The Nation Newspaper

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  • At 9, The Nation praises God

    At 9, The Nation praises God

    The management of Vintage Press Limited, publishers of The Nation newspaper, at the weekend, held a thanksgiving service to celebrate the 9th anniversary of the newspaper’s establishment.

    The service, which was held at the 27b Fatai Atere Way corporate office of the company, was attended by members of staff and top members of the management team.

    Amidst songs of praises and dancing, Pastor Yomi Olurinto, an Assistant Pastor-in-Charge of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), RCCG Lagos province 17, who ministered at the event, expressed his delight at being part of the celebration.

    “Whenever I go through newspapers, I take note of the statement on the logo of The Nation as newspaper of the year.

    “If a paper can be using that type of statement and other papers are not using it, then it speaks volume of the standard of the paper.

    “My prayer for the organisation is that God, who has made you the head, will not make you the tail,” Pastor Olurinto stated.

    Speaking on the time of change, Olurinto said change forces us to focus on new opportunities.

    He added that the only way to improve living is to cause ourselves to make sacrifices which will yield positive results in the future.

    He charged members of staff to work towards unity and seek God’s wisdom that creates ideas to survive new evolvement in technology as it relates to the newspaper business.

    The Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Mr. Ade Odunewu, who addressed the staff, disclosed that there is a cause to rejoice as individuals and an organisation because God has been good to the company.

    Odunewu explained: “Out of the nine years just ending today, in the last 12 months we have won the highest number of awards in the media industry.

    “We have started on the path of excellence and we will never depart from it.

    “We are pursuing change and it is assured that 12 months from this time again we are going to enjoy better than what we are doing today because we are going to record more success.

    “As today marks the 9th year of this organisation, we have cause to thank God because some papers that came to the industry after we were born are no longer operating in the press industry today.

    “In nine years, we have not owned any salary. All these are made possible by the grace of God and the dedication of members of staff.”

    Odunewu, who stated that many people never gave the paper a chance when it started nine years ago, applauded the Editor- In- Chief, Mr. Victor Ifijeh, and members of staff for giving their best to the service of the organisation.

    He disclosed that as the paper reels into another year, the 10th year anniversary will be marked in a grand way where all directors and principal stakeholders of the company would be present.

    The General Manager Training and Development, Mr. Soji Omotunde, encouraged members of staff to continue in the strides of excellence.

    He said greater things were set to happen in the coming year, which he said will better position The Nation as the first newspaper of choice in the country.

     

     

     

  • Saraki urges Odusile to clean up Nigerian media

    Saraki urges Odusile to clean up Nigerian media

    [dropcap]B[/dropcap]ukola Saraki, President of the Nigerian Senates has congratulated Alhaji Abdulwaheed Odusile of The Nation Newspapers on his election as the new President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ).

     

    In his congratulatory message, Saraki urged Odusile to ensure that the profession is rid of quack journalists who often bring disgrace and bad name to the Nigerian media.

     

    From Saraki’s twitter handle:

     

  • Sam Omatseye is NAL Fellow

    Sam Omatseye is NAL Fellow

    Influential columnist and Chairman of the Editorial Board of The Nation Sam Omatseye has been admitted as Honorary Fellow of the prestigious Nigerian Academy of Letters.

    In a letter signed by the NAL Secretary, Prof. Olutayo C. Adesina, the Academy stated that the multiple award columnist received the honour “in recognition of the contributions you made in your field of specialization”.

    “I feel honoured for this rare recognition,” said Omatseye at the news. “I will try my best to always live up to the highest ideals that inspired this laurel,” he added.

    The decision was reached by the NAL Executive Council in a meeting on May 27.

    “The decision carries with it the responsibilities of full participation in the activities of the Academy,” said Prof. Adesina.

    The investiture will take place on August 13, in the Main Auditorium of the University of Lagos.

    Omatseye writes a weekly column and has won several awards, including the Nigerian Media Merit Award for columnist of the year three times as well as the Diamond Award for Media Excellence also three times. He has also won laurels in journalism in the United States (U.S.) and Canada.

  • The Nation man barred from Abia Assembly

    The Director of Protocols, Abia State House of Assembly, Madubuike Henry yesterday barred the Aba correspondent of The Nation, Sunny Nwankwo, from entering the Assembly Complex.

    Also barred from entering the Assembly premises is the Aba correspondent of The Sun, Okey Sampson.

    The two reporters were at the  complex to cover the inauguration of the 6th Assembly.

    Henry said he acted on orders from above.

