The Nation Newspaper

Tag: media

  • Akeredolu names media aides

    Akeredolu names media aides

    The Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN has approved the appointment of  Mr. Oluwasegun Ajiboye as his Chief Press Secretary .
    An Assistant Editor with The Nation newspaper, Ajiboye studied Language and Linguistics from the University of Lagos.
    A native of Irun Akoko in Akoko North West Local Government of Ondo State,  Ajiboye started his journalism career as a reporter with The News magazine in 2000 and moved to The Sun newspaper in 2003.
    Between 2007 and 2009, he served as Press Secretary to the Governor of Ondo State. Ajiboye worked as the Group News Editor of the defunct National Life newspaper until 2012 when he joined The Nation as Assistant Editor of the Saturday title.
    Other appointments in the Press Unit include
    Mr. Dapo Aruwajoye  as Press Secretary (Electronic Media).  Aruwajoye, who hails from Owo, Ondo State, is a Reporter -Presenter with  Television Continental, TVC, Lagos.
    A graduate of English from Obafemi Awolowo University Ile Ife, Aruwajoye also holds a Master’s Degree in Media and Globalization from Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham. U.K.
    He started his career as a reporter with Channels Television, Lagos, before moving to TVC where he has carved a niche for himself as a highly resourceful journalist.
    Mr. Fisayo Falodi as Press Secretary (Print Media). A graduate of Philosophy from University of Ado Ekiti, Falodi served as the Sub Editor of The Nation newspaper between December 2006 and November 2010.
    He moved  to National Mirror as Senior Sub Editor where he held sway for four years before joining Saturday Punch in 2014 as a Senior Correspondent.
    He is a native of Ijare, in Ifedore Local Government Area of Ondo State.
  • Media aided APC’s 2015 victory, says Amaechi

    Media aided APC’s 2015 victory, says Amaechi

    •Transportation
    Ministry to
    partner The Nation

    Minister of Transportation Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi yesterday hailed the media for its role in the success of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2015 elections.
    The minister spoke when he received a team from The Nation at his office in Abuja.
    He said: “I thank The Nation for its contribution towards the change agenda that we have today. I am sure that if not for the positive input of the press, we probably would not have been here today.
    “While we thank God for the approval for us to come into government, we also thank human elements that God used to achieve that objective and prominent among the media team that helped in achieving the objective is The Nation”
    The minister reiterated that before the end of the first quarter, President Muhammadu Buhari will inaugurate the construction of the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge railway project.
    General Manager, Training and Development of Vintage Press Limited, publishers of The Nation, Mr. Soji Omotunde, who led the team, told the minister of the conference being organised by the newspaper on March 30 in Lagos, with the theme: ‘Making Nigerian Seaports World Class.’
    He said: “We are grateful to you for graciously directing that the ministry should collaborate with us in organising the National Conference on Fast-tracking Port Reforms to find competitive alternatives acceptable to all stakeholders.
    “We all know the challenges of the maritime sector and we are aware that they are giving you and the chief executives of the port agencies serious concern. Yet, it is cheering to appreciate that the Federal Ministry of Transportation and the port agencies are now perfecting their own plans to tackle these issues.
    “What Nigerians want is for the government to carry the plans from the drawing board to the playing field. They desire lasting solutions to be delivered to them: A 24-hour cargo clearance, reduction of the number of agencies at the ports, easier evacuation of cleared cargo, a quantum leap in revenue generation, and greater security within the ports and our territorial waters.
    “Nigeria wants a doer, a proven leader, who can muster the political will, who has a track record of tackling tough problems; who can reach out to all the stakeholders and partners; who can find the financial resources from within and outside the budget to fix our maritime ports. They are yearning for that person who has the courage to go against the roadblocks massed by entrenched interests and those benefiting from the present chaotic situation in our ports.
    “The challenges bedevilling our ports are tough and these need a tough person to champion. We believe that you are that person, that’s why we want to support you to succeed.”
    Omotunde added that ‘the purpose of the conference is to integrate and fuse the plans of government and its agents, get the buy-in of major stakeholders, agree on desired outcomes within a defined timeframe, and institute a peer-facilitated platform to hold the agencies and other stakeholders accountable to the goals jointly agreed.”
    He added that over 150 leaders from all port stakeholder groups; including the National Assembly, the port agencies, terminal operators and private-sector players, interest groups and civil society will gather in Lagos for the conference.

