By Omotunde Ojugbele
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has described the re-election of Raheem Adedoyin into the Governing Board of International Press Institute (IPI) as a recognition of his exemplary dedication to journalism ethics over the years.
Alhaji Idris disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja at a dinner hosted by the IPI Nigeria, which was attended by top media executives, including the publisher/editor-in-chief of NatureNews, Aliu Akoshile.
The Minister, who was chairman of the occasion, reiterated the commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to press freedom based on the ethos of responsible journalism.
The honoree, Alhaji Raheem Adedoyin, was recently re-elected to represent Africa on the executive board of the IPI International during the World Congress and General Assembly of the organisation in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In his address, the IPI Nigeria president and chief host of the event, Musikilu Mojeed, said the dinner was to celebrate Mr Adedoyin whom he described as “a champion of press freedom, a mentor to many, and a shining example of excellence in journalism”.
Musikilu, who is editor-in-chief of PREMIUM TIMES, said, as journalists, “we hardly celebrate ourselves. We are very good at celebrating other people, but we hardly gather to celebrate with each other.
In their remarks, the chairman of the Board of Trustees, IPI Nigeria, Malam Kabiru Yusuf, and a member of IPI Nigeria Board of Trustees, Mr. Folu Olamiti commended Adedoyin for his unwavering commitment to the organisation, which he joined in 1995 and later served as secretary for 12 years.
In his speech, Honourable Adedoyin, who was Commissioner for Information in Kwara State, reaffirmed his commitment to effective representation of Africa on the IPI executive board.
He commended Musikilu’s leadership of IPI Nigeria, adding: “What IPI International has not been able to do, IPI Nigeria is doing. And we have become the favourites whenever we have meetings. Nigeria has become the shiniest. We’ve been organising training conducting advocacy, and whenever we see cases of press freedom violations, we try to tackle them.
Narrating his sojourn with the organisation, he said: “I got to IPI through Mr Olamiti. I think we were going to Japan and other places. He said you have to register to become a member before you can enjoy the benefit.”
Related Posts
Alhaji Adedoyin, who expressed appreciation to the organisers and the guests, spoke glowingly about Malam Kabiru Yusuf, Mr Folu Olamiti, and Alhaji Mohammed Idris, describing them as his mentors.
He attributed Nigeria’s successful hosting of the IPI World Congress in 2018 to the remarkable support he received from Kabiru Yusuf and his newspaper, Daily Trust.
“Everybody talks about how well we did when Nigeria hosted a successful congress in 2018. To be honest, I will give credit to Kabiru and Daily Trust. Daily Trust was the secretariat. I was literally sleeping there. For six months, for the first time in my life, I did not leave Abuja. I even missed the Eid-el-Kabir festival for the first time in my adulthood,” he said.
Mr Adedoyin also narrated how Alhaji Mohammed Idris, then the chairman of Blueprint Newspapers, paid for his accommodation when he was “going to become a refugee” in Abuja, adding that Messrs Yusuf, Idris and Olamiti, were instrumental to his nomination and re-election into the IPI global executive board.
The elated former MD/Editor-in-Chief of The Herald newspaper, Adedoyin said he had spent over four decades in journalism and that he was delighted to be celebrated by his professional body.
“I encourage the younger ones to stick to the principles of journalism and embrace all that journalism teaches us, to keep up the good,“ he said.
The reception dinner was graced by senior government officials, including former Minister of Power, Dr. Olu Agunloye; Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga; former Managing Director of Champion Newspapers, Emma Agu; former editor of The Guardian on Sunday, Fred Ohwahwa; Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Tunde Rahman; and Senior Special Assistant to the President, Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi.
Others were the Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Lanre Isa Onilu; the Executive Secretary of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Biodun Ajiboye; Managing Director of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Ali M. Ali; Dean of the Postgraduate School of Baze University, Prof Abiodun Adeniyi; and a former President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Waheed Odusile.
Present also were the Group CEO/Editor-in-Chief of Media Trust Limited, Ahmed Shekarau, who doubles as the secretary for IPI Nigeria; Managing Editor (North) of The Nation, Yusuf Alli; the Executive Director of the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Dayo Aiyetan; and the Chairperson of Blueprint Newspaper’s Editorial Board, Zainab Okino.
Also in attendance were the CEO of People’s Daily newspaper, Hamid Bello; Assistant Director, Voice of Nigeria, Rafat Salami; Deputy Editor at 24th Century Chronicle, Catherine Agbo and Administrative Secretary of IPI Nigeria, Linda Kpum.
Commenting on the event, NatureNews Publisher/EiC, Aliu Akoshile, said Alhaji Raheem Adedoyin, whom he extolled as his brother and professional mentor, deserves his re-election having excelled as a journalist, editor and media executive.
Adedoyin, a Fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), was first elected to the IPI Board in 2021 during the World Congress and General Assembly in Vienna.
He was re-elected for a second three-year term at the World Congress and General Assembly of the IPI in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The IPI is a global network of senior editors, media executives, and communication experts dedicated to promoting press freedom around the world. It established the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Ogba, in 1962 and has been involved in journalism training and press freedom advocacy around the world.
