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Tag: Omatseye

  • Omatseye and Biafra

    I’m certainly not a fan of Nnamdi Kanu or the method in which he had sometimes talked about securing his conviction. But introspection would help us understand that a line should be drawn between a man, his ideology and the method he seeks to achieve this ideology.

    History might not have spoken convivially of Nelson Mandela if he had instituted a guerrilla army and told the Black folks in Soweto to go about and hunt down white folks in a bid to secure the freedom of the black people in South Africa, which cause has been described as the Noblest of all. Another example is Ghandi whose peaceful political movement raved in India in the second quarter of the 20th century and eventually eased India into her independence. Conversely, the Niger Delta militants’ tactics in seeking for fair treatment in the Nigerian federal set-up is one which is condemnable by any civilized mind; however, their cause cannot be faulted if we choose to be true to ourselves.

    Yet, the agitation of the militants of the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria is no less noble than the agitations of Mandela or Ghandi; the difference only lies in the method employed in attainment of the cause. That difference notwithstanding, it would not accord with sound reasoning to dismiss the method employed in attaining such cause together with the ideology or cause.

    The ideology of and agitation for Biafra is one of the least problems of Nigeria, especially to a ‘’non-Igbo’’ since its attainment would hardly have any effect on them. In truth really, the Biafra ideology and agitation rather than a problem is a solution to the country’s problems because it asks fundamental questions of our foundation as a country and the workings of our federalism, which is probably the most topical issue in contemporary polity. If this ‘’Biafra issue’’ is legitimately addressed with a sincerity of purpose and not cowed into a coma or buried in a shallow grave with the force of firearms as was done between 1967-1970, we might just have solved a problem rather than created one.

    Closure, just like patriotism is not what a country foists on her citizens, but what by honest interaction/communication, altruistic and fair disposition towards the aggrieved/assaulted group, that group is made to see reasons to accept and abide by. The U.S.A, which is the paradigm of federalism the world over, at the end of their civil war did not pay lip service in their policy of assimilating the secessionist south but made honest efforts in that respect which ultimately led to a dissident-free U.S.A in which all the federating units, both North and South have worked in unison to create a country most of our leaders queue up to get their visa. Perhaps if this method were adopted by the Nigerian government at the end of the civil war, The Nation’s Sam Omatseye would probably have applied his ink towards a more problematic facet of our collective everyday lives rather than fervently and fervidly trying to convince us of the death of something that confronts and stares at us every day.

    Just like the MKO Abiola issue which successive administrations have repeatedly and earnestly tried to shut out from our consciousness, The Nation despite those cowardly attempts has consistently featured articles in which writers have tried to relive our consciousness of that unfortunate incident and I think it would be offensive to the Yoruba psyche and inappropriate for any person to tell the Yoruba people that that issue is dead and buried, more so if this ‘’insight’’ comes from a non-Yoruba.

    The Yoruba community even with the appeasements and propitiations that was made to them by the military administration at the wake of the fourth republic (which they have termed as a façade) to serve as atonement for scuttling the entitlement of their kinsman, they still do not feel assuaged and would become confrontational if you try to play down the effects of the ramifications of the June 12 debacle and rightly so.

    Now to the Biafra issue. I believe the fundamental question every person should ask first is this; have these people who are seeking for Biafra been treated fairly in this Nigerian union compared to the regions? If your honest answer is ‘’yes’’, then you can go ahead to criticize. But if your answer is no, then you can now without prejudice to the fundamental question criticize the methodology and the person behind it and maybe proffer an honest solution, as a person who is his brother’s keeper.

    Secondly, if a people say they want to go or do not seek to be part of a union, I don’t think wisdom backs the option of telling them ‘’No’’ you must remain part of us. I don’t think we should split our hairs about it. I don’t think it is the path trodden by reasonable men to oppose a people who would rather go in peace than remain in war or disunity, lest we forget what happened to Pharaoh and his people because of the Israelites.

    If any other tribe or part of Nigeria decides to quit the Nigerian union; a democratic union where the will of a geo-political zone dictates the fate of the remaining five geo-political zones, for whatever reason whether noble or bad and they don’t intend to kill or maim any person by their leaving, why would I oppose them? What is the essence of the right to self determination enshrined in the United Nations declarations? Is it just to decorate the pages of the treaty with unrealizable rights?

