Media Review

by Lanre Idowu The passage of Malam Ismaila Isa, one-time president of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria, chairman of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, and a visible and voluble presence in the corridors of power continues to elicit public interest following the renaming of the NIJ House in his honour. A statement issued July 22, barely 48 hours after Isa’s transition, by the Nigerian Press Organisation—an industry umbrella for the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria, Nigerian Guild of Editors, and Nigeria Union of Journalists—announced the decision to rename the NIJ House in Victoria Island as...

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Jonathan vs Buhari between Change and Continuity March/April 2015Two weeks before the Presidential elections, the media was reminded of its crucial role in mediating conflict by showing needed sensitivity to potentially divisive issues. At a conflict sensitive communication and reporting workshop held in Port Harcourt themed, Towards A More Secure Nigeria, held at Aldgate Congress Resort, five of the 19-point communiqué issued March 12 spoke to these concerns. The workshop, organized by Diamond Awards for Media Excellence (DAME) in partnership with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Programmer (NSRP), attracted 21 journalists...

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Top Ten Stories of 2013; Shape of 2014 News February 2014The passage of global icon and former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela on December 5, 2013, was the most important news story in the Nigerian media in 2013. That's the verdict of a select group of editors consulted by Media Review to pick the Top Ten News stories of 2013. It is a telling comment on the stature of the freedom fighter who later became president after spending 27 years in jail, that his death engaged media attention for weeks and drew world leaders to his funeral in South...

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The Politics of Chinua Achebe's Passage March/April 2013In his lifetime Chinua Achebe had the honour of being one of the f o u n d i n g f a t h e r s o f contemporary Nigerian literature; indeed the progenitor of the modern African novel. His first novel, Things fall apart, published in 1958, received warm applause as it signalled a new way of looking at Africa. Set in Eastern Nigeria it celebrated the clash of cultures of an African village community in transition under colonial rule and the tragic circumstances of the protagonist, Okonkwo, who faced...

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Medical Miracle and a New Life for Matthew November 2012At seven years old, one cannot say life has been kind to Matthew Ndik. He is a sickle cell carrier, but what made his case pathetic, is the fact that he was struck by a life-threatening stroke at that young age. His parents had given up hope believing he would not live long. Yet, a miracle came their way. Today, the young boy has been given a new life. Thanks to a group of medical personnel at UBTH. He no longer has sickle cell and he is on the way to...

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What a year! December 2010As the year 2010 draws to a close, it is a fitting time to reflect on what the year has meant for the media and the Nigerian society, using some developments in our politics, sports, and within the media itself as references. The year started on a note of uncertainty for the country's political direction. President Umar Yar'Adua's illness and its management was the most defining occurrence; it threatened the country's existence and almost rubbished our democratic experiment as insecurity fuelled by the greed of a tiny power clique and thinly disguised ethnic considerations conspired to...

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Another journalist killed October 2009The five visitors made an early morning call, on Sunday, September 20, at about 6.52am when decent people prepared for church. It was a festive day when Muslims were preparing for the eid prayers signifying the end of their Ramadan month-long fasting. They dressed in two-piece billowing robes as if they Muslim faithful but theirs was an unholy mission. The merchants of death drove their white Toyota Camry to No 9, Oyeniji Street, Egbeda, a suburb of Lagos. One man first entered the compound, ordering “the landlady, who was just opening her shop that morning, the...

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