  • Army chief cautions media on Boko Haram reportage

    Army chief cautions media on Boko Haram reportage

    The  Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, has  appealed to the media to be cautious in reporting security matters  capable of jeopardizing ongoing military operations in the North East. 

     Buratai said media practitioners must see themselves as partners in the peace, progress and security of the country, adding that  the Nigerian Army in particular and the military in general have no monopoly of the total security in the defence of our country. 

     The Army chief spoke in Abuja on Thursday, after being conferred with the award of “Man of the Year Award”  by The Politico Magazine”, an  Abuja based monthly magazine. 

     Buratai appealed to the media to work closely with the military for achievement of the needed success in the fight against Boko Haram terrorists in the North East, the militancy in the Niger Delta and other security threats across the country, saying the task was not only for security outfits alone. 

     Although he admitted that there were challenges in the Army’s operations in the ongoing fight against Boko Haram, the Army chief however, said any action the military has taken so far was to the best interest of the country. 

    “We must work together to ensure a total security and defense of our country. I want to state here that the Nigerian Army is a great partner in progress just like the media. I want to also state here that the media is a partner in national security. We don’t have the monopoly of the total security in the defense of our country. We must work together to ensure a total security and defense of our country. 

     “Though there are challenges along the line but the ultimate objective of whatever action that is taken along the line is with the aim of safeguarding our sovereignty, our dignity as a nation and indeed the general wellbeing and safety of our country men and women, “he said. 

     Buratai assured that the Army would continue to ensure it keeps to its rules of engagement in its operations, saying where it is perceived to have gone outside its schedule, the action would have been to safeguard the country. 

     “We are interested in safeguarding human rights; we are also partners in this regard with the media. We will continue to safeguard human rights in the course of our duties.We have it written down in our code of conduct and indeed our rules of engagements. 

     “The first principle of the Nigerian Army’s Rules of Engagement is the protection and safeguarding of human lives. This has remained sacrosanct and we will continue to ensure that human rights are observed, the rules are observed, the international humanitarian laws are observed as well as ensuring that the application of the laws of armed conflicts in all our operations are strictly observed. 

     “So we we call on the media generally to look at the delicate and complex role of the Nigerian Army and indeed the Nigerian military in this context and that whatever we do, we do it for the sake of our country, we do it equally for the sake of humanity. 

     “I wish to also state here that we are partners in peace and development of our country. Peace is key, peace is fundamental and to development just as it is to security. And that is the objective of the military, it is also enshrined in our constitution as well as the directive of the political leadership of this country to see that we perform our duties in accordance with the laid-down constitutional provisions, “he added. 

     He thanked the Management of the Magazine, led by its publisher, Alhaji Mustapha Shehu, for finding him worthy for the award but asked that he alone should not be singled out for the Army’s achievement in the North East, as according to him, President Muhammadu Buhari, principal, and the entire military personnel contributed immensely for the defeat of the terrorists. 

     Buratai: “I dedicate this award to the leadership of the Nigerian Army. It is not only the Chief of Army Staff that is responsible to all these successes that have been achieved, it is the combination of hard work, dedication and selflessness on the part of all the principal officers, the directors in Army Headquarters, the staff officers and indeed all commanders in the field as well as in other military institutions. It’s a collective responsibility, it’s a collective efforts towards galvanizing and mobilizing all the troops to achieve the objectives of securing our country and indeed protecting Nigerians wherever they are.”

    He added: “We know that the challenge in the forefront has been that of the North East but there are other subsidiaries challenges in the Niger Delta, in the North West, in the North Central and a host of others  in the South South, the South East and South West.