    If a people say they are going, why not let them go? If I think their venture is folly and I call myself a friend, I would only advise them on what I think best for them but not oppose them or write articles that are offensive to their psyche in a bid to stop them. I don’t think I would lose sleep because a section of the country says they want to go or start writing volumes of polemical pieces about the idea. Such disposition smacks of desperation and may suggest that the writer is not as altruistic as he wants us to believe he is.

    My idea is, if a part of Nigeria says it wants to go and seeks to adopt a civilized method of going, why would I try to stop them? As a writer, I would rather channel my energy, resource, time and talent in writing about more pressing issues gnawing at the country than trying to stop a people who have decided to assert a right internationally guaranteed.

    In his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, William Faulkener said that a writer must leave ‘’ no room in his workshop for anything but the old verities and the truths of the heart, the old universal truth lacking which any story is ephemeral and doomed-love and honour and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice. Until he does so he labours under a curse. He writes not of love but lust…not of the heart but of the glands. Until he relearns these things he will write as though he stood among and watched the end of man.’’

    I want to end this piece by re-echoing the words of the American revolutionist Patrick Henry when he said; ‘’…no man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as the abilities of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the house. But different men often see the same subject from different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful of those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do, opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve…it is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at the truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself guilty of treason toward my country and an act of disloyalty toward my conscience and the Majesty of Heaven, which revere above all earthly kings.’’

    It is in the light of the sentiment above expressed that I write.

    • Oluigbo writes from Onitsha, Anambra State.

     

     

  • POEN holds Omatseye poetry festival

    POEN holds Omatseye poetry festival

    Poetry Enclave (POEN) will hold the Sam Omatseye Poetry Festival (SOMAFEST) tomorrow at Alliance Francaise, Ibadan.

    This is in honour of Sam Omatseye, chairman, The Nation Editorial Board, as part of activities marking his 30 years as a journalist.

    Awards and prizes will be given to students of secondary schools at the occasion.

  • Omatseye wrong on Peter Obi

    Omatseye wrong on Peter Obi

    Ikemba Nnewi, the late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, had a way of putting it. To those who doubted his place in the heart of the Igbo people, he had a way of asking them for a common test – test of popularity.

    It is simple. Let us meet at Ogbete Market in Enugu, Otu Nkwo Market in Onitsha or Ariaria Market in Aba. Walk through one path, while I walk through the other. Let us compare the outcome. To all those to whom that challenge was thrown, I don’t recall of anyone who picked it up.

    I recall this in the light of what Sam Omatseye, versatile writer and one of the most respected and influential public figures in the Nigerian media today, wrote of Peter Obi, a few days ago. Why should anyone bother? That Omatseye’s position on national discourse, is captured in the A-list, is not only as a result of his deep, cerebral and high intellectual offering, he is also the chairman, Editorial Board of The Nation, one of Nigeria’s most influential newspapers today.  So, in essence, the public is concerned and needed to be fed correctly for the good of the society.

    You can now see why whatever comes from him, cannot be dismissed with a wave of the hand. And because every human is susceptible to errors, errors of all kinds – misstep, misinformation, or and misjudgment, he could be acquitted, in the event that his assessment of Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra State, is a genuine error and not borne out of mischief.

    Whilst capturing his views on the Anambra governorship election of Saturday, November 18, and the loss of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Osaeloka Obaze, the writer, saw it as the death-knell on the political coffin of Obi, seen as the main sponsor of the candidate, and by extension, the one that ran the election.

    In a short post at the bottom of his main offering in his regular Monday column, entitled Obituary, he had this to say: “For Peter Obi, the soft-spoken former governor, is Obituary in Anambra State politics. Willie Obiano’s victory is Obi’s political death knell. He installed Obiano, but now Obiano is presiding over his funeral. Obi, a decent man though, is now a statesman without a state. He is in a state of what Buddhists call Bardo, or Catholics call limbo. Will he look like the characters in the Booker-winning novel, Lincoln in The Bardo by George Saunders, where Abraham Lincoln meets with his son in the Afterlife? Obi’s candidate could not even flatter him with a second position. Obiano buried him in a landslide. Adieu, the girl-voiced warrior.”

    No doubt, the last part was meant to mock. I don’t know if his title of Obituary was also a coinage from Obi, as in Obi-tuary. Perhaps not. But what is evident from his conclusion is that he must have read and relied on the other side so much that he forgot that politics is like a coin with two sides.

    Certainly, Obi would be sad, just like thousands others, who supported Obaze or any other of the candidates outside Obiano, but to assume that he is dead politically and that there would be an obituary, is far outside the mark in all ramifications.

