The Guardian Post celebrates 22 years of resilience.

The grandiose ceremony, placed under the distinguished patronage of the Minister of Communication, H.E Rene Emmanuel Sadi, held at the four-star Djeuga Palace Hotel, in the nation’s capital city, Yaounde. 

Expected to join The Guardian Post Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Ngah Christian, and his young and dynamic crack team to celebrate the milestone are; several members of government, other high profile state personalities, members of the diplomatic corps accredited to Yaounde, traditional, religious and civil society leaders in the country. 

At least five of Cameroon’s finest artists and comedians, have also been lined up to thrill guests at the event aimed at celebrating the media organ at the service of mankind, voiceless Cameroonians, hard work, sacrifice, pains and commitment to the truth and justice. 

The event will also be attended by a cream of personalities of timber and caliber and the who-is-who of the country; drawn from all walks of life, who will jet in from different parts of the national territory and the globe.  

The Guardian Post, which is cherished by many, haunted by some, but read by them all, first hit the newsstands on August 30, 2001. 

The media organ, has for 22 years of its existence, contributed enormously in transforming the print media landscape in Cameroon, ushering in a new paradigm to the sector.

“At 22, The Guardian Post has not only come of age, but is blazing the trail as far as quality print journalism is concerned. It is therefore prudent that such a milestone is celebrated in style,” said Ngah, The Guardian Post Publisher.

The celebrated mediapreneur added that: “At 22, we are ready to continue giving our teeming readers, committed advertisers and other well-wishers the best quality in print journalism”. 

Ngah said The Guardian Post, has in the past 22 years of existence, through its middle-of-the-road editorial policy, trudged valiantly on the path to journalism excellence with unbending reputation, earned through its credible and objective reporting; despite teething challenges. 

Revisiting tough beginning, huge achievements 

The Guardian Post was created in 2001 under dire and cataclysmic circumstances, as a weekly newspaper. 

Buoyed by its outstanding style, design, middle-of-the-road editorial policy and objective approach to issues, the media organ took the print media landscape in country by storm. 

It has over the years trudged rough and tumultuous roads. Propelled by the Publisher’s determination, The Guardian Post has surmounted countless challenges and continued to march on. 

Twenty-two years down the lane, The Guardian Post is at the pinnacle of print media in Cameroon, with several records and towering achievements to its credit. 

The Guardian Post quickly moved from a weekly publication to a bi-weekly and later began publishing three times a week.     

In January 2016, having acquired its own printing press, The Guardian Post began publishing five times a week, becoming the first English language newspaper in the annals of print media landscape in the country to do so. 

In November 2019, The Guardian Post Magazine was launched, published as a quarterly glossy magazine. 

In early 2020, another printing press was bought to add to what it already had in order to upgrade quality.       

On Sunday February 7, 2021, the Sunday edition of The Guardian Post hit the newsstands. This was a major milestone in the print media in Cameroon. This edition has been receiving applause from across the board.

In January 2022, the Saturday edition of The Guardian Post, dedicated purely to sports, was launched. 

This thus made The Guardian Post the only newspaper in Cameroon and in the entire CEMAC Sub region, that publishes all seven days of the week – Monday to Sunday.

Meanwhile, in March 2022, The Guardian Post, with its unflinching zeal to better serve its readers and advertisers, began printing in colour. 

Today, the newspaper, which was created in 2001, with a meagre capital of 150,000 FCFA and with a one-man staff, has a personnel strength of 52, who are regularly paid. 

For its twenty two years of existence, workers of The Guardian Post have never gone beyond the 25^th of every month without having their salary!

Partial view of The Guardian Post head office in Yaounde 

Records in print media landscape

Apart from the aforementioned records, The Guardian Post is housed in its own building. Construction of the imposing structure at the Efoulan-Lac neighbourhood in Yaounde, began in February 2019 and by October the same year, the two-storey building; comprising a ground floor for the printing press and offices on the other floors, had been completed.

Other records include, among others: first English language newspaper in Cameroon to publish daily and first newspaper in Cameroon to publish seven times a week- Monday to Sunday. 

The Guardian Post is among the few print media houses in Cameroon that own and manage their own printing press. 

It is among the few newspapers in Cameroon that publish a regular quarterly magazine-three or four times a year. 

The Guardian Post is equally the only newspaper in Cameroon that runs five editorials every week. 

A few years back, The Guardian Post created another record by opening a bureau in Washington DC, to cover the United States of America and other North and South American countries. 

It’s among or the only newspaper that survives on sales and boasts of a record over 12,000 direct subscribers of its electronic version.

With a slippery media landscape where libel is criminal, The Guardian Post, in its 22 years of existence, due to its professional and responsible journalism, meticulous, objective and balanced reporting, has never been dragged to court for libel or defamation. 

The newspaper is endowed with a cream of seasoned reporters and editors, who ensure that the news published is verifiable. 

Thorny road to success 

Nonetheless, the road covered by The Guardian Post in its 22 years of existence has been a thorny and rough one. Years back, it suffered unjustified suspensions by the National Communication Council, NCC. 

However, the suspensions by NCC only went a long way to embolden The Guardian Post to move on. It should be noted that after each suspension, the newspaper came back stronger, increasing its periodicity. 

Like every other newspaper, The Guardian Post has felt the pinch of the advent of social media and citizen journalism. 

Nonetheless, it is innovating to surmount this hurdle by opting to be more creative, going in for incisive and in-depth reporting, which readers can’t get from the social media.

To also boost income, The Guardian Post now has a very functional website-www.theguardianpostcameroon.com; from which readers worldwide can buy the electronic version of the newspaper. 

Another major challenge that The Guardian Post has been facing is the dwindling advertisement within the media sector. Even when adverts come, it takes months, even years, for the bills to be paid. This is if they will even be paid. 

Since the war in Ukraine, the prices of printing materials like papers, plates, ink and other accessories have been skyrocketing, putting the newspaper in dire financial straits. 

But The Guardian Post continues to trudge on, determined to serve its teeming readers and committed advertisers with unfettered journalism. 

According to the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Ngah Christian, the media organ also has plans to move the number of pages from 12 to 16 in a not-too-distant future. 

With offices in Bamenda, Douala and reporters in Limbe, Buea, Kumba, Ngah says The Guardian Post also envisages opening two more offices; one in Garoua for the North and Far North Regions, another in Bertoua to cover the East and South Regions and Bafoussam to cover the West Region. 

He has also disclosed that other international bureaus will be opened in Europe (Istanbul, Turkey), Asia (Hong Kong), United Kingdom (London) and Middle East (Dubai, United Arab Emirates).