Spear Magazine in 1963 entered the Nigerian publishing market during a period of rapid political, cultural and professional change. Published in Lagos by the Daily Times of Nigeria, the magazine was launched in January 1963 to compete with Drum, whose illustrated journalism had already attracted a substantial readership in Nigeria and other parts of Africa.
The arrival of Spear was not simply the introduction of another entertainment magazine. It reflected a wider contest over who would shape Nigerian popular culture, how ordinary people would be represented and which publishing institutions would command the expanding market for illustrated journalism.
WorldCat catalogues Spear: Nigeria’s National Magazine as an English-language periodical published in Lagos by the Daily Times of Nigeria in 1963. Daily Times’ account of its publishing history identifies January 1963 as the month of the magazine’s launch and states that it was established to challenge Drum in the popular press market.
Daily Times was responding to a magazine that had already demonstrated the appeal of photography, accessible writing, public affairs, sport, celebrity stories and human-interest reporting among African readers.
Drum and the Growth of African Magazine Journalism
Drum was founded in South Africa in 1951. During the 1950s, it became closely associated with black urban life, photography, literature, music, politics and opposition to racial oppression.
The magazine expanded beyond South Africa and developed editions for other African markets. Its Nigerian edition became an important part of that expansion, drawing on Nigerian writers, photographers, personalities and social concerns.
EXPLORE NOW: Democratic Nigeria
Its appeal came partly from its ability to place serious reporting alongside dramatic stories about crime, romance, entertainment, sport and everyday life. It treated popular culture as part of the wider political and social experience of Africans living through colonialism, nationalism and urban change.
For Nigerian publishers, Drum represented both a commercial rival and a model of modern African mass-market journalism. It showed that readers wanted publications that combined national questions with the realities of work, leisure, family life and the city.
Daily Times did not invent this format when it created Spear. Instead, it adapted illustrated general-interest journalism to its own publishing structure and to the interests of Nigerian readers.
The contest between the two magazines was therefore about more than sales. It concerned editorial style, cultural influence and the growing authority of Nigerian journalists within the country’s media institutions.
Sam Amuka-Pemu and the Launch of Spear
Prince Sam Amuka-Pemu became one of the defining figures in the history of Spear. Daily Times later identified him as the magazine’s first editor, while Babatunde Jose’s account of the launch provides additional detail.
Jose recalled that an editor was brought from London to assist with the establishment of the magazine. The publication was launched through the work of that editor and Sam Amuka, after which Amuka became the substantive editor.
Amuka-Pemu consequently emerged as Spear’s pioneering indigenous editor and the Nigerian journalist who assumed substantive editorial control after its launch.
His appointment formed part of the wider Africanisation of Nigerian journalism. During the colonial period, many senior managerial and editorial positions in major publishing companies had been occupied by expatriates. By the early 1960s, Nigerian journalists were taking greater responsibility for the direction of national newspapers and magazines.
Amuka-Pemu later became one of Nigeria’s most prominent newspaper publishers. He worked with Olu Aboderin in the establishment of Punch and subsequently founded Vanguard. His experience at Spear formed an important part of the professional journey that preceded those later achievements.
Babatunde Jose and the Daily Times Publishing Organisation
The expansion of Daily Times during this period was closely connected to Alhaji Ismail Babatunde Jose.
Jose joined the company in 1941 and advanced through its technical, reporting and editorial departments. He became editor of the Daily Times in 1957 and was appointed the company’s first African managing director in 1962. He later became chairman in 1968.
Under his leadership, Daily Times developed into a large publishing organisation with newspapers and magazines intended for different sections of the reading public.
Spear was one of the titles through which the company expanded beyond conventional daily newspaper reporting. It allowed Daily Times to compete in the illustrated magazine market and reach readers interested in a combination of information, entertainment and social commentary.
Jose also supported professional training within the organisation. His emphasis on recruiting and developing Nigerian journalists contributed to the emergence of several editors, reporters and publishers who later became important figures in the country’s media.
The establishment of Spear was therefore part of Daily Times’ wider expansion under Nigerian managerial leadership.
EXPLORE NOW: Biographies & Cultural Icons of Nigeria
Spear Was More Than a Lifestyle Magazine
Although Spear featured relationships, entertainment and family interests, it was broader than a conventional lifestyle magazine.
Contemporary recollections describe it as a family magazine, while its title, Spear: Nigeria’s National Magazine, suggested an ambition to address a wide reading public.
A general-interest magazine could move between national affairs and personal concerns without treating them as separate worlds. Stories about work, wages, sport, literature, relationships, entertainment and social change could appear within the same issue.
This editorial mixture reflected the character of African popular journalism during the period. Readers did not experience national history only through parliamentary debates, government speeches or formal political reporting. They also encountered social change through employment, education, fashion, family life, music, football and the expanding culture of Nigerian cities.
Spear brought these subjects together in an illustrated publication produced in Lagos for a predominantly Nigerian audience.
Its importance came from its ability to translate social and national questions into readable, visually engaging journalism. It belonged to a generation of publications that helped make magazines an influential part of everyday urban life.
Workers’ Pay and the Politics of 1963
The November 1963 cover of Spear advertised a report concerning workers’ pay alongside material about football, relationships and popular entertainment.
The labour subject was particularly relevant. In 1963, the Federal Government established the Commission on the Review of Wages, Salary and Conditions of Service of junior government employees and workers in private establishments.
The commission, chaired by Adeyinka Morgan, examined wages, salary structures and employment conditions in the public and private sectors. Its work also addressed collective bargaining and proposals concerning minimum wages.