    First, Omatseye, in that outing, was referring to Okwute Ndi Igbo (The rock). That appellation did not just fall from heaven. It was earned, not elsewhere, but the political turf. Instructively, Omatseye, was kind enough to acknowledge the role Obi played in making Obiano. But that is not all. The making of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), could also be attributed largely to his immense capacities, beyond what is known in the open.

    Many, including those who are believed to know, would readily swear that APGA cleared all the states in the entire South-east after the 2003 governorship election. But while all other candidates fell by the wayside, or offer, at best, some very feeble resistance, Obi, was the only one who could recover his mandate. If that alone was not a big feat, that he was able to return to power after surviving an impeachment hatched and executed by the all-PDP Anambra State House of Assembly, remains a big imprimatur of his capacity and ability.

    Now, the biggest, appeared his tenure interpretation battle, he unseated an existing governor, Andy Uba, in just 11 days, which saw him, returning to power after 2007 governorship election, after winning a major battle at the Supreme Court.

    Certainly, all these could not have been forgotten so quickly so soon. They cannot also be the trait of one whose political nunc dimitis, would be sung so quickly, because “he” lost one election, in which he was not even a candidate. It is quite saddening that Omatseye, appeared to have glossed over them in such a haste.

    Besides, we are talking about one of the 8,000 richest men in the world of tens of billions of people. That feat also did not come by quitting because of one disappointing outing. The stuff with which many in Obi’s class are made goes beyond the superficial. Rather, it is a function of a potpourri of several variables and factors, including occasional failures and disappointments.

    Rather than weaken men like Obi, disappointments of any hue, seem to energise them and cause them to go back to the drawing board to re-strategise, as has done in his political career so far and as could even be gleaned from his engagements since the election.

    In fact, few hours after the result of the election was officially released, Obi, was already in Lagos, keeping to his speaking engagements. The reaction of the audience at each of those for a in no way suggested one, who was pummelled to submission or whose political obituary was being marked.

    There are so many factors that gave rise to what happened in the Anambra election in question. Recall that a coalition of civil society organisation, with a lot of experience in election monitoring, led by Clement Nwankwo, Executive Director, Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), did not mince words in describing it as the worst since 1999, because of the role money played in buying voters.

    Of course, before long, all other factors will continue to emerge to tell the true story of whatever transpired during the event.

    But, beyond that in four years, Obiano, who is being celebrated today as Obi and Chris Ngige, were once celebrated, would join the league of ex-governors. What then happens, when he would no longer have the resources to cajole civil servants, induce town union executives or threaten traditional rulers, when he would have lost the proverbial palm frond, which the goat usually goes after?

    Obi never minced words as to the reason for wanting Obiano out. This was a man who made show of his frugality and distaste to any form of wastage in government, being assailed with stories and perhaps, evidence of wanton and needless reveling in government. This was a man, whose penchant for saving became almost legendary, witnessing the resources he claimed to have left for the state so massively dissolved into official inanities. This was a man who had promised that he was going to be in the forefront of removing the governor, if he misbehaved, fulfilling his promise, out of his convictions. What else would make a man move?

    Yes, he may have miscalculated. He may have misread his compass and the barometer in gauging the feelings of Anambra people, but to say that the same people would forget so quickly the impact he made in their lives, is indeed to misunderstand the Anambra, nay, the Igbo man.

    They have spoken in this instance; they will also speak in other instances, in which Obi will be a player. That is when the likes of Omatseye will know the mistake they have made.

     

    • Igboanugo, a journalist, writes from Abuja.
  • How I came up with Crocodile Girl – Omatseye

    How I came up with Crocodile Girl – Omatseye

    Sam Omatseye, speaks with Laura Angela Bagnetto of Radio France International on his novel Crocodile Girl 

    Laura Angela Bagnetto: Each month, we view the best and brightest literature from around the continent whether they were translated from other languages into English or award winners who talk about their craft or the next bestseller they are working on, today we bring you a complex story which takes place in a village outside of Warri, inside Nigeria. It is a story of life and death, how the past can haunt you and how you create your own future. Without further ado, here’s Sam Omatseye, the author of ‘Crocodile Girl’ who tells in his own words, what his novel is all about.

    The book starts with lots of actions, there is a link to ties in Nigeria and the US, and Slave Trade, its a lot of process, there is so much going on. What was the inspiration for your book?