     ” It took a lot of efforts, coordination, planning, movement of personnel and logistics to ensure that the progress and the successes we have achieved come to materialize hence the appreciation by Nigerians, including the Chief Executive, staff and board members of The Politico Magazine, to say we thank you for your service to our country.

    “In this regard, we have no any option than to accept it and to also acknowledge and thank you profusely for this award. The successes of our operations cannot be in isolation, Mr President and Commander in Chief has been at the forefront. 

    “We have received very strong political direction, we have received the necessary support, the logistics support, the financial support to ensure that the fight against the Boko Haram and indeed all other insurgency or banditry as well as militancy are properly conducted with the right equipment, with the right mindset and indeed with the right logistics. Equally, the moral of the troops through sound administration and the provision of our requisite training are key and this we have been substantially supported by Mr President and Commander in Chief. This, we have equally appreciated,” he said.

    Past recipients of the Politico Man of the year award include:  Governor of Kaduna state, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai,  the Emir of Kano,  Alhaji Sanusi Lamido, Minister for transport and Aviation, Rotimi Amaechi, Borno state governor, Kashim Shettima and  President Muhammadu Buhari.

  • …Taraba spends N1.8bn to digitise media

    MR Anthony Danburam, the Taraba Commissioner for Information and Reorientation, on Friday said the state had spent N1.8 billion to digitise its television station, Taraba Television (TTV). Danburam told newsmen in Jalingo that the digitisation was in compliance with the directive of Nigeria Broadcasting Commission that all broadcast stations should migrate to digital from analogue to by 2017.

    He said the station was currently on test transmission of its facilities, while the project handler, Pinnacle Communications, was training 20 of its staff on ways to handle digital equipment. Danburam said the state would recruit more staff to operate the station which would takeoff fully in September.

    The commissioner said the station was already on Startimes network, while the state was working hard to link the station to MyTv for 24-hours broadcast to audience on satellite receivers across the world. He said the state also required about N2.8 billion to digitise the state-owned radio station, Taraba State Broadcasting Service (TSBS), in view of the current foreign exchange rate of naira to the dollar.

  • Media and Ikpeazu’s infrastructure revolution

    Media and Ikpeazu’s infrastructure revolution

    SIR: No project presently demands the deployment of the ancillary roles of the press more than the infrastructure revolution of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State. Ikpeazu has kept to his promise of using the dry season window to fix the dilapidated Faulks Road. It will be recalled that Ikpeazu had earlier flagged off the reconstruction of 4.7km Faulks Road with a contract sum of N6.8 billion. This approach was to provide a permanent solution to the strategic road which has defied efforts by the previous government due to the menace of flood.

    Ifeobara basin, an artificial lake, collects run off storm water from most part of Aba, especially the Ariaria area. The basin is usually filled with domestic waste, debris, silts and sediments which impede the underground drains to discharge water whenever there is heavy rain because they are blocked. Recovering and desilting the basin is strategic to a successful reconstruction of Faulks Road. It has been severally posited in the past that the past administrations failed in their bid to fix Faulks Road because proper attention was never given to Ifeobara basin. Also, Ifeobara is a major contributor to the problems Ukwi- Mango and the flood water along Faulks. Therefore, complementing the road reconstruction with 5.6km underground water channel would proffer a lasting solution to the lingering problems of both Ukwu-Mango and the flood water along Faulks Road.

    Faulks Road is very strategic to the commercial life of Aba, the commercial- nerve of Abia State and indeed, the South-east. The road begins from Brass Junction by Aba-Owerri Road through Ukwu-Mango to Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway. It also serves a major link to Ariaria International Market. Ariaria International Market which was established in the 1970s, is arguably is the largest market East of the Niger. The market cuts across three local government areas of Aba North, Aba South and Osisioma, and countries of West and Central Africa such as Cameroun and Gabon are served by the market. The market is the largest shoemaking cluster in Africa with 85 zones.

