Council Unveils DTN @100 Heroes Awards Nominees, offers ₦10m Prize for Outstanding Journalist

Bennett Oghifo

Times Heroes Award (THA) Council, has unveiled names of 90 individuals and entities nominated by Nigerians at home and the Diaspora for the Times Heroes Award which is being planned as part of centenary celebration of Nigeria’s foremost newspaper, The Daily Times, which started on June 1st 2026.

The nominees where unveiled Thursday during a press conference at the Muson Centre, Onikan Lagos and include categories like DTN @100 Man of the Century, Woman of the Century, Africa Rising Award, Global Icon, Climate Responsibility, Social Impact, Community Development, Bank of the Year, Manufacturing Company of the Year, Outstanding Governors and Ministers, among others.

Speaking at the event, Chairman of Times Heroes Awards Council, Mr. Bolaji Okusaga, said the awards were conceived to celebrate Nigerians and institutions whose contributions have shaped the nation’s history over the past century.
According to him, the awards reflect the newspaper’s enduring legacy of documenting Nigeria’s evolution since its establishment and its commitment to recognising excellence across governance, business, media, public service, gender advocacy and other sectors.

Okusaga said, “Daily Times has been in the business of not just news gathering, but also serving as the conscience of the nation”

He noted that the newspaper played a significant role in Nigeria’s journey from colonial rule to independence and has continued to chronicle the country’s development.

He explained that the awards would distinguish themselves through an independent selection process anchored on global best practices.

He said “We believe that the Times Heroes Awards will be worthy of its name. This is set to be different. It will ensure independence, conform with global best practices and recognise those who truly deserve the honour, not serve as a platform for monetisation.”

Okusaga also disclosed that the centenary celebrations would feature the unveiling of a commemorative publication The Nigerian Grand Book- which is a documentation of Nigeria’s history through the archives of Daily Times, while celebrating notable personalities whose contributions have positively projected the country.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Executive Secretary of the Council, Mr. Bonaventure Melah, said the awards ceremony, slated for September 3, was designed to honour outstanding individuals, institutions, companies and other entities that have impacted society positively through quality leadership and service to communities and Nigeria in general.

Melah said the awards is being planned and implemented in a most transparent manner to ensure it becomes the most credible award in the nation’s history, and therefore a model for others to emulate.

He revealed that one of the award categories is the DTN @100 Journalist of the Year which would attract N10m to the winner stating that a check of N10m would be handed over to the winner at the award venue and that the winner of that category would be decided by journalists themselves, urging them to key into the dedicated website and vote.
He described Daily Times centenary as a milestone that would reconnect Nigerians with their shared history, values and democratic ideals, saying it would bring back the Nigerian consciousness to the citizens and explained that the awards would feature 35 categories while veterans of Daily Times like Babatunde Jose, Segun Osoba, Onyema Ugochukwu and others would be honoured.

He said that with the unveling, the nomination process has closed while voting has commenced, to last for three weeks when final winners would be announced. He urged the public to go to www.timesheroesawards.com to vote for those they consider most qualified for the categories already nominated.

According to him, names like President John Mahama of Ghana, Zambian President, former Nigerian President, Dr. Goodluck Jonatthan, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Zenith Bank CEO, Senator Ali Mdume and others including some serving and former leaders, are among the over 86 names nominated in the 35 categories.

Speaking at a side event interview, Bonaventure Melah praised the management of Folio Africa, Publishers of Daily Times for the resilience that saw top the preservation of Daily Times and its legacies, saying without the intervention of Folio which bought the brand during the privatization exercise in 2006, the paper would have being dead and forgotten.
“Remember that Daily Times was completely dead and forgotten due to mismanagement by government appointees which made President Obasanjo to put it out for sale first in 2004. But nobody showed interest. In 2006, the government again advertised bidding for the newspaper, and after a very rigorous but competitive and transparent process, Folio Communications Limited won the bidding and was declared the preferred winner.

“However, Folio and its owner, Mr. Fidelis Anosike, have endured years of bitter legal battles orchestrated obviously by vested interests who became envious and wondered how such a young man (Anosike was 32 years then), would be allowed to take over Daily Times. Although Folio has spent over N2billion in legal battles alone, the company has successfully managed Daily Times, which makes the centenary celebration and awards a worthy project,” Bonaventure said.