idea of what it takes to either work for, or be a manager in the legacy media.

 It was not the only Fellowship I had  received in the course of my career, and going for the AFPF programme was also, not my first trip to the United States, as I had been there twice previously to cover the UN Preparatory Committee Meetings on the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC). This, however, was special: I was actually going to practise my profession in the United States.

 We had come from different parts of the world - Doyin Adedeji, my co-winner from Nigeria, Ramyata Limbu (Nepal), Harvier (Uruguay), Vaguinaldo Marinheiro and Cristina Masuda (Brazil), Florencia Arbisher (Argentina), Shareen Singh and Phylicia Opelt (South Africa), Hanan Hamad (Egypt), Rory Rostand (Trinidad and Tobago. I reconnected with Rory in Port of Spain while working at the Gas Exporting Exporting Countries Forum, of which T&T is a member country), Adnan Adil (Pakistan), Moise Mannan Haque, (India), Agneizka Kosowicz,  (Poland)  and Eric Shimoli (Kenya), gathered at the Lincoln Suits in Downtown DC, for an orientation programme that took us to  the University of Maryland, and a sit-in at one of the White House’s Press briefings, before we were dispatched across the country for a five-month-hands-on newsroom experience in some of the best newspaper organisations in the country.

 The Post-Gazette was one of the  great institutions in the city of Pittsburgh, with John Craig as the editor. Staff were expected to turn in copies that would stand the test of time. It was in this establishment located on Number 33 Blvd of the Allies in Downtown Pittsburgh that I found myself. I felt that I was there to let those unaware, become aware that somewhere in the world, on the incredible continent of Africa, there was a country with intelligent and multi-culturally beautiful people called Nigeria.

 Outside of geographical and social construct, my sojourn at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette opened me up to a different reporting style. One of the most memorable stories I did was a report on AIDS in the Black community. On the day that I shared this front page bye-line with one of PG’s great reporters Ed Levin, I also wrote an obituary piece. I was to understand later that obituary pieces and front page bye-lines were the editor’s favourites, and I scored both on my debut.

 The death of  Chief M. K. O. Abiola was announced shortly after I arrived the PG in July of that year.  Expectedly, it fell on me to write a piece on his death and the impact that would have on Nigeria, I was prepared, having covered that election for then Sunday Times, alongside my editor, Ejiro Gray Onobrakpeya, in his official white and red painted Peugeot 504. The election was annulled by then self-styled President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.  I had also covered much of the push back/resistance - murders, demonstrations, secret meetings by human rights communities - that accompanied the annulment.  Reflecting and writing on Abiola’s death from afar was a sobering reminder of the risks many, including my colleagues (senior and contemporaries) who dared challenge authoritarian power faced, and also, the cost of unfinished democratic struggles in my country, even decades after.

 While working at the Post Gazette, I was privileged to cover a reception held for the visiting former vice President, Dr Alex Ekwueme, who was vying to fly  his party - the People’s Democratic Party’s flag in the 1999 Presidential election, by Professor of robotics engineering, Barth Nnaji, who had made Pittsburgh home. Engaging with stories like his reinforced the importance of spotlighting Nigerian excellence around the world. I was also privileged to interact with the next generation of journalists, through my talks with students at the University of Pittsburgh, sharing my experiences and insights as a journalist from a country some of them may never have heard of.

 The fellowship, which was at the height of the Clinton-Lewinsky White House ‘Affair’, also coincided with America’s 1998 election. Tom Ridge was the Governor of Pennsylvania and he visited the PG. I remember one of the staff asking him: “Governor, would you like a cup of coffee?” Governor Ridge said yes, and coffee was brought to him in a plastic cup, the type everyone was using. And yet again, one of the candidates vying for a local position was forced to pull out of the race because the media, including the PG, took him to task on the impropriety of using an helicopter to spy on his opponent in his home. I also remember an instance that the freedom of information law was invoked to get the record of a traffic offense.

 Sally Karlson, a colleague at the PG had agreed to rent the attic of her home to me even before I arrived.  Her beautiful house on Squirrel Hill, stood at an intersection of the road that was bordered by a Cemetery. I remember my first night there, with nostalgic smile. Sally and her family were departing for a planned summer holiday, trustfully leaving me, a total stranger alone in their house. To “protect” myself form any ‘eventuality’, I kept a kitchen knife beside me as I slept that first night. Poor knife, I wonder what it would have done for  me had there been any intruder. Sally also introduced me to some of her friends, and at one point, organised a cooking session that brought many of her female friends together for us to each prepare a meal that was local to us. I believe I cooked jollof rice, what else!

