The misfortune that has befallen The Nigerian Herald newspaper cannot be unconnected with the popular media maxim of "He, who pays the piper, dictates the tune".

However, the current situation of the newspaper is a concern to many Nigerians especially journalism gurus who had built and honed their skills with the paper and would want to see it flourishing.

The Kwara State government, owner of the newspaper, in its 2013 budget, hinted of plans to reposition it, saying in the speech that, "a sum of forty-nine million naira (N49,000,000.00) has been earmarked to the Kwara Printing and Publishing Corporation [The publishers of The Nigerian Herald] to strengthen and reposition it for effective performance".

However, since the budget was presented in December, last year, nothing has virtually changed as the organisation still operates in an environment described as far from being conducive for a serious journalism practice and a newspaper like The Nigerian Herald.

The fortune of the newspaper, which used to be a daily publication, has nosedived significantly owing to what stakeholders call bureaucracy and inadequate funding by successive governments which had drastically ebbed the paper's visibility in the newsstands as a result of its present scope.

Speaking with Sunday Trust, the state NUJ Chairman, Comrade Biodun Abdulkareem appealed to the state government to support the paper with adequate funding that would enable it to regain its lost glory. He noted that the organisation lacked enough office accommodation; the situation which he said was not conducive for the practice of serious journalism.

He said "The government should assist the newspaper to go daily and this will also assist the society to get more information", adding that the workers should also be well remunerated in order to boost their morale and increase their productivity.

The Herald stopped daily publication as far back as 1995. It currently produces four times in a week namely: Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Even at that, investigations by our correspondent show that it barely covers the state with little or no visibility in neighbouring states.

Its poor circulation has therefore erased its consciousness in the minds of many newspaper readers who do not know whether or not the newspaper which used to compete with its contemporaries like The Punch, Guardian, Vanguard, among others, still exists or it has become extinct.