  • Rivers, Oga Jerry Needam and The Nation!

    It was last Friday, the inauguration day for new governments in some states and at the federal level.

    This reporter was fully prepared cover the inauguration of Nyesom Ezenwo Wike as Rivers State governor at the Elekahia Stadium as directed by this newspaper’s Port Harcourt  Bureau Chief, Mr. Bisi Olaniyi .

    The reporter was not sure of the time of the inauguration. So a call was placed to Mr. Jerry Needam, a member of the inauguration committee. He also doubles as the Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Bro. Felix Obuah. Needam’s reaction was a heavy blow:  He tagged this reporter an enemy of Wike, who, by extension, was against his inauguration.  But, really the reporter’s sin is that he works for The Nation.

    Almost every reporter in The Nation’s Port Harcourt Bureau has felt Needam’s sharp tongue a one point or the other. But, this reporter seems particularly unlucky with Needam.

    His words: “Wait! You mean I should tell you the time of the inauguration and give you accreditation tag? You people in The Nation must be joking. I don’t think you read what you write about Wike, you did all kinds of reports against Wike to frustrate him; now you want to cover the event. What kind of event do you want to cover?  We don’t want you.  We don’t need The Nation.”

    This reporter replied:  “Look, Mr. Jerry, we are not begging you for anything. I am going to the stadium to report the event; you will read my story the next day.”

    Needam immediately dropped the call.  On getting to the stadium, this reporter was not allowed in. According to the police at the gate, there was an instruction that no journalist from The Nation should be given access to the stadium.  To avoid problem, this reporter quietly went to the open view to stay and with the aid of the loud megaphone, he was able to record freely.

    Needam had before then abused this reporter over a report titled ‘The Rivers of Blood”. The report was on politically-motivated killings in Rivers State. He called after the report was published to say that The Nation would seize to exist once Wike took charge, adding that  Olaniyi  would have no place to hide his shame.  He added that this reporter was joining Yoruba people to destroy Wike when he should be protecting Wike, his fellow Ikwerre man.

    This reporter said there was no way he could white into black because he wanted to support a brother.

    Needam, who is also the publisher of a local tabloid called National Network, dumped the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), a party he joined when he became uncomfortable with PDP after the exit of the Celestine Omehia’s government.

    He went back to PDP after  Obuah became the PDP chairman. And from that point, he became powerful and perhaps disillusioned. He insults and abuses those who try to question his excesses. He uses journalists who work close to him like slaves, each time he is  in charge of any event.  Journalists, who ordinarily should have been happy that their colleague is in-charge of event, always complain of his inglorious attitudes toward them.

    This is a man whose newspaper published nothing good about the government of the immediate past governor and the APC leadership, both in the state and at the national level.

    His paper, National Network, became a platform for ex-Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s detractors who attacked him on every edition.  The last word here is: Oga Jerry, now that Wike has become governor, you can now ban this newspaper from reporting PDP’s event but don’t forget The Nation’s motto: “Truth in Defence of freedom”. This medium will continue to say the truth. When your government does well, we will say it; if we see any challenge, we will point it out. It is too early for you to create enemy for the new government. Rivers people are watching.

  • Akande writes for The Nation

    Akande writes for The Nation

    From next month, Dr Joel Akande will be contributing to The Nation Health pages as a columnist.

    Dr Akande of Strategic Insight is a researcher who provides Clinical services; diagnostics; education and training as well as medico-legal consulting.

    According to Dr Akande, migration of health professionals from Nigeria to developed countries has greatly reduced the availability of affordable standard healthcare. These immigrant professionals have acquired valuable training in developed countries that could enhance healthcare capacity in Nigeria. The challenge and cost of relocation of these highly skilled individuals remains quite prohibitive. However, these healthcare professionals still retain significant sympathy and allegiance to their country of origin manifested by the proliferation of diaspora organisations organise medical missions to tackle some of these healthcare challenges. Medical missions last from days to weeks; treat a targeted but limited number of patients and provide little or no follow-up. As a means of enhancing health capacity they represent an inefficient use of these highly skilled workers.

    For more insight into sundry issues, keep a date with him, every Tuesday, starting next month.

     

  • The Nation sweeps 4 Promasidor awards

    The Nation sweeps 4 Promasidor awards

    •Alimi is overall winner •Akioye, Alasa also win   

    Vintage Press Limited, publishers of The Nation newspapers, at the weekend swept four out of the eight prizes at the 2015 Promasidor Quill awards.

    Sunday Nation’s correspondent, Taiwo Alimi, emerged the overall winner with his entry Where the blind dare to dream.

