Saddiq Mustapha and Mustapha Saddiq, typically mistaken for a similar particular person due to their related names, are, actually, two bosom associates. Each have been classmates in secondary college however later pursued totally different tertiary-level applications, Mustapha Saddiq in well being sciences and Saddiq Mustapha in agricultural sciences.
Twelve years in the past, they reunited, pushed by shared ardour, to determine “Katsina Submit”—an indefatigable e-newspaper targeted on Katsina state particularly and Nigeria usually. Their initiative is impressed by legendary media figures from Katsina, together with the late Alhaji Abidina Coomassie (At this time Newspaper), the late Alhaji Ismaila Isa Funtua (Democrat Newspaper), the late Main Normal Shehu Musa Yar’Adua (Reporter Newspaper and Sentinel Journal), the late Wada Maida, and Alhaji Garba Dangida. Alhaji Kabiru Yusuf, Chairman of Media Belief Group and writer of Every day Belief Newspaper, can also be a notable Bakatsine.
On Nigeria’s political chessboard, Katsina State is a crucial middle of political management. It has produced two presidents from distinct political events throughout this democratic period. On the peak of the Kaduna Mafia, influential civilian and navy leaders have been both natives of Katsina or carefully related to the state. Consequently, newsworthy occasions have unfolded in Katsina from colonial occasions to at the moment.
The founding of “Katsina Submit” as a web-based information outlet was apt. Due to Saddiq Mustapha and Mustapha Saddiq. That is why I carved out time from my busy days for this tribute.
It offers me pleasure to pay tribute to Katsina Submit on its tenth anniversary, a milestone marking not simply longevity but additionally resilience, readability, editorial braveness, and neutral reportage in Nigeria’s media. My connection to Katsina Submit started in its early days, when many media concepts emerged however few grew to become enduring establishments. At that key second, I supported the imaginative and prescient—a deliberate act of confidence based mostly on three stable causes.
First was my belief within the management behind the initiative.
The drivers of the imaginative and prescient demonstrated not solely skilled competence, but additionally the moral grounding and developmental orientation required to construct a reputable info platform. Media establishments, very similar to universities, in the end replicate the character of those that lead them. My religion, subsequently, was anchored of their integrity, self-discipline, and dedication to public enlightenment. Sadidq Mustapha is my nephew and was below my tutelage throughout his undergraduate program.
He secured admission to Ahmadu Bello College, Zaria, to learn for a Bachelor of Agriculture, and he stayed at my home for a part of his program. Amid my kids, Saddiq, a shy lad, was famously inquisitive, reliable, and hardworking, with an eye fixed on ICT and social media.
When he accomplished his youth service yr, he refused to hold his certificates round chasing white coloration jobs. Once I confronted him in Katsina about what he was doing after the service yr, he confessed he was into media. I realized about his relationship with Mustapha Saddiq and their child, Katsina Submit. From then to this point, from my “Breakthrough with Prof MK Othman” column to my present “Deep Thought” column, I’ve printed greater than 300 articles on numerous topics in Katsina Submit.
The second cause was my conviction concerning the basis of Katsina Submit. It was envisioned not simply as a information outlet however as a developmental communication platform. This platform aimed to amplify subnational narratives, promote civic engagement, and seize the socio-economic modifications of Katsina State and Northern Nigeria. It embodied neighborhood visibility, informational inclusion, and constructive journalism. A decade later, historical past has validated this early confidence.
The third cause is my fascination with those that enter a occupation with out formal coaching, fueled just by ardour. Educated well being and agricultural scientists who make a dwelling as journalists are fairly uncommon. I can think about the disdain amongst skilled journalists, who typically don’t welcome outsiders. But I, too, belong to their class as somebody untrained in journalism, but who has been publishing my column weekly in newspapers for a decade, with solely brief breaks. I have to help the founders of Katsina Submit. Sturdy ardour can squeeze water from a rock.
Why do the founders of Katsina Submit – Saddiq and Mustapha – deserve particular accolades? Sustainability is the hardest problem for digital media platforms. This area faces fixed {financial} pressures, technological disruptions, political sensitivities, and the burden of credibility administration. Unreliable vitality and infrastructure additionally problem digital media practitioners. Many promising platforms rise with momentum however disappear within the face of those realities. Katsina Submit has executed the other.
By adapting editorially, responding to know-how, constructing viewers belief, and training operational self-discipline, it survived. It has remained related, seen, and has preserved content material high quality, public belief, and developmental focus. This stability shouldn’t be unintentional, however stems from sturdy administration. It’s gratifying to see that early help was given to worthy fingers. The platform’s endurance over these ten years proves that the funding of belief and goodwill was clever.
As Katsina Submit enters its second decade, expectations will develop. The longer term would require deeper investigative reporting, stronger fact-checking, and technology-driven storytelling. It is going to additionally want youth media mentorship and strict moral requirements in an period threatened by misinformation and digital manipulation. The platform’s alternative is historic: to maneuver from a profitable on-line newspaper to a regional reference level for credible journalism and growth communication.
Katsina Submit’s decade of management and studying evokes my confidence in its readiness to transition. I reaffirm my goodwill and ethical help for its imaginative and prescient. Establishments selling fact, social cohesion, and knowledgeable citizenship deserve collective encouragement. Could Katsina Submit’s subsequent decade carry larger attain, stronger credibility, deeper developmental influence, and enduring public belief.
Congratulations on ten unimaginable years—and on the promise of a good brighter future. My nephew, Saddiq, and his co-founder deserve recognition for making me proud, standing tall with my head held excessive, and proving that passionate writers are unstoppable. Could our pen by no means run dry, amen.
Cease Press: As I used to be dropping my pen, I used to be hit by the unhappy information of a tragic incident involving an assassination try on Mustapha Saddiq, Co-Founder and CEO of Katsina Submit. He was cornered in his residence on the unholy hour of two:00 am, stabbed with a pointy knife, overwhelmed to a pulp, and left lined in blood till neighbors discovered him and rushed him to the hospital.
I used to be deeply traumatised and delayed submitting this tribute till I used to be advised he regained consciousness and was recovering shortly. Could God help him in full restoration and expose the culprits to face the total wrath of the regulation, amen. It was an irony of life, which ought to strengthen Katsina Submit for a extra herculean job forward.