    The media is expected to go beyond the surface of Ikpeazu government’s policies and programmes to explain, where necessary ask questions, to ensure that the public’s support is mobilised for such policies and programmes.

    The mass media are both agenda setters and opinion moulders. They have enormous role to play in Ikpeazu’s infrastructure revolution in Abia State.

     

    • Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu,

    keshiafrica@gmail.com

  • ‘Consumer connection system vital for media planning’

    The belief that advertising investment is a waste may wane soon, following the launch of Consumer Connection System (CCS), a Dentsu Aegis Network consumer, lifestyle and product survey last week.

    Coming at a time assumptions have replaced research in making marketing decision, the new tool avails  industry players, such as advertisers and agencies handling their brands, the opportunity to calculate the impact of advertising campaigns and how consumers make decisions.

    CCS marks a step-change in the way consumer research is conducted within the consumer landscape.  It allows brands to find out crucial information about their consumers.

    The smart tool addresses the media reach dimension of consumer behaviour and covers the reaction to this reach through an investigation into their notice and engagement experiences with various types of ads, ad formats and categories. It measures the use, influence and effect of over 50 communication channels.

    At its launch, the Director, Insights and Innovation at Dentsu Aegis Network sub-Saharan Africa, Byron John, said: “CCS Planner in Nigeria is now the most sophisticated media communications planning tool in Nigeria, but it has inherently future. The CCS Planner has the ability to calibrate, not only the CCS Benchmark data but any other third party media data.”

    Its Group Managing Director Mr. Emeka Okeke, said: “CCS and associated tools derivable from it is an absolute game changer in communication planning in Nigeria.

    “Advertisers, the media and communication experts desire and deserve the level of details that CCS provides to follow and track the sophisticated consumer who with modern technology receive millions of messages everyday and therefore have become very discerning in their choices of products and services.

    “They no longer rely solely on raw messages from main stream media to make up their minds about brands. They live in a connected world through multiple sophisticated devices and we, therefore, need systems like CCS to track changes in their lives and behavior. It is unequivocally another first by Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network in Nigeria and counting.”

    Dentsu Aegis Network in sub-Saharan Africa Chief Executive Officer, Dawn Rowlands, noted that CCS is the most comprehensive source study in the media planning and buying market.

    “Apart from having an extremely granular level of touch-point data, it studies the interaction consumers have with media in detail. With increasing ad-avoidance, media engagement, incidence of cross-screen consumption, etc. are far more important metrics than reach and time spent. CCS will give MFDAN the insight into the market that no other tool is able to offer,” Rowlands added.

  • Trump and America’s mainstream media

    Trump and America’s mainstream media

    SIR: On November 8, the entire world woke up to the rude shock that the United States had elected a newbie. The angered electorate had picked the unlikely candidate. The mainstream media and alternative media – print, online, TV, local and international – were all awash with news, photos and videos of Hillary Clinton supporters weeping uncontrollably, while supporters of Donald Trump were seen mostly in an ecstatic state, relishing their victory. They could hardly be consoled. An “evil” appeared to have been done. A prank had just been played. It was a truly pathetic scene. The reason was obvious: there was a new sheriff in town, and it was none other than Donald J. Trump! The irony is that the overly partisan mainstream media was entirely to blame for this.

    Many had bet on Donald Trump losing the presidential election. The odds were against Donald Trump once he announced his intention to run for the White House in 2015. Several groups – including the Republican National Congress (RNC), the Democratic National Congress (DNC), and President Barack Obama – had completely dismissed the prospects of a Trump victory. In fact, it was so embarrassing to see several well-known members of the Republican Party come out to castigate and disown him just hours before his penultimate presidential debate, yet Trump surged on as every new revelation of Clinton’s alleged corruption seemed to prop Trump higher.