    The entry also won in the category for the best report on education.

    Alimi staved off competition from Eniola Toluwani of The Punch Newspapers whose entry was titled, Man abandons children in boarding school for eight years.

    The chairman of the Panel of Judges, Ambassador Patrick Dele Cole (OFR), said Alimi’s entry stood out from the pack.

    The Nation’s Seun Akioye clinched the award for best Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Industry report.

    His entry was titled Anguish and death: Tale of Kaduna community, two years after controversial waste dump.

    Gilbert Alasa of The Nation also emerged as the future writer of the year.

    Two other correspondents of the paper, Chikodi Okereocha and Sina Fadare, emerged as second runners-up in the nutrition and overall winner categories respectively.

    The Managing Director of Promasidor Nigeria Limited, makers of Cowbell, Onga, Toptea and Loya Milk, Olivier Thiry, praised the winners for their painstaking entries.

    He said apart from the high-end laptop and the company’s products, Alimi will be sent to London for an all-expense paid four-week multi-media journalism training course with Thomson Foundation.

    Thiry added that the overall winner will also be placed on a week’s job placement with a prominent British national news organisation.

    “This person will be provided with return flight, accommodation in London, daily living allowance and tuition fees for the training,” he explained.

    In the best report on education category, Alimi defeated Attah Emeka of Daily Sun with his entry school graduation for sales and Titus Eleweke of The Union with arresting decline in teaching indigenous languages in schools.

    Both entries emerged as first and second runners-up.

    Alimi, a sports writer, described the awards as “reward for 15 years of hardwork and persistence.”

    Visibly elated, he said: “This is the first time I would be writing a feature outside sports and see what it has fetched me.”

    He dedicated both awards to his friends at the Bethesda Home for the Blind, whose emotional story and plight he chronicled in the features.

    He said it was a story he stumbled on when his friend, a former footballer and sports administrator, Ganiu Ejide, prevailed on him to escort him to visit some of his friends from where his journalistic instinct took over.

    Other winners at the ceremony, which held at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Ikeja Lagos, are Eniola Toluwani for the best report on children.

    He defeated last year’s overall winner, Kunle Falayi of Saturday Punch whose entry, Lagos residents at risk from contaminated water came second. Sina Fadare of The Nation’s Shina Fadare’s The teenage marijuana smoking epidemic was third.

    Ajayi Joshua of Daily Independent won  in  the best photo story category.

    Gbenga Salau of The Guardian won the brand advocate of the year and best report on nutrition.

    He led the two other nominees, Olajide Fabamise of Newswatch Times and Raheem Akingbolu of This Day in the brand advocate category.

    Salau’s entry for the best report on nutrition category, Nutrition as tool to tackle maternal, child mortality, was also adjudged outstanding compared to Uche Akolisa’s How you can get the best out of fruits (Hallmark) and Chikodi Okereocha’s Anti-malnutrition campaign moves to Nollywood (The Nation).

    Winners from all the categories with the exception of the winner of the best photo story of the year were given high-end laptops,

    The winner of the best photo story of the year was given a high-end camera.

     

  • Hoodlums attack The Nation Port Harcourt office

    Hoodlums attack The Nation Port Harcourt office

    Some criminals the Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi administration chased out of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, particularly from the Njemanze waterfront, have promised to take over the city after May 29.

    The hoodlums spoke yesterday when they attacked The Nation office opposite Njemanze waterfront.

    A worker of the newspaper was shot after the hoodlums robbed him and his colleagues of their belongings.

    The Njemanze waterfront is among those demolished by the Amaechi administration when the government discovered that it had became a criminal hideout.

    But the hoodlums, who attacked The Nation workers, said they would come back when the incoming government takes over on May 29.

    They barricaded the gate to The Nation office with native charm.

    The hoodlums said Njemanze was their territory, which the government, which they called their enemy, demolished.

    According to them, they might get angry and kill The Nation workers in one day.

    The newspaper’s Security Officer Moses Abimbola, who was almost killed, said: “They shot one of our workers and broke my head with their gun, after collecting my money and phone. They said they lost their territory under the Amaechi administration, that it was time to reclaim the Njemanze waterfront.”

    Abimbola said The Nation workers were at the front gate when three hoodlums, with a locally made gun, surrendered them.

    He said: “It was in the morning when the three gunmen met us. But when we discovered that they were after us, we attempted to escape. When we heard gunshots, we surrendered to them. Although I made the second attempt to run, it was then they broke my head.”

