The Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE) has said that the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State and Chairman, THISDAY/Arise Media Group, Prince Nduka Obaigbena, will speak at the second Alhaji Lateef Jakande Annual Memorial Lecture.
The Publisher of Vanguard Media Group, Uncle Sam Amuka; former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Segun Osoba and Former Minister of Information and Culture, Gen. Ike Nwachukwu (retired), will be Fathers of the Day.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the President of NGE, Eze Anaba, and the General Secretary, Dr Iyobosa Uwugiaren, the lecture will take place in Lagos on Tuesday, July 30.
The statement noted that Obaigbena will share with editors, media executives and other stakeholders, the survival strategies for the trying times.
The annual lecture, which was instituted last year by the NGE – in honour of its founding President, late Alhaji Lateef Jakande, is both a testament to the cherished service rendered by Alhaji Jakande, and an acknowledgement of the significance of having such a conversation for the overall good of the media and the country, Nigeria.
“The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) was formed on May 20, 1961 – to serve as an elite organization of editors, through which editors as professional heads of their publications, could enhance their professional interests by networking to discuss/address common challenges and developing relationships with their various audiences in the media itself, governments, professional and trade associations.
“Originally named the Guild of Newspaper Editors of Nigeria, it was later renamed Nigerian Guild of Editors to accommodate colleagues in the broadcast/online media.
“The NGE’s founding president was Alhaji Lateef Jakande (1929-2021). He had rallied his professional colleagues to form the body that was conceived to occupy the strategic middle ground of editorial senior managers between media owners and the general workforce of journalists.”
The Guild said after discharging uncommon duties to the Nigerian media, Alhaji Jakande went on to render appreciable service – as the first civilian governor of Lagos State, and as a federal Minister of Works and Housing.
The NGE said: “Sixty-three years after, the NGE – the professional body of editors and Media executives, remains a respected organization among professional associations, and a leader in the media landscape.
“And Alhaji Lateef Jakande’s name remains treasured – whenever committed service is mentioned in the media and public service.
“Consequently, as part of nurturing a culture of appreciation, the NGE, in 2023, instituted an Annual Lecture in honour of its late pioneer president, Alhaji Jakande – to continue to interrogate developments affecting the media and society.” The Guild said the event, which will provide a huge opportunity for media stakeholders to interrogate issues affecting the media sector, will be attended by media executives, scholars from the academic, policy makers, politicians, students of mass communication and others.