Chairman and CEO, Elizade Motors, Michael Ade Ojo, has called on the country’s leaders to quickly arrest the general poverty in country or risk “terrible incidences.”
The business magnate, who is also the founder of Elizade University in Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State, made the call in Lagos on Tuesday at the presentation of the book ‘Makers Of Nigerian Press’ written by Dayo Duyile, a foremost journalist, former Director, Nigerian Institute of Journalism and Senior Lecturer in Journalism and Mass Communication at Elizade University.
According to Ojo, who launched the book, no amount of money is small in the present circumstances in Nigeria as things are tough for everybody.
“It is no longer business as usual. I hope something will be done to by the government to arrest the general poverty that has overtaken the nation.
“It is unfortunate we are in this position where nobody is sure of his or her future, both the rich and the poor.
“The annoyance of the poor should only be imagined as no one prays for it to come. We pray that things change in this country if are to avert terrible incidences,” he said.
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In his brief remarks, Chairman of the event and former governor of Ogun State, Segun Osoba described Duyile as the only journalist who got to the peak of the profession before switching to the academia.
A journalist of no mean repute himself and an author, Osoba said the book, Makers of Nigerian Press, was a must read for both students and
practitioners of journalism in the country.
The book reviewer, Mr. Lanre Arogundade, the Executive Director of International Press Centre, IPC, Nigeria, noted that “this 782-page and 88-chapter book is not just about who-is-who in the Nigerian press, but also a panoramic, yet in-depth documentation and analysis of the processes, the events, the legislations, the regulatory frameworks, the challenges, the economic environment and the political processes that have been shaping the evolution of the Nigerian media since the establishment of the first newspaper – Iwe Irohin Fun Awon