A magazine report on workers’ pay therefore connected Spear with an important national debate. Wages were not merely an administrative concern. They affected the cost of living, industrial relations and the expectations of workers in a country that had achieved independence only three years earlier.
By placing labour concerns beside sport, relationships and entertainment, Spear demonstrated the broad character of popular journalism. Serious public issues could share the same cover with subjects drawn from leisure and family life.
This approach helped magazines reach readers who might not purchase a publication devoted entirely to politics or economics.
Spear Magazine in 1963 and Nigeria’s Republican Moment
The November 1963 issue appeared shortly after Nigeria became a republic.
Nigeria gained independence from Britain on 1 October 1960. For the following three years, the country remained a constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth, with Queen Elizabeth II as the formal head of state and Nnamdi Azikiwe serving as governor-general.
On 1 October 1963, Nigeria became the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Azikiwe, who had served as governor-general from 1960, became the country’s first president. Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa remained prime minister and head of government under the parliamentary system.
The launch year of Spear therefore coincided with an important constitutional transition. Nigeria was strengthening its national institutions while defining the political and cultural meaning of independence.
Magazines and newspapers participated in this process by deciding which people, experiences and concerns deserved public attention. Through editorial choices, photographs, headlines and features, publications helped shape how Nigerians saw themselves and their society.
Spear was not a government publication, but its emergence in 1963 placed it within the broader development of Nigerian-controlled cultural and professional institutions.
Nigerian Production and Changing Ownership
Spear was produced in Lagos and directed towards Nigerian readers, although the ownership structure of its parent company was still changing when the magazine began.
The London-based Daily Mirror Group acquired a controlling interest in Daily Times in 1947. The company introduced new printing technology, a greater use of photography and other practices associated with British newspaper production.
At the same time, Daily Times gradually promoted African journalists and managers. This process created opportunities for figures such as Babatunde Jose to assume senior positions.
The transfer of Daily Times ownership to Nigerian shareholders began in 1963 and was completed on 31 March 1974. Spear therefore appeared at the beginning of a major period of Nigerianisation within the company.
The magazine was produced locally and increasingly shaped by Nigerian editorial leadership, even while Daily Times was moving away from foreign corporate control.
This transitional background adds an important dimension to the history of Spear. Its development reflected both the inheritance of colonial-era publishing structures and the growing authority of Nigerians within the press.
The Later Legacy of Spear
Spear remained part of the Daily Times publishing stable for many years. Its continued presence demonstrated that the magazine had secured a place within Nigerian popular reading culture.
In May 1990, Daily Times introduced Poise, a soft-sell magazine intended to replace Spear and Woman’s World. Poise continued several subjects associated with the earlier publications, particularly family interests and popular entertainment.
The change marked the end of an important period in Daily Times magazine publishing. By 1990, Nigeria’s media environment had changed considerably. New newspapers and magazines had emerged, while political instability, economic pressure and government intervention had affected established publishing organisations.
The legacy of Spear nevertheless survived through the journalists it trained, the readers it reached and the general-interest style it helped strengthen within Nigerian magazine culture.
Its history also represents an early chapter in the career of Sam Amuka-Pemu and an important part of Babatunde Jose’s transformation of Daily Times into a major Nigerian publishing institution.
READ MORE: Ancient & Pre-Colonial Nigeria
Conclusion
Spear Magazine in 1963 represented Daily Times’ determined response to the success of Drum in Nigeria. Launched in Lagos in January 1963, it entered a competitive market for illustrated journalism and offered readers a combination of national affairs, social reporting, family interests, sport and entertainment.
Its development was closely connected to the rise of Nigerian editorial leadership within Daily Times. Babatunde Jose became the company’s first African managing director in 1962, while Sam Amuka-Pemu emerged as the substantive Nigerian editor responsible for shaping Spear after its launch.
The magazine also appeared during a defining year in Nigerian history. The country became a republic in October 1963, workers’ wages were under formal review and the transfer of Daily Times ownership to Nigerian shareholders had begun.
Spear did not create the African illustrated magazine tradition, but it adapted that tradition to Nigeria’s changing post-independence society. In doing so, it became an important part of the competition for readers, cultural influence and professional authority within the Nigerian press.
Author’s Note
The history of Spear demonstrates that national independence was expressed not only through constitutions and political offices, but also through newspapers, magazines and the increasing authority of Nigerian journalists. By competing with Drum and placing public affairs beside the experiences of everyday life, Spear helped develop a form of popular journalism that spoke directly to Nigerian readers during a decisive period of cultural and institutional change.
References
OCLC WorldCat. Spear: Nigeria’s National Magazine. Daily Times of Nigeria, Lagos, 1963.
Dele Omojuyigbe. “Daily Times @100: Throwback to Early Times Titles and Their Origin Story”. Daily Times Nigeria, 2 June 2026.
Tyler Fleming and Toyin Falola. “Africa’s Media Empire: Drum’s Expansion to Nigeria”. History in Africa, Volume 32, 2005.
Lawal Ogienagbon. “Toast to Uncle Sam at 90”. The Nation, 12 June 2025.
Babatunde Jose. Walking a Tight Rope: Power Play in Daily Times. Heinemann Educational Books, 1987.
Kaye Whiteman. “Babatunde Jose: Legendary Doyen of Nigerian Journalism”. The Guardian, 25 August 2008.
Central Bank of Nigeria. “Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe”, biographical record.
Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation. “1st October in Nigeria’s History”.
Federal Government of Nigeria. Report of the Commission on the Review of Wages, Salary and Conditions of Service of Junior Employees and Workers in Private Establishments, 1963 to 1964.
Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism. “Alhaji Babatunde Jose”, 2007.