 The way I was embraced by Sally’s family, especially her lovely mum Edna, who despite her advanced age, took me to visit flower gardens and other public places was awesome.  I remember asking Sally why of all the people in the newsroom, including blacks, she volunteered her space. Her response was one I never forgot. She told me that she grew up in an environment where the only blacks she came in contact with were those who came to work and leave, and she wanted to have the experience of interacting with other blacks. For that, she also, consciously enrolled her daughter Zoe, in a school with black pupils. Indeed, we are not responsible for what happened before we were born, but we can help change the trajectory of our now, and be the architect of our future.

 With Sally’s home as my base, I explored Pittsburgh, and other residential neighborhoods such as Duquesne, Allentown, Shadyside, Mount Washington etc.  I read as many books as I could at the Barnes and Noble bookstore on Squirrel Hill. I also bought loads of them that I brought  back to Nigeria  at the end of my Fellowship. Pittsburgh, with its multi-cultural identity, the multicultural make-up of my own country, — reinforced my appreciation for journalism that is practised locally, but impacts globally.

 The Fellowship afforded me the opportunity to also re-visit New York during our mid-term reunion, and travel to Jackson Hole, Wyoming with Shareen and Hanan for  the summer Camp of the Journalism and Women Symposium (JAWS). While conversing among ourselves about how we’d love to go see the geysers in nearby Montana, there was a gentleman man sitting by us. You can imagine our surprise and happiness when one of the participants - a Washington Post Editor approached us to say that the husband told her we would like to visit Montana, we said yes and she told us that her husband would take us.  I also travelled to Houston, and visited Florencier in San Antonio, both in the State of Texas.

 As I reflect on those six months in 1998, triggered by the looming shut down of the PG, I remain profoundly grateful to the Alfred Friendly Press Fellowship for the opportunity, and to the colleagues at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette who opened their arms and embraced me in their newsroom - Dorothy (Dot) Conway, with whose family I spent Thanksgiving, David my mentor, Greg Victor, among others, whose names I cannot easily remember. Most importantly, I remember the lady at the ‘canteen’ who always remembered my order - ice cream and pop corn or coke and pop corn.

 And as it prepares to shut its doors permanently, after 240 years, I remember a Post Gazette that helped to sharpen my reporting skills, expand my worldview, and strengthen my commitment to people-centred journalism.

 Now I run my own media organisation - a radio station called Omalicha 91.1FM (listen to us via www.omalichamedia.com). I always think of the  community-focused reporting that I gained from the PG, and my efforts to introduce that to radio broadcasting, bearing in mind the proximity of radio to the community.  

Generally, the media plays a tripple function - keeping government accountable, performing social responsibilty role and is also a business. In order to effectively perform the first two roles, it needs to thrive as a business. To marry these competing needs, something needs to be done differently, the playbook needs to change.

 The Block Communications said that they regretted the impact their “decision to shut down will have on Pittsburgh and the surrounding region”. As a proud alumni of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, I share in that regret. I feel for the people who will lose a trusted ally, in the PG, and the great journalists who will be thrown out of employment come May 2026. 

 Our reasons for visiting places — even during Yuletide homecomings — are varied and often overlapping. 

Sometimes it is curiosity about geographical marvels that blends with the desire to reconnect with memory or the simple craving for inspiring locations. It could be to satisfy a yearning that remains constant within us. At the heart of it, almost all humans share an impulse: to encounter something fresh, novel and, at times, historic.

In Anambra State this Yuletide, residents and visitors alike are being offered precisely such historical experiences, alongside a rich array of cultural staples that speak to both pleasure and understanding the real meaning of life through 'Onwa Dezemba' festivities.

 In 'Onwa Dezemba,' the state’s carefully curated end-of-year and New Year cultural menu, the period, Boxing Day through Sunday, 28 December, is dedicated to masquerading across major urban centres such as Awka, Onitsha, Nnewi and Ekwuluobia. Designated as days of Igba Mmanwu — masquerade performances — these dates provide a public stage for some of the artistic traditions that have long distinguished Anambra State on the global cultural map.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) recognises Anambra for its rich masquerade heritage. Foremost among these is the Ijele, a monumental performance masquerade that symbolically links the living, the dead and the unborn. Inscribed as a world cultural heritage, Ijele is complemented by other internationally acclaimed performance forms rooted in the state, including Atilogwu and Egedege. The Igba Mmanwu dates thus invite audiences to step into Anambra’s streets to witness living spectacles, while also becoming participants in the world history they represent. As a UNESCO-endorsed “World Living Heritage of Collective Memory and Cultural Tourism”, an Ijele performance transforms the spectator to part of that collective memory.

