Rush to Press Syndrome and Adamasingba Stadium Renovation
The recent renovation of Adamasingba Stadium, one of Oyo state’s monuments and its subsequent commissioning yesterday by His Excellency, Seyi Makinde, has attracted a lot of appraisals, criticisms and analysis from public analysts, opinion moulders, the Fourth Estate as well the common masses.
However, having pondered and reflected on the subject as well as its attendant issues, a syndrome which had been paralyzing the book publishing sector, especially the educational publishing kept ringing in my stream of conscience before I slept last night.
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“Rush to press! Rush to press!- a cankerworm that has eaten deep into the fabrics of our educational sector, a cankerworm which annually produces half-baked graduates and school drop-outs.
In the book publishing parlance, the word ‘press’, a concrete and proper noun connotes a haven where books are mass-printed. It is synonymous to a labour room where a foetus that has been nurtured through required diets, food supplement, antenatal care, is now ready to be delivered as a baby.
When a book is ready for press or it is at the CRC stage, you see an editor who boastly reports to his boss or management with a sense of pride and career arrogance that, “ the title is ready for press”.
In most cases, where you have an employer who values hard-work and commitment, such report often attracts accolades and commendation or reward.
Be that as it may, it is imperative to note that the book medium is a quite delicate compared to other media of communication as it requires a painstaking, calculative, strategic activities which must eliminate errors, misrepresentation of concepts, unsuitable language for the target readers and non-compliance to total quality to mention a few. In the print or broadcast medium, a roving journalist or reporter would jump at a newsworthy event so as to break the news before his peers.
Alas! It is not like that in book medium, rushing to press could cause an irreparable dent and loss for the publishing organization; one of the reasons why we don’t hear so much about book editors compared to their counterparts in other medium.
You read, you write, you re-write, you review, you proofread, you adjust and you keep recycling to produce a fantastic book.
I have keenly studied the PDP manifesto as campaigned by Governor Makinde, and indeed, if the agenda therein are dogmatically and faithfully executed, the taxpayers sweat would be rewarded, and Oyo state would undoubtedly regain its place of pride as the fore-runner in the South west, the pace-setting state from where the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo ruled and set an unprecedented standard which Nigeria leadership is unable match till date.
Unfortunately, the echoes, jamboree and over-hyping of the renovated Adamasingba stadium is nothing but an act of rushing to press. This is a self-glorification which is needless and avoidable; as it is a project under construction and not ripe for commissioning.
The picture earlier painted by Mr Makinde was that the wall of Jerusalem was in ruins and he was the Nehemiah who has come to rebuild it. While the giant stride of renovating the edifice is highly commendable, the untamed anxiety, eagerness and reckless impatience which was aimed at impressing the masses, was nothing but a show of shame.
Yesterday’s rain that fell defiantly was symbolic as it bluntly exposed the incomplete state of the project. This validates the Yoruba cosmology of celestial’s symbiotic link to the terrestrial-Olorun kii gbe seyin alabosi .
The rogues and street urchins who have their sense of belonging in this current administration were also at Adamasingba stadium to harass both national and international visitors. Of course the match was played on a flooded pitch and it validates the fact that the building was renovated but the pitch is still under construction.
In conclusion, I once head the publishing department of a particular publishing firm(name withheld) where the CEO’s ideology conspicuously promotes ‘rush to press syndrome”.
But in order to avert the likely consequences of the syndrome, I and my publishing team usually worked round the clock to save our career from being dented; however as humans we have our limitations.
Whenever the damage which the CEO caused with such ideology boomeranged, he would swiftly change his narratives to ‘I am not rushing you, take your time’ but he has never adjusted such ideology of rushing to press.
Governor Seyi Makinde is a good man based on people’s acceptance of his lofty ideas but governance does not run based on sentiment.
The act of governance requires experience, truth, fairness and wider consultation which are devoid of deceits and falsehood garnished with truth. Remember the fund with which the stadium is being renovated is from taxpayers’ sweat, including mine.