    But The Nation General Manager in-charge of Southsouth/Southeast, Mr. Olatunde Olasogba, noted that apart from the daily attacks on The Nation workers at the press house, its drivers had been confronted by robbers, almost daily, on the Port Harcourt route.

    The manager urged the police to deploy their patrol team at Njemanze waterfront, where The Nation office is located.

    He said: “I want the Rivers State Police Command to look into our plight. The hoodlums have promised to attack us regularly, claiming that they were chased away by Governor Amaechi.

    “Our drivers are now scared to carry out their lawful duties due to the nefarious activities of armed robbers on the Port Harcourt route.”

    The Nation drivers have identified Ebola Junction, in Emohua Local Government Area, Ahoada and Ozuhia–Ubima roads in Ikwerre Local Government Area as robbers’ territories.

    They said the hoodlums usually robbed without showing any fear for the police.

    Police spokesman Ahmed Mohammad, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), did not answer the calls to his mobile phone.

    He also did not reply to a text message sent to him on the incident at the time of going to the press last night.

  • The Nation bags FRSC media award

    The Nation bags FRSC media award

    The Nation has won the 2014 Media Award of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) for outstanding contributions to road safety.

    The award was presented to the newspaper and other organisations to mark the FRSC’s 27th anniversary.

    The Nation’s Deputy Editor, Nation’s Capital, Yomi Odunuga, received the award on behalf of the newspaper.

    The Corps Marshal and Chief Executive Officer of FRSC, Boboye Oyeyemi, at the ceremony, also recognised some officers and marshals for upholding the corps’ integrity during rescue operations last year.

    Among officers rewarded were those who distinguished themselves in their various duties and others who returned money recovered during accident rescue operations.

    The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Pius Anyim Pius, who was the special guest of honour at the event, said the Corps had embraced and deployed Information and Communication Technology (ICT) towards efficient road safety management system.

    The SGF, who was represented by the Senior Special Assistant to the President, Mr. Ferdinand Agu, urged other ministries, department and agencies (MDAs) to emulate the agency, stressing that the world is divided between digital and non-digital world.

    Any organisation that wanted to make progress, he added, must be ICT compliant.

    Oyeyemi recalled with nostalgia when the founding fathers of the FRSC came up with the idea of the commission 27 years ago.

    He noted that many Nigerians did not realise that the idea of road safety, which Nigeria pioneered in Africa, was going to be adopted by the global community as a strategy for tackling the menace of road traffic crashes globally.

    He said the Corps, which was established through Decree 45 of 1988 as amended by Decree 35 of 1992, has become a vital contribution to global efforts at tackling the challenges of road traffic crashes.

    Oyeyemi  lamented  that of the 10, 380 road traffic crashes recorded in Nigeria last year,  5,996 lives were lost and 32,063 people were injured.

    He added that the scourge has left in its wake the loss of wage earners, active workforce, loved ones and future leaders, all of which subject families to extreme poverty and  erosion of the nation’s bright future.

    He noted that the organisation has become the best example of a road safety lead agency recommended to other developing countries for emulation in standardising their country’s road safety management by the World Bank.

    He noted that the organisation’s dreams were anchored on  becoming a world class organisation with sufficient capacity to contribute to the realisation of the targets of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety: 2011-2020 as well as Accra Declaration of 2007 with targets of fatality reduction by 50 per cent this year.

  • Gunmen kidnap The Nation marketer

    Gunmen kidnap The Nation marketer

    Two gunmen abducted yesterday, a marketer with The Nation, Mrs Joke Ajayi.

    She was said to have been abducted in the Latoogun area of Ijebu Ode in Ijebu Ode Local Government area of the Ogun State.

    The woman was said to be on her way to where newspaper agents converge to collect papers around 5.30am when she was abducted.

    A colleague, who was with her, said she was asked to lie face-down when they were taking her away.

    She said the gunmen came in an Opel Astra car.

    The witness said she could not identify the car’s colour because it was still dark.

    Mrs Ajayi’s colleague, Abdul-Rasaq Oyeneyin, who spoke with the abductors, said they initially demanded N50 million, but when he called back, it was reduced to N20 million.

    He said the woman’s abduction paralysed activities yesterday as most of the marketers were running around to ensure her release. The incident has been reported at Igbeba Police Station.

    “We have been praying since morning and we could not even eat. We are helpless. We are going through hell. We are sad. We need help. She is a single mother who is struggling to survive. Where do you think she can get such amount of money?” he queried.

    Police spokesman Muyiwa Adejobi could not be reached for comment.