    The story of the Crocodile Girl was told to me by my father. There was actually a situation in his own village when he was growing up. There was a woman who was so beautiful, she could not be thought human. So, they said that at night she went into the river and became a crocodile, so that was the prejudice that was cast on the woman.  So that was where I took the story from. I was in the US when I started thinking about this novel, so I decided that I would use that material to track this prejudice and also look at African history and how prejudice even within African history, especially with slavery also affected relations between black and black as against white and black.

    Most of the story takes place in Orogun village and it’s interesting because prejudice goes back so far that there is a lot of prejudice between the village elders. And this one woman named Alero, can you tell us a little bit about that without revealing everything?

    Alero is a very interesting character to me because I see her as the fulcrum of the whole narrative. She is the one who is beautiful and charming and she is the one who has to suffer because of her beauty. And she is the one who has a relationship with the white visitor, Tim, and she is the one who has to suffer because of that. The story of the prejudice is here. She simultaneously reflects it and she reflects on other people her own prejudice that she suffers.

    There are two distinct things that come up in the story of Alero and Tim, which is summed up in one part of the book and this is a quote, “beauty is part of the tragedy, the real tragedy is history, “ So is this a reflection on …Slave Trade?

    In the olden days, there was prejudice within the black society, because historically, people tend to want to glorify the African past like the white just came to Africa to pick slaves but there were people who were profiting from slavery and Slave Trade who were blacks who made it possible for the white to thrive. So, it was part of that narrative that I was trying to track.

    The other issue is beauty, because one of the main characters, Alero, is constantly told how beautiful she is but the fact that she is a nurse is disregarded and she is almost two dimensional, because people see her with her beauty or her curse as being the daughter of the crocodile woman. It defines her, which is really sad because obviously she has more depth than that.

    Yes, that’s the interesting thing that happens to her because she is seen as beautiful but she does not think she is beautiful because there is nobody to appreciate who she is and just when she is supposed to enjoy her life, it becomes manifest again in the city and she has to come back to her default home, which is no home at all.

    The book is less than 300pages, and in order not to give a lot of things away but there is a lot of action, and there is some depth involved which we won’t reveal. It’s a very complex plot because the reason why Tim who is the American guy who comes to Orogun in Nigeria is through another man, his name is Itse. His story is quite interesting as well but he becomes a foil to the whole narrative, can you tell us why Itse is so important?

    Itse is the link between Alero and Tim and he is the reason that Alero allowed Tim to come to Africa but unfortunately, Ise is not able, because of what happened to him, to carry on and he becomes the background around which the narrative of Tim and Alero and how the whole story in the village, including the old man, takes off.

    My favorite character in the book was the veteran.

    Yes, he is my favorite character in the book too.

    He is wise and because he speaks good English. He could step between both the elders and the Westerners who come to see what’s going on and he has a lot of knowledge in many ways. He is missing a hand because he was in war, and he is a great guy, and he has a lot to say and he does not say a lot at the same time. Can you tell us about him?

    He is the liberator of the tale, he is the one that catalyzes the narrative because it is on him that the story about how to get to the forest takes place and it was him that makes Tim get adjusted to the environment. It is he that can challenge the local elites, the traditional elites without consequences. So, it is around that man that the whole narrative hinges. He belongs to that generation and he is also a rebel to that generation.

    Are you working on anything new?

    Yes, I am working on another novel. It has a sort of resemblance to this but it is quite a different story.

  • Study hard to build your minds, Omatseye tells students

    Study hard to build your minds, Omatseye tells students

    Chairman of The Nation Editorial Board, Sam Omatseye, has advised the Kings University (KU) students to give their best to their studies. He told them never to be discouraged by material challenges, noting that it is only through quality education they could build their minds.

    Omatseye gave the charge at a forum with students of the KU’s Department of English and Literary Studies, at the Institute of African Studies of the University of Ibadan (UI) on Thursday. The celebrated columnist and poet was the guest lecturer at the maiden personality lecture organised by African Studies Graduate Students’ Association.

    Omatseye, who engaged the students in a question-and-answer session, gave them tips on how they could make the best of their efforts to becoming renowned writers. Omatseye’s novel, My Name is Okoro, which narrated Biafran War from a minority angle, became a subject of discussion. The students had the opportunity to ask questions about the work, which is part of the books they are studying in their discipline.

    The author praised the students for asking “vital, relevant, and thoughtful questions”, while encouraging them not to lose focus.

