Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, is set to make history as he hosts the first Annual National Summit of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
Billed for August 16 to 18, 2016, the summit to be hosted in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, is the first of its kind and is focused on engaging all stakeholders of the Nigerian media space to discuss the past, the present challenges and the future of the Nigerian media industry.
Speaking on why he has graciously agreed to host the historic event, Amosun said: “It couldn’t have been otherwise since the history of the Nigerian media industry actually started here in Abeokuta.”
The governor added: “We in Ogun State are known for always setting the pace. Don’t forget that the first newspaper in Nigeria, Iwe Iroyin Fun Awon Ara Egba, was published in Abeokuta in the year 1859 by the renowned missionary, Henry Townsend.”
He added: “Even the idea of the first television station in Africa was the brainchild of yet another great son of this Ogun State, our own revered Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the late sage who was then the Premier of the Western Region and has gone ahead to also publish the oldest surviving private newspaper in Nigeria, The Tribune Newspaper.
“So from whichever angle you may want to view it, Ogun State takes the lead in the history of the Nigerian media profession just as it does in so many other areas of human endeavor. It is therefore befitting that we naturally should be the host of the historic first edition of an annual National Media Summit.”
Organised by the national leadership of the NUJ in partnership with the Ogun State government, the three-day summit will have former President Olusegun Obasanjo, delivering a keynote address on media and national unity at the opening ceremony tomorrow. The event will also witness remarks from the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode; Gombe State Governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo; Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje; Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson; Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, and Abdulfatah Ahmed, Kwara State Governor.
There will also be remarks from the Minister of Interior, General Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd) and Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who is also the industry host, among several others.
