IT WILL certainly be a Tuesday to remember for most staff of Vanguard Media Limited. It was a day they had the honour and privilege to receive a man of God of great repute.
Indeed, expectations were high as most staff of the company and numerous staff of neighboring companies came out as early as 8am to await the arrival of the famous man of God, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, who is the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God(RCCG).
It was a colourful occasion. Indeed a first time visitor to the corporate headquarters of Vanguard Newspapers, Lagos can be forgiven if he initially assumed that the premises of the leading newspaper publishing outfit was the venue of a big Christian crusade or even a grand wedding or other society event. In the first place the entire Vanguard premises wore a new look which was enhanced by elaborate decorations with colourful bunting, ribbons and curtains.
The welcome party was made up of senior management staff of Vanguard and other categories of staff who came dressed in T-shirts branded in the company’s corporate name. Also conspicuously present in their own specially branded T-shirt were members of the Vanguard Christian Fellowship, the actual host of the event which was being used to mark their 10th year anniversary and end of the year thanksgiving service.
Considering the calibre of the man being expected, there was adequate security arrangement around the Vanguard premises. Apart from that, from the beginning of the Vanguard Avenue to the company’s premises were seen men of the FRSC and the Police who were on duty to help control traffic and ensure that there was no break down of law and order.
The arrival of the man of God elicited a lot of excitement as he was hailed into the premises. The long wait for him eventually turned out not to be in vain; it was showers of blessing for all present as he issued several prophetic decrees pronouncing blessings on all and declaring freedom for those who were oppressed. He also decreed that Vanguard would soon be known world wide as a newspaper of preference and relevance. Each of the prophetic prayers was greeted with a resounding chorus of AMEN!!!
Little wonder that when he made the altar call several people rushed forward to give their lives to Christ.
..Hitch-free traffic recorded
WHEN his visit to Vanguard corporate office was announced some weeks ago, there was palpable anxiety as to how to manage the traffic and parking challenges the visit may likely engender. As a result, several emergency meetings were held between the leadership of the Christian Fellowship and some management staff of Vanguard on how to get around the problem.
Apart from this, the Commissioner of Police, Marvel Akpoyibo was contacted and he agreed to provide maximum security at the occasion.
But the fear arising from this perceived traffic and security challenges was to be dispelled on the D-day. Like the saying goes, all things work together for good to them that love God. The event took place on the day tanker drivers went on strike as they are wont to do at the slightest provocation. This had taken care of the usual gridlock that has more or less become a permanent feature around Mile Two to Berger – Under bridge.
This was interpreted to be the first miracle as prayerfully desired in the theme of the programme: ‘’The Storm is Over’‘.
Prior to that day, the local government council in the area had visited Vanguard Avenue to demolish some shanties and other dilapidated structures creating obstruction and traffic bottle-neck in the area. It was also done to curb illegal roadside trading in the area.
Before the programme commenced by 12 noon, officials of the Nigeria Police Force and the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC were on hand to maintain orderliness around Mile Two and its environs.
When the cleric arrived Vanguard premises, he was conducted round the offices by a team of senior Vanguard editors and pastors of the Christian Fellowship. He began his message around 12.50pm.
Pastor Adeboye commended Vanguard’s efforts in news reporting, saying: ‘’If there is any news worth reading about, you read it in Vanguard’‘.
Taking his texts from Mark 6;45-46, Amos 3; 7-8, Job 22; 21-28 and Mark 5; 1-15, he urged media organisations to desist from publishing stories capable of damaging the image of the country. In his words:
‘’It is not the government who will rebrand the country, but the media. It is the kind of image we project about Nigeria that will be reported by the foreign media. Many foreigners have never been to Nigeria but they read what you publish and what ever information you publish about the nation will go a long way to form an impression about this country,’‘ he noted.
Pastor Adeboye who took his text from the Gospel of Mark 6:45-51, encouraged them to change their perception about news worthy events. ‘’You can make something good from a bad event. For instance, if there is a plane crash, you can begin your stories by saying that in spite of it, travelling by air is one of the safest means of transportation. By doing so, those who intend to travel by air will not begin to panic,’‘said the cleric.
Continuing he said: ‘’The world is tired of bad news; it is believed in some quarters that it is only bad news that sells newspapers; this is not true. Good news is like cold water to somebody who is thirsty. Several people are already suffering from high blood pressure but good news can give them a rapid recovery.
“It is the image of the country we publish on daily basis that the foreigners cling to and believe,’‘ he explained.
‘’When you travel abroad, a lot of foreigners believe that majority of Nigerians are evil, to my own understanding, the total no of evil ones in Nigeria is less than 0.1 per cent but because of evil report, people believe the number is more than that. We can begin to rebrand Nigeria if we report good news more than the bad news. We can report bad incident in a positive manner because I believe there is a way of speaking the truth in love,’‘ said the cleric.
Speaking on the theme, ‘’The storm is over’‘, he said storm is a common occurrence in a man’s life, ‘’Everybody is going through one form of storm or another but it is a matter of time, it could be in form of sickness, finance, marriage or business but it will be over if God is on our side,’‘ he said.
Before he concluded, he commended Vanguard for publishing news worthy stories,’‘If there is any news worth reading about, you read it in Vanguard,’‘ he said.
Earlier in his address, Vanguard General Manager and Editor-in-Chief Mr. Gbenga Adefaye said Pastor Adeboye’s visit to the organisaton was a great honoue, ‘’His visit is a great honour to us, Vanguard is a testament, last year was our year of jubilee and we believe today’s event is the will of God. Vanguard is not only a business but a legacy project which is already doing well,’‘ he said.
Also, Coordinator of Vanguard Media Fellowship, Elder Emmanuel Obuh told the congregation the organisation has been operating as family since ita existence, ‘’Until yesterday, it was not certain that our daddy will come but we thank God that he was able to make it to this place. Here, we operate like a family with the love of God until we decided to be meeting yearly to appreciate the almighty who has taken us far,’‘ he said.
Source:http://www.vanguardngr.com/
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