    The students described their time with Omatseye as “enriching”, saying their encounter with the writer would encourage and empower them with information to become successful in their career.

    Their lecturer, Ademola Adesola, hailed Omatseye for creating time to share knowledge with the students. He said: “We hope the seeds of ideas Omatseye has sown in these students would surely germinate and grow into great feats that will make him proud of the time he spent with them.”

    At the forum were a member of The Nation Editorial Board, Mr Femi Macaulay, and former Associate Editor of The Nation, Mr Taiwo Ogundipe.

     

  • Omatseye: companies are using these realities to project their products

    Omatseye: companies are using these realities to project their products

    A renowned poet and an award-winning journalist, Sam Omatseye, has said he does not need courage to write on any subject because he writes based on his conviction.

    He added that his writings convey his realities.

    Omatseye, the chairman, Editorial Board of The Nation, delivered a lecture yesterday at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State.

    It was organised by the African Studies Students’ Association.

    Answering a question on how he finds the courage to speak the truth to power in his writings, he said he does not need any courage to write on any subject, no matter how dangerous it looks, because he just does what he has to do, responding to a compelling need to convey his realities to the public.

    “I don’t think there is anything called courage. I just have to do what I want to do. Otherwise, one would become a slave to other persons’ realities,” Omatseye said.

    Speaking on “Cultural Globalisation  and Indigenisation of Reality TV Shows in Nigeria,” Omatseye said the shows and the characters partly present fake realities within the Nigerian indigenous setting, although they may be real in the globalised world.

    Analysing Nigerian reality shows, he explained that the concept of reality in most of the shows is interpreted as a mere domestication of foreign reality, pointing out that they are mostly globalisation of soft power from the United States.

    According to him, soft power exerts more influence than raw power in the form of direct diplomatic or military influence on other nations or people.

    Some of the reality shows Omatseye  mentioned in Nigeria include the Big Brother Naija, Gulder Ultimate Search, Top Model, Nigeria Idol and Project Fame.

    He said: “We can say that our shows are called reality, but whose reality are they? Is it an American reality? But what we are seeing is a globalisation of soft power from the United States. The show survival thrives, and we see people in a jungle, without their normal quotidian amenity in sight. No toilet paper or towel, nor clean water, no privacy, no electricity or even a mobile phone. You cannot tweet, or call. You are away from all loved ones, or pets. You confront the wild, even the wilderness, some of them with no human footprints.

    “Most of these reality shows are not intended merely to reflect reality. They serve a number of purposes. Most of the shows, especially the ones in Nigeria, are named after corporate entities. MTN owns hers, Gulder does not share its ultimate reality with any other company, neither does Glo allow another firm to glow in its own firmament.  So, companies are using these realities to project the desirability of their products. That is, their products are real and should be remembered in the context of the reality they are promoting. And they want real profits.

    “So, Gulder wants you to buy more Gulder, if you are no teetotaller. Or if you are, it will show you the sober fact of what you are missing.

    “The other reason they do it is to generate excitement about Nigerian youths and their variegated talents. Nigeria’s Got Talent, a clone of the American one of the same name, appeals to the young. Most of these shows focus on talents, especially in the soft culture, including singing, dancing, acting and cooking. The reason they focus on this, unlike a few others of more boring pedigree, is that the firms are so profit-driven, that they are not about to risk a show that will focus on those trying to solve a mathematical problem, or one that shows young writers working on a great poem or short story, or a group of youths helping to build a home, brick on brick, for a single mother of 10 children, or youths helping out in a hospital of misbegotten diseases.

    “There is a certain cynical vigour to preferring Amstel Malta Box Office (AMBO) to a show that unveils how the stock exchange performed on a certain day. It portrays the television as a medium more for entertainment than information. We are more willing to be entertained than informed, more willing to laugh than think, more willing to relax than be challenged.”

    Because of the plurality of the human society, Omatseye concluded that reality is subjective.

    The Director of the Institute of African Studies, Dr. O. I. Pogoson, hailed  the association for succeeding in getting Omatseye to deliver the lecture. He described the renowned journalist as an accomplished writer and a public commentator who has carved a niche for himself in the media industry.

     

  • Omatseye to speak at UI today

    Omatseye to speak at UI today

    The Nation’s Editorial Board Chairman Sam Omatseye will today deliver a lecture on the theme: “Cultural globalisation and indigenisation of reality TV shows in Nigeria”.

    It is organised by the African Studies Students’ Association of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan (UI).

