Ikoro Igbo! Local Language Newspaper in Nigeria

Nigeria’s press history reflects a robust and competitive environment where indigenous or local language newspapers had little chance of survival. Though the first Nigerian newspaper was a local language newspaper, Iwe Irohin, the media landscape at the beginning was dominated by English language newspapers published by nationalists for championing self rule and independence. Yet a number of indigenous language newspapers share in the credit of developing a vibrant newspaper industry in the country. The first Nigerian newspaper was a Yoruba language newspaper, Iwe Irohin, which was also the first indigenous language newspaper in Africa. It was established in 1859. Fiercely competitive business environment of the newspaper industry in Nigeria and the growing interest of publishers to establish English language newspapers contributed in stifling numerous local language publications that came up after Iwe Irohin. Despite the toughness of survival for indigenous language newspapers, a number of them played crucial roles in making the print media industry in Nigeria colourful and vibrant.

While Yoruba and Hausa language newspapers existence in large numbers in Nigeria’s media landscape, only a few Igbo language newspapers showed up in the news stands. Most of them could be described as pretenders because either they were short-lived or they existed as pullout inserts in English language newspapers. The lack of interest in publishing Igbo language newspapers could be attributed to the following factors: lack of interest by Igbo speaking Nigerians in reading Igbo language literature; difficulty in reading and writing Igbo language by many Igbo speaking Nigerians; difficulty in finding journalists who can report in Igbo language; and other general factors that affect newspapers such as lack of adverts, publication cost, among others. However, a few Igbo language newspapers flashed past the history of the Nigerian press. Among thm is Ikoro Igbo, published and funded by Imo State government.

Ikoro Igbo was launched in 2016 by Imo state government under the administration of Rochas Okorocha. The publication was funded and sponsored by the Imo State Government, and was targeted at covering the five South-East states and other Igbo-speaking parts of the country. However, the newspaper was more of a political tool to score points than a serious local language publication aimed at standing the test of time. The paper disappeared almost immediately after it was launched. The state government launched the newspaper as part of its efforts to ensure that Igbo language will go extinct. The newspaper was more of a ceremonial package than a serious publication.