In his remarks at the 2nd Guild of Corporate Online Publishers’ (GOCOP) annual conference in Lagos on Friday, the accomplished journalist and great columnist said GOCOP has come of age and it should do more because Nigeria has lost its voice.

He acknowledged that the online publishers were enjoying a rise in importance and relevance, and they are now in the right position to help educate the people on the way forward.

According to him, the online publishers now have more reach than all the 114 newspapers in Nigeria put together, and they should naturally take up the role of the teachers.

Unlike the good old days of the traditional media when Sunday Times was selling 1.1 million copies a day, he said no newspaper sells 40,000 copies now in the country, while the online media are read all over the world.

He said it is a good thing that GOCOP is coming during the time of the social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram among others, and therefore challenged members to train themselves and even engage in regular editorial writing.

He made reference to a lecture ‘Politics of Language’ which he gave in Canada in 2011 as it exposed the ignorance and danger of lack of knowledge even in societies that were expected to be enlightened.

For instance he said nations with population of over 50 million people in Nigeria are erroneously called tribes like the Yoruba and Ibo.

In fact, he said there is no tribe in Nigeria. “It’s important to have education. We can’t free ourselves if we don’t have knowledge.”

Specifically, he said journalists must acquire more knowledge than the people they write for.

The post Help Nigerians rediscover their voices, Tola Adeniyi challenges GOCOP appeared first on New Mail Nigeria.

The former governor of Lagos State said this at the 91st anniversary of Daily Times newspaper and the Times Heroes awards in Abuja on Tuesday,

Tinubu, who was represented by Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State, said Nigeria was only a federation in name but was a unitary state in practice.

He said, “Let us streamline governance; federalism in word and deed. Our constitution declares Nigeria a federation of 36 states however we still grapple with the vestiges of our past under the military rule. In any case, we still function like a unitary state despite the constitution. More power and resources need to devolve to the states.

“The Federal Government is taking on too much. We cannot flourish with over-concentration of powers at the centre. Some of the 68 items on the exclusive federal list should be transferred to the residual list as it was in most federal constitutions.

“In the 1963 Constitution, there were extensive powers granted to regions which allowed them to carry out their immense responsibility as they then saw fit.”

Tinubu said Nigeria’s unitary political system only offered a deceptive and fake economic prosperity which was exposed when the oil price slumped.

He said even if the current recession end, the prosperity that would follow would be short-lived except structural changes were made.

He added, “The fall in oil prices exposed this economic model for the life that it was. Now, we must fashion a new political economy. In due course, the current recession will end. This should come as a relief. In itself however, it is not a cause for celebration, far from it. The end of recession does not mean the beginning of prosperity.”

The APC chieftain said some items which ordinarily should be state matters like police, prisons, stamp duty, taxation of incomes, profits and capital gains, registration of businesses, incorporation of companies, traffic on Federal Government roads passing through states, trade, commerce among others were transferred from the concurrent to the exclusive list.

He said this was at variance with the true spirit of federalism, describing the current unitary system as a ‘monster.’

“Regarding electrical power we must move beyond limiting states to generate, transmit and distribute electricity to areas not covered by the national grid. Our problem is lack of power yet we preclude states from helping to resolve the chronic problem that stands at the very heart of economic development.

“It is not right to say states can generate power but cannot sell it where they want. Without yielding any contravening benefits, these policies suppresses the generation of needed power.”

Also speaking at the event, the Chairman of the Daily Times, Fidelis Anosike, said the ceremony was put together to reward and encourage excellence in Nigeria.

He said the newspaper would re-establish itself as a profitable media conglomerate with the potential of contributing to Nigeria’s GDP.

The post Nigeria can’t progress under current political system – Tinubu appeared first on New Mail Nigeria.

In a special tribute to the late Onukaba, the All Progressives Congress, APC National Leader said the late foremost journalist was full of life and “ever bristling with ideas”.

The tribute entitled “Onukaba: Never in the Past Tense”was personally signed by Tinubu.

Tunis said that “Since I was apprised of the heart-rending news of the sudden and unexpected demise of my very good friend and associate, Dr Adinoyi Ojo Onukaba, I have been unable to bring myself to conceive of him in the past tense. Onukaba was so full of life, ever bristling with ideas.

“Following the recent Day of Tributes and Eighth Day Fidau Prayers held in his honour by his professional colleagues and friends in Lagos and Abuja respectively, I find myself unable to live in continued self-denial.

“Indeed, Onukaba died, in very painfully sad circumstances, on Sunday March 5, 2017, four days before his 57th birthday.

“I had known Onukaba over the years, since the early days of his most illustrious journalistic career. Our relationship, however, grew stronger with the advent of democratic rule in 1999.

“As Governor of Lagos State, operating from the Government House in Alausa, Onukaba who served as Managing Director of the Daily Times of Nigeria Plc, was a shouting distance down the road in his Agidingbi office. Our paths crossed regularly as he sought to breathe a new lease of life into the nation’s foremost newspaper conglomerate.

“He kept in touch even after our exits from government and we usually shared views on his political project in his bid to lead Kogi State.

“The tragic demise of Adinoyi Ojo Onukaba, leaves a humongous lacuna not only in his biological family, but in the minds and psyche of all of us who knew him and interacted with him in his brief but eventful life.

“The media has lost one of its best and brightest; the community of creative writers, where he was a luminous figure, has been robbed of one of its frontline dramatists; the rank of progressives has been depleted by the exit of this unyielding optimist.

“With the outpouring of grief and pledges of support for his young family and legacy, I am reassured that Onukaba, will not die in our minds and in our thoughts.

“May God forgive him his sins and grant his soul peaceful repose, Amen,” Tinubu said in the tribute.

Follow Us

“

The post Onukaba: Media lost one of its best, brightest, say Tinubu appeared first on New Mail Nigeria.