    It became so obvious that all the major media houses had ganged up against Donald Trump. Several well-known dailies consistently published hate-filled articles and op-eds against him. Trump was never even given the chance to defend himself but Hillary Clinton always was. All sorts of spurious claims were brought against him. At some point he was accused of not publishing his tax returns, then he was falsely linked to financial deals with the current Ukrainian Junta, and was accused of being a lackey of Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

    It’s pitiful that the press had worked so hard to misinform their audience in a bid to defame Donald Trump. They became so obsessed and consumed with attacking him rather than reporting objectively about the growing numbers in support of Trump. Lately, The New York Times public editor has criticized the paper for its “dishonesty”. I expect other news houses that spent all their time confusing their readers to send apologies for this crime.

    Trump’s victory should be used as case study in many schools of political science across the world. It is truly amazing how he won with only about a tenth of Hillary Clinton’s campaign donations. Trump simply sailed to the Oval Office on the back of speaking out and not appealing to political correctness. He came through as a man who spoke the truth about what he saw rather than be blinkered. He called things by their names, addressed issues that were personally affecting a good deal of Americans, specifically the working class. The shameful mainstream media must learn from Donald Trump. His boldness in the face of these pathetic accusations won him the prize. I hope CNN, New York Times, the Washington Post and the rest of the lying ‘presstitutes’ learn from this fatal error.

     

    • Chuka Uzo,

    askcatholicquestions@zoho.com

  • Agencies adopt new media to stay afloat

    Agencies adopt new media to stay afloat

    To remain afloat, marketing communication agencies are opting for digital media, writes ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI

    The changing media consumption patterns of consumers and corporate organisations is forcing advertising, public relations (PR), experiential and outdoor agencies to reconfigure their business models.

    Tired with the practice, which fails to avail clients with data-driven strategy, poor return-on investment,  the need to account for every spend in the face of dwindling marketing budget, agencies are adopting digital marketing and media strategy to grow their businesses.

    The paradigm shift has led some to lose businesses to digital-compliant agencies. As a result, many operators are desperate to change their business models to meet new market realities.

    At a digital PR summit in Lagos, stakeholders noted that digital adoption would redefine PR business in digital communities.

    Zinox Technologies Ltd Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mr. Leo Stan-Ekeh, said PR practitioners needed to deepen their knowledge of new media because they offer opportunities for their practice.

    He said: “The new media offer public relations practitioners a unique opportunity to expand the scope of their work and tie strategic activities back to bottom line and it is easier to evaluate the outcome of campaigns than traditional media. New media is an effective communication tool with global reach and a resource to garner consumer and competitor intelligence.”

    Airtel Nigeria Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director Segun Ogunsanya called on advertising practitioners to adopt digital advertising to connect with target audience and ensure maximum returns from spend.

    In a keynote address at the ADVAN Awards for marketing excellence in Nigeria last Saturday, he noted that with the ubiquitous nature of mobile devices, digital advertising was the future of advertising.

    “There are over five billion people with access to mobile phones; hence, a mobile device remains the easiest way to connect with people, especially the youth who are the leaders of tomorrow. The Millennials are looking at many different screens for advertising. They are now concentrating on digital media, and advertising has to move to the digital space.

    “We, the clients, can no longer rely on strategies counting on users to just watch our messages on TV or listen to radio anymore. Nor can we be so sure that consumers will watch a prime time show at a prime time, or in their homes, or out-of-work hours,” he said.

    Recently, Chain Reactions Nigeria, one of Nigeria’s PR firms, announced a major re-design of its business architecture in line with global industry trends.

    Its Managing Director and Chief Strategist, Mr. Israel Jaiye Opayemi, said the repositioning was a  response to changes in the business, technology and media landscape.

    He said:  “The first thing we did was to shut  what used to be our client service arm and converted it to a strategy and business group populated by business analysts, strategists, pop culture specialists, trends analysts, research analysts, experiential specialists and so on.’’

    He explained that under the new business model, it takes more than having the traditional skills for any executive who desires to work in the agency to do client service.

    Also, CMC Connect Burson Marsteller Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, said a key challenge in the PR industry had been how to determine its contribution to the bottom-line, as practitioners need to justify their budgets in the face of dwindling resources.

    Black House Media (BHM) Chief Executive Officer Mr. Adekunle Ayeni early in the year predicted the death of PR.

  • ‘We need media’

    The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), Malam Muhammad Bello has craved the support and collaboration of the media.

    The media, he said,  has contributed to the socio-economic and political development of the country just as it has remained the conscience of the nation.

    Bello stated this while receiving members of the Forum of FCT Broadcast Editors that paid him a visit in his office at Area 11, Garki I District, Abuja.

    The Minister reiterated that every stakeholder in Project Nigeria has done their bit in one way or the other but the role of the media since pre-independence Nigeria cannot be over emphasised.

    He recalled how members of the fourth estate of the realm encouraged his administration to take certain major decisions, saying, they have been part of his guiding principles.

    The minister described his partnership with the media as robust; adding that some of his policy decisions have been greatly reinvigorated by the feedback he received from journalists covering the FCT Administration.

    Bello who described the media as the eyes and ears of the society; saying, their profound knowledge of the city is one that generates a lot of vibrancy in both the public and private sphere.

    He called for continuous support and collaboration from the media practitioners to strengthen institutions in the FCT Administration to enable them carryout their statutory duties, thereby taking Abuja to greater heights.

    According to him, “You have been and will continue to be the eyes and the ears of the residents of the FCT. Your knowledge of the city is obviously much deeper and I have had course to follow the activities of most of your organizations, the feedback and the support you give, the vibrancy that you generate in our beautiful city and community.”

    “Since I came on board as the Minister, we have tried as much as possible to convey a message to the wider community that Abuja is for all and therefore, Abuja should reflect the standard of a city that we all aspire to say it is ours. That is why in all of the policies we initiate, we try to encourage people to own it, simply because we have realized that a Minister and a team of 50 or hundred senior officials cannot run the city alone. It has to be something that all of us should consciously believe in,” he stressed.

    While briefing the Forum on some of his recent activities, the Minister stated that FCT Administration would make ready for use some of the grazing reserves within the Territory, notably the ones in Paikon Kore, Karshi, Bwari, and Kuje.

    Bello also disclosed details of his recent meeting with the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 7, even as he called on the media and other FCT residents to support the concept of community policing.

    “While we all applauded the police high command and all the security agencies in making our city safe, we also agreed that it is very important that we as citizens support the concept of community policing. We agreed that a lot of areas where we have barricades that are deemed to be no longer necessary could be removed to free vehicular movement,” the minister emphasised.

     

  • Media should fight corruption, says legislator

    Media should fight corruption, says legislator

    A member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Olajide Jimoh, has urged the media and the appropriate authority to investigate the statement made by former president Olusegun Obasanjo that the National Assembly was corrupt.

    He disclosed this in a radio programme in Lagos, while speaking on the state of the nation.

    According to him, it is the responsibility of the media to fight corruption.

    While stressing that the salaries of members of the National Assembly could be reduced and channeled towards improving the economy, the lawmaker said that the decision could not be made by the lawmakers. He Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission RMAFC is in change of their salaries.

    Jimoh, who represents Lagos Mainland constituency, said it was important to strengthen democracy and make public offices less attractive, adding that people should contest for public offices to serve the people and not because of money.

    The lawmaker, who was a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly and ex-chairman of Yaba Council, maintained that the National Assembly could only decide on their running costs and that this could be reduced.

    On the arrest of judges by the Department of State Services, (DSS) over corruption allegation, he said the arrest could not have been done without following the laid down rule.

    Jimoh added: “It has happened to them today and it could also extend to another person tomorrow. That is why I always canvass for the removal of immunity clause completely.

    “The money laundering act is very clear about this matter. Are they supposed to keep such an amount of money at home”, he queried.

    It would be recalled that  gun-wielding security agents swooped on the residences of some senior judges, breaking their doors and threatening to harm their family members and got them arrested in the early hours of Saturday.

    The raids were carried out by agents of the DSS in Abuja, Port-Harcourt and Gombe.