To appreciate the place of masquerades among the Igbo — and particularly among Ndi Anambra — a brief exploration of what Ijele represents as both art and value system is instructive.

Across many societies, culture endures not solely in monuments, but in living practices that embody a people’s worldview, ethics and social organisation. Among Ndi Igbo of South-Eastern Nigeria, the Ijele masquerade stands as one of the most profound expressions of such living heritage. Far more than performance, Ijele operates as a symbolic system through which community memory, social order and ancestral authority are distilled into a single artistic form. UNESCO recognises it as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of outstanding global significance and as a potential pillar for sustainable cultural tourism and heritage policy.

Aesthetically, Ijele uniquely embodies collective identity through its scale, structure and symbolism. Philosophically, it is known as Nnukwu Mmanwu — the great masquerade. Towering several metres high, it dominates the performance space, reflecting its status as the moral and cultural apex of masquerade traditions. Its multi-tiered construction mirrors Igbo cosmology, symbolising the interconnected realms of the ancestors, the living community and future generations.

Adorning Ijele’s expansive costume are miniature figures representing artisans, traders, leaders, animals and other elements of everyday life. These figures are not decorative flourishes; they are statements of inclusivity, affirming that society is whole only when every role is recognised. In this sense, Ijele functions as a moving archive of communal life and shared values.

Notably, Ijele is not an aggressive masquerade, yet it embodies unquestioned authority. Its slow, deliberate movements and measured rhythms symbolise restraint, wisdom and order. This reflects a core Igbo political philosophy in which legitimacy derives from consensus, moral standing and communal respect, rather than coercion.

Ijele, therefore, is simultaneously a cultural institution, a philosophical statement and a living archive of Igbo civilisation. By offering tourists and holidaymakers the opportunity to engage with such icons, Anambra State presents a compelling model of how tradition, creativity and community governance intersect within the convivial spirit of the season.

 Yet Ijele is only one strand in Anambra’s vast masquerade repertoire. Long before modern cultural policy and UNESCO listings, Igbo masquerades had already confounded colonial observers who described them as "uniting sculpture, costume, music and dance into a single, highly organised art form.”

Some Anambra communities own over a hundred masquerade forms. The excitement is that they all have unique dance patterns and peculiar drumbeats. They are performed by very proud age grades members, families or clans and other social groups. In same manner, there are families known for distinct art in masquerading such as mask-carving or costumes creation or facilitating the ease-of-perfomance of given masquerades. In Umuoji, Idemili South Local Government Area, for instance, the annual Uzo Oyi festival in March features more than sixty masquerades, appearing as wild beasts, giant birds, lions, tigers and elephants, among others. Many communities across the state maintain their own distinctive masked traditions, often accompanied by memorable dance forms performed by energetic young men.

Across Anambra, masquerades such as Agaba, Okwomma, Ulaga, Igaliga, Ajibuusu, Achakwu, Ikpachi, Wonder, Ekete, Okworocha and Atu are widely known, alongside deeply mystical forms like the fearsome Ajo Ofia and the long-necked Oza Ebune masquerades, which appear mainly in village squares across Ihiala, Ogbaru, Ekwusigo and Nnewi South Local Government Areas.

Indeed, through the 'Igba Mmanwu' session of the 'Onwa Dezemba' fiesta Anambra State's Solution Government of Gov. Chukwuma Soludo delves into a seldom projected property of Igbo identity and values — masquerades. The early 20th century Anglican missionary and ethnographer, G. T. Basden who lived among the Igbo for decades and wrote extensively about their culture. In 'Among the Ibos of Nigeria' (1921), acknowledged the richness of Igbo music, dance and ritual art, even while writing from a missionary worldview. His words: “The Ibo people possess a natural sense of rhythm and music which finds expression in their dances, chants and festivals. Their ceremonies are marked by a remarkable combination of colour, movement and sound."

Setting aside a few evenings to savour these masquerade performances is therefore, a highly recommended Yuletide indulgence. 'Onwa Dezemba' is all the richer for having Igba Mmanwu at the heart of its cultural programme.

• Nnabuife, author and Managing Director of Anambra State Civic and Social Reformation Office (ANCISRO) writes from Awka

As the month of July drew to a close, a large section of Nigeria’s media managers gathered in  Abuja for a media sustainability conference on future-proofing Nigeria’s journalism.

 The conference, which held over two days was jointly put together by the Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF), MacArthur Foundation, and the Dr Theophilus Abba-led Daily Trust Foundation.

