The Vanguard Media Alumni Association has celebrated the life, legacy and contributions of Vanguard founder, Sam Amuka, popularly known as Uncle Sam, with the launch of a commemorative book, The Vanguard Chronology at 40… The Chairman of the association, Enyobong Ita, said the book was conceived as an opportunity to document the experiences of former Vanguard journalists and honour Amuka while he is still alive. “We are particularly doing this today to ensure we honour Uncle Sam while he’s still with us,” Ita said at the launch of the book. According to him, the project was also an attempt to preserve the history of Vanguard and celebrate four decades of resilience associated with the newspaper and its people. “We are here to celebrate 40 years of resilience,” he said. Ita recalled his experience at Vanguard, describing the newspaper as an organisation that provided opportunities for young journalists to develop their careers. “Vanguard is a place where dreams come true,” he said. He narrated how he was recruited by Vanguard at a time when newly employed journalists were eager to establish themselves by pursuing exclusive stories. Ita said the opportunity he received at Vanguard eventually opened doors for him abroad, adding that the knowledge and experience he gained at the newspaper remained useful during his career in the United States. “Vanguard gave me a chance and with that chance I went to the United States, and the knowledge I gained from Vanguard was useful in the US,” he said. He said the idea for the book emerged when former Vanguard staff members decided to document and bring together their experiences at the organisation. “At some point, we decided that we need to recollect all our experiences at Vanguard. We began to put together a book. It was not easy,” Ita said. The alumni chairman acknowledged the contributions of members of the planning committee, particularly Deba Uwadiae, Dr Jossy Nkwocha and Aisha Agberebi, among others, for their commitment to the project. He said their resilience and dedication helped make the publication and launch of the book possible. Ita also disclosed that the association was planning to establish a library in honour of Amuka as part of efforts to create a lasting legacy for the Vanguard co-founder. “Our next project is to have a Sam Amuka library. We want to do a project that will have legacy for Uncle Sam,” he said. The post “The Vanguard Chronology at 40…” book, a celebration of Uncle Sam’s legacy — Alumni Chair appeared first on Vanguard News.
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