We ’ll still invest more in media – Jimoh Ibrahim

The Publisher of Newswatch Newspapers and Group Managing Director (GMD) of Energy Group, Dr. Jimoh Ibrahim, OFR, has said that his delving into the media industry was long decided when he founded his group of companies over 10 years ago.
In an explosive interview to mark the one year anniversary of Newswatch Newspapers with the board of editors in Lagos led by the Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Moses Jolayemi, the Publisher said, “We decided from the foundation, but waited until we got to a certain level where we needed the media support.
“We believed that we needed the media support five years into our business, and at the end of the seventh year, we started having the newspapers.
“We have said 25 per cent of our balance sheet must be invested in the media from the tenth year of our existence. We are now in the eleventh year, so from next year, I must be thinking of 75 per cent of the Group’s assets in the media.”
Consequently, the quintessential entrepreneur and turnaround expert explained that it “means we are still going to do many things in the media beyond the newspapers we have.”
He added that beyond the two media houses in the Group, which are respectively in the upscale and general interest markets, he will fan into the tabloid and other areas in the industry, which he insisted is viable and profitable.
According to him, “that is the projection. And we have a period within which we make the newspaper something that is common to everybody in Nigeria, and that is exactly what we are doing.”
The Publisher, who also owns Mirror Newspapers, revealed that before acquiring any company, he does a diagnostic review and prescribes “a corporate medication” for a turnaround of a comatose company.