 Alongside the media managers in attendance were hundreds of journalists, media teachers and media NGOs from Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa that gathered under one roof, for vibrant and lively discussions of issues such as media sustainability and national accountability, support for independent media and lesson’s learnt, sustainable and thriving: the agile media organisation, habits of sustainable media organisations, maximising revenue in media operations, realities of doing journalism and running sustainable media business in Nigeria and tools and strategies for future-proofing media businesses, which were delivered as solo presentations and moderated discussions.

 Under these themes, participants discussed how to build strong, profitable media businesses, as according to Harlan Mandel, managing director of the MDIF, good ideas and solid strategy will not save a newsroom without strong leadership, which could make or break  the organisation’s journey of sustainability.

 Dr. Kole Shettima, director of Nigeria’s office of the MacArthur Foundation, in his keynote address sought to proffer some thoughts on the question of the role of media in strengthening accountability.

 Other key note speeches were given by Dapo Olorunyomi, publisher of Premium Times and CEO of Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, Bilal Randeree, Chief Program Officer of MDIF, Prof. Umaru Pate, Vice Chancellor, Federal University Kashere, Kabiru Yusuf, and Kabiru Yusuf, Chairman, Media Trust Group. Catherine Gicheru, NAMIP Advisory Chair led other members of the Board comprising Ruona Meyer, Motunrayo Alaka and Prof Suleiman Yar’adua in a discussion on the Lessons from NAMIP Advisory Committee.

In addition to the keynotes were more than ten presentations in the forms of of panel discussions, fireside chat and workshops by  the NAMIP team.

Goodwill messages were delivered by the Minister for Information and National Orientation Muhammad Idris, representatives of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria, NPAN, Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE and International Press Institute, IPI.

The Conference preceded the close-out event of the MDIF programme in Nigeria - the Nigerian Media Innovation Programme, NAMIP, which ran for 3 years.  

Twenty-seven independent media organisations across the country formed the nucleus of the programme, which main objective was “working to increase capacity, generate sustainable and diverse revenue streams, and build audiences of independent media in Nigeria, particularly those reaching underserved communities”.

 For the cohort members, NAMIP provided real opportunities for mentoring, through workshops and training on sales, marketing and leadership institutions.

 So said John Momoh, Chairman of Channels Media group at the opening of the 2025 biennial Convention of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, of which he was the Chairman.

 Through his address, the Channels boss encapsulated the essence of Enugu,  as a regional capital, a State and a State capital. Enugu, indeed, carries with it, the nostalgia of what was possible, what used to be, what was lost and seemed unrecoverable, but gradually rising, just like the phoenix.

 Enugu State, according to its Governor Dr Peter Mba, is a state re-imagining itself. At the heart of what is shaping up be the resurgence of Enugu, the State, is that strength to heal back to its recognised status as centre of learning with the Smart Green School project, and as a  place where one can reside, learn and do business in peace, thanks to the vision of one man and his team, who are working round the clock to turn the fortunes of the State around for the better.

 So, what is the smart green school all about?

According to the governor, our smart schools mark a transformative link in education.

 The Smart Green School project was initiated to address the lacuna in the Enugu State education programme. According to Dr. Chinyere Onyeishi, Special Adviser to the Enugu State Governor on Education Innovation, and Director, Experiential Learning, ‘over the years, there had been lots of challenges facing education in the state. This includes the high rate of out-of-school children, inadequate infrastructure, lack of teachers, soft skills, curriculum update, capacity building and technology innovation. Then of course, there is hunger that keeps some children out of school.

 But here’s the thing: irrespective of the words  used to describe the Enugu Smart Green School project, Omalicha FM’s visit on June 28 to the Owo Campus in the Nkanu Local Government Area of the State, as part of the project tour by the Guild of Editors team that was in Enugu for its annual convention, left one with the overarching feeling, that the smart schools initiative has been designed to change the face of education in Enugu state. Reason is that it embraces an integrated format that is both technical and technology driven.

 Embedded in the smart schools project is the construction of modern buildings, driven by technology and equipped with digital skills for today’s ‘digital natives’, described by Dr Onyeishi, an expert in computer and robotics education, as children born from the year 2000, while of course, not leaving out the ‘digital immigrants’, people like us, who have to learn how to co-habit the digital space with the natives.

 In these schools, technology, learning and living are integrated, such that a child of age 3 years in rural Enugu state, is being deliberately introduced to an educational system that equips her with tools for life in the digital space via access to smart boards, internet and uninterrupted solar energy to power the learning.

 As part of creating a system that is self-sufficient, in preparation for life in the digital space, the smart green schools project also produces food that the children consume, with some extra sold and proceeds ploughed back into the system to ensure its sustainability. The green farm complex is an integral part of the Smart Green Schools project. At the Owo campus, for instance, the pupils rear chicken, plant food crops and vegetables such as plantain, tomato, cucumber and poultry. 

 Leading the team to the Owo Campus of Smart School project was the State’s Commissioner for Works, Engineer Gerald Otiji, who allayed the concerns expressed by  Omalicha FM as to the accessibility of this initiative to all children in the state, especially in the rural communities. He assured that that would not constitute any obstacle as the Smart Green School project is to be replicated in the 260 political wards in the state, and access is free to the children of Enugu state.

 Now let’s look at security and the Central Command & Control Centre

It is one thing to embark on expansive infrastructural development. It is yet another to ensure the security of such projects and those that use them.

Security, it is said, is everybody’s business, but that is also one subject that details are hardly thrown out in the public domain.

 Not withstanding, in Enugu, the signs of a secure city, represented by marked surveillance cars fitted with communication gadgets, dote strategic locations in the metropolis and entry points, thanks to the State’s Central Command and Control System, with its enabled-Artificial Intelligence cameras that watch over the state, while the residents either sleep or go about their businesses.  This is because according to the Governor,

 “Security if foundational. That’s why we’ve built a command and control centre powered by cutting edge innovation enabling 24/7 surveillance across our communities. It’s goal is simple: prevent crime where possible, and respond swiftly where necessary.  Since we came into office, we have reduced crime by 80%”

 Governance indeed, is not rocket science. It’s more about having a vision and exploring resources, taking actions and providing instruments towards achieving that vision.

 As Governor Mba said while inaugurating the States Security Trust Fund in February 2025, the “outlaws that once held our people hostage have either been neutralized or fled. We have substantially reduced crime rate. Statistics attesting to that abound. We can further glimpse this in the fact that night life has returned in full swing. Streets that were desolate and deserted have regained their groove.”

This is a narrative Nigerians across the country are waiting to hear from the chief Security Officers of wherever they are residing. If Enugu State can do it and eliminate the retrogressive non-state actor-induced and enforced Monday sit-at-home order that once kept people indoors on Mondays, then it can be done elsewhere in the southeast where people are still forced to stay home due to the fear of the unknown. 

 An interesting feature of Enugu, as a resurgent city (and State), lies in the ability of the State’s Chief executive and his team of passionate men and women to revive old projects that once made Enugu a city of dream:

 With the level of construction going on in the State, the revival of the Asphalt Plant in the state becomes most relevant, just like the NigerGas Company in Emene .

 At NigerGas, one of the managers described the resurgence of the plant this way:

 “It’s only a government that has the people at heart that does this kind of thing. It’s a turnkey project and a very big at that, because with this is the beginning of industrialisation and without industries, you know the consequences. So, all we are saying is that it’s done already...we don’t have much time for it again. The capacity is 100 cubic metres, and that means we can get 72 cylinders”

 That is not saying that there are no new projects, there are and these can be seen in the frenzied construction geared towards bringing to life, the New Enugu Smart City, and the Enugu Air, the state-owned Airline which has since the visit and now, roared off to the skies on its way to different parts of country via the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, an important gateway for the projected traffic of 3 billion visitors expected to join in building a future economy which the State CEO put at  $30bn.

 At an interactive session with the Governor, Omalicha 91.1FM sought to know from Gov Mba how his vision for the state, anticipated youth rural-urban migration and infrastructural needs in the communities. To this, the government said that rather than rural-urban migration, Enugu is experiencing the reverse and more people are moving back to the rural communities. “Part of what we are experiencing in Enugu,” the governor said, “is actually the other way round, where we have a lot of people from the urban migrating to the rural areas, and that is largely because the style of leadership we have here is all-inclusive. We are not leaving any part of the state out. So, our programmes, for example in education is where the 260 electoral wards have a project of over a billion Naira going on at the same time...”

Bold vision. Bold steps by the Administration, but will it indeed turn this storied city and state around? 

In the words of John Momoh,  “for many young people across this region, the shadows of the Biafra war still linger. Not just in stories passed down, but in real feelings - feelings of exclusion and pain.” 

As regional capital and state, Enugu has seen it all, but there comes the period to rebuild, renew, be resilient and hopeful just like the phoenix. Look no further for as the slogan all over the state proclaims  -“tomorrow is here”.

Reported by Angela Agoawike