    Named the “Sam Omatseye Personality Lecture”, it will hold at the Lady Bank Anthony Hall of the institute by 10am.

    UI Vice Chancellor, Prof Abel Olayinka, is the chief host. The institute’s director, Dr. O.I.Pogoson, is the host.

  • How journalists should operate in 21st century, by Omatseye

    How journalists should operate in 21st century, by Omatseye

    With the rapidity of information dissemination in the new media and advancement in technology, the traditional media must brace itself to be relevant in the profession, celebrated columnist and Chairman of The Nation Editorial Board Sam Omatseye said yesterday.

    He said the culture of 21st century journalism practice is a function of speed, which, he said, has changed the conventional practice of news gathering and dissemination.

    A modern journalist, he said, needs innovation and new thinking to practise the profession.

    Omatseye delivered a paper titled: Media in the 21st Century, at a lecture organised by Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ) students as part of activities to mark their week.

    He said: “How does a traditional news medium react when its audience already has information it is passing across on social media? The traditional media understand that there are amateurs and professional reporters. But, how can professionals make interesting picture of a news story that will be worthy of the money of the reader, who just saw it on social media? This is the conundrum of the media in the 21st century.

    “The Internet is the major task before the 21st century media practitioner. It is the task of timeliness and rapidity. The new media and latest media tools have cancelled space and time, which used to be bullet point in traditional media practice. It is the task of a modern journalist to make news worth a while.

    “Media practitioners must know that people are in a hurry; they don’t have time to delve into details. It is a task before professional media practitioners to be smart and work ahead of an amateur, who twists language and posts unprofessional news on social media platforms.”

    Omatseye noted that the advent of new media should not be seen as a death sentence to the print media.

    But he said the social media pose great challenge to the relevance of newspaper in modern time.

    According to the celebrated columnist, the print media had survived several technology-induced revolutions, noting that newspaper would survive, if the print media practitioners embrace innovation and keep up with the speed of the new media.

    He said: “Online media have less credibility and are more prone to take risk unlike traditional media, which have to go through the rigour of objectivity and fact-checking. But, traditional media managers must understand that this is a post-modern world; journalism is in a hurry as news is served faster.

    “Journalists and journalism students must project into the future and change the way they look at journalism.”

    Omatseye urged journalism student to focus on how to write masterpiece without compromising the ethics of the profession.

    The highpoint was the presentation of award of excellence to Omatseye by the students for his contribution to newspaper and development of journalism.

    NIJ Deputy Provost Mr. Jide Johnson presented the award on behalf of the students.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Omatseye to discuss media practice at NIJ lecture

    Omatseye to discuss media practice at NIJ lecture

    Celebrated columnist and Chairman of The Nation Editorial Board Sam Omatseye will today deliver a lecture at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ).
    His lecture titled: “Media in the 21st Century”, will discuss the challenges and practice of traditional and new media.
    The lecture is part of activities marking the ’Students’ Week at the institute.
    Some of the guests being expected at the event include media executives, journalism teachers, youth groups and students.
    The lecture starts noon.

  • Omatseye seeks democratisation of political communication

    Omatseye seeks democratisation of political communication

    THE Chairman, Editorial Board of The Nation, Sam Omatseye, has advocated democratisation of political communication.
    Omatseye, who delivered the Distinguished Guest Lecture, College of Humanities, Ikire Campus of the Osun State University yesterday, condemned the use of communication to serve the feudal interest rather than of egalitarian disposition.
    He said he was dissatisfied with the way President Muhammadu Buhari’s ill-health was handled, maintaining that there was bound to be disharmony and crisis.
    In the lecture, titled: “Political Communication in Multi-Media Age,” Omatseye stressed the need for media managers to be updated about the latest trends in their profession.
    This, he said, would enrich their output and service delivery.
    According to him, media managers, especially those in sensitive offices, must be alive to their responsibilities in serving all strata of the society.
    Omatseye noted that the sensationalism about President Buhari’s medical leave was caused by the inability of his media handlers to effectively manage the situation.
    He said: “The President belongs to a feudal world, where information given by a personality is authoritative, which makes them far behind. The Presidency is still cast in the mono-media world and that is why he is conscious of how cogent information is let out.
    “To communicate these days, you have to be firm and explore all chains of communication to let people understand your person in this era of multi-media. Being able to identify the needs of the present generation is key to development.”
    He added that the country’s situation made it imperative for those giving information to the public to close barriers to speculations.