By Hassan Hussain
News makers, readers and other Nigerians who have contributed significantly to the development of the country are to be honoured as part of activities marking the centenary anniversary of the Daily Times newspaper.
Chairman of the Times Heroes Awards Council, Mr. Bolaji Okusaga, made this known in Abuja at a media briefing ahead of the first award ceremony scheduled for Thursday.
Mr. Okusaga said the awards were not designed to celebrate the Daily Times alone, but to recognise Nigerians whose contributions over the past 100 years had impacted positively on the nation’s development.
He explained that the initiative would honour both newsmakers and news readers, stressing that the two groups remained central to the existence and relevance of the media.
“Fundamentally speaking, there can be no news platform without newsmakers, and there can be no newsmakers without news readers,”he said.
The Council chairman said the awards were intended to “go back to base” by celebrating people who made the news, those who consumed it and those who acted on information to advance national development.
According to him, the awardees will cut across public service, private enterprise, entrepreneurship, social causes, security, the judiciary and the legislature.
He said about six governors would receive awards at the maiden ceremony, alongside private-sector trailblazers and Nigerians whose contributions had gained international recognition.
Former President of the African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, is among those expected to be honoured and will also deliver the keynote address at the ceremony.
Mr. Okusaga said the first ceremony would feature 30 awards, while the broader centenary programme would ultimately recognise 100 deserving Nigerians.
He explained that the initial awards were part of a series of activities leading to the grand finale of the centenary celebration in June 2027.
“There are still a series of other events that will climax in the final event of June 2027, where all of the guys that have been voted and nominated through this process will be awarded,” he said.
On the selection process, Mr. Okusaga said the Council adopted a merit-based approach, including physical verification of the achievements of shortlisted nominees.
He explained that nominees were contacted, informed of the selection criteria and required to provide access to their organisations and projects for verification.
“We had to go physically to be able to see what you have done. So, if you open doors, and then you are transparent, and we are able to confirm these things they said about you, then that’s one of the criteria that brought us this far,” he said.
He added that nominees who did not meet the requirements for the current award cycle could still be considered in subsequent editions.
Mr. Okusaga said the Council did not operate a formal quota system based on gender or age, but noted that the list of awardees reflected a broad representation of both categories.
He said the awards would recognise elderly Nigerians who had made outstanding contributions, young people with global impact, women and other Nigerians across various fields of endeavour.
According to him, the 100 Nigerians to be recognised would also feature in the Nigeria Grand Book, which chronicles the country’s history from 1914 through independence and the post-independence era.
The Council chairman said the centenary celebration would also focus on the future of journalism and the changing pattern of news consumption.
He explained that a fireside chat at the ceremony would examine the role of the media in shaping Nigeria’s development over the next century.
Mr. Okusaga observed that the media industry had undergone significant transformation, particularly in the last two decades, with digital platforms changing the way Nigerians consume and distribute information.
“News has not died. News, in fact, has grown,” he said, urging mainstream media organisations to continuously reinvent themselves to remain relevant.
He noted that the Daily Times had also evolved from a traditional newsstand newspaper into a virtual platform providing audiovisual and graphic content through the internet.
Mr. Okusaga said the centenary celebration would therefore honour the newspaper’s rich legacy while focusing attention on the future of journalism and national development.
The theme of the centenary celebration is: “Celebrating Legacies and Focusing on the Future.”
He said the celebration would also highlight the Daily Times’ contributions to Nigeria’s history, including its role in the struggle for independence, national development, education, real estate and the establishment of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
At the Media briefing, the Chairman of the Times Heroes Awards Council, Bolaji Okusaga, was accompanied by the Executive Secretary of the Council, Mr. Bonaventure Phillips Melah, and the Organising Secretary, Mr. Feyi Smith.
