SUSTAINING THE VISION
With heart full of gratitude, we formally welcome
you to the vision-The Ogene Newspaper-the vision given to God's servant,
Success Kanayo Uchime, a native of Ndikelionwu in Orumba North Local
Government. It is borne out of the very long desire to serve our people, and we
thank God for making it a dream come through.
In his
book, “The Principles and Power of Vision,” the late Dr. Myles Munroe, one of
the greatest motivational speakers the world has ever produced, defined vision
as the source and hope of life. He observed that the gift of vision is the
greatest gift ever given to mankind, not the gift of sight. According to him, sight is a function of the eyes, while
vision is a function of the heart. Again, Ronald F. Youngblood, a well known
biblical scholar, in “The New Illustrated Bible Dictionary” defined vision as,
experience similar to dreams through which supernatural insight or awareness is
given by revelation. He observed that the difference between dream and vision
is that dreams occur only during sleep, while visions can happen while a person
is awake.
Similarly,
the great Apostle Paul, in the Holy Scriptures, before King Agrippa, said this
about his vision: “I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven” (Acts
26:19). The Ogene Newspaper therefore, is like that vision from heaven; and it
needs to be sustained by our numerous friends. This is so because, for every
vision, there needs to be vision carriers – those who help to run with the
vision. Those who will stand by it, come rain, come sunshine. One thing about
vision is that like a baby, it must be given birth to before it can be
appreciated by all. Again, like a new born baby, it must be nurtured to
adulthood.
By the
grace of God, The Ogene Newspaper has been given birth to; it is a long-time
dream that has been realized, and it needs to be nurtured to maturity. We
initially started out as “Ogene Orumba Newspaper,” but due to our doctrine of
inclusiveness, and suggestions here and there, we were compelled to change to
its present name.
With the
rolling out of this maiden edition, it is no doubt a dream come through, a
vision fulfilled, a vision not predicated upon profit alone, but by our deep
desire to contribute towards the development of our community (the old Aguata
Local Government Area, comprising Orumba North and South, and the present
Aguata council area).
Based on
our definition of a community newspaper as a publication (tabloid or magazine)
that the higher percentage of its news contents are sourced from its defined
immediate community, we will be duty bound not to overstep our bounds. We must
ensure that our community receives a higher percentage of our coverage.
In order
to wholeheartedly pursue this heavenly vision, we are to embrace our civil role
by being the major advocacy in the promotion of the general welfare of our
community. We intend to be a key stakeholder and player in the forces that will
help build and celebrate our community by setting laudable agendas for the
discourse of everyone.
We
strongly believe that we need a voice like this that will help bring out all
our potentials, aspirations, hopes and even challenges. You will observe with
us that before now, not much was heard about our community in terms of news
coverage by the national or international media. We have come on board to
bridge that yawning gap – we need a positive change!
Definitely,
we cannot achieve all these laudable objectives alone without the partnership
of our people, as it is a well known fact that no media survives by cover price
alone, but by adverts and other patronage (donations) from its publics or
sponsors. The Ogene Newspaper should be seen as our collective project for the
simple reason that this is the very
first community medium established to serve our community in this dimension.
We, therefore, need all the required support in terms of advert placements and
donations to practically serve our people well. Our advert rates are affordable
and we promise you value for your money. We, as a result, call on all business
concerns, philanthropists and other well-wishers to come and help us run with
this vision. For now, we will be coming out bi-monthly, and thereafter, monthly. But as time unfolds,
we will be producing weekly – that is our ultimate goal!
We are
therefore trusting and looking forward to the patronage we need to keep our vision
alive. The Ogene Newspaper as a vision must be sustained, and you have a part
to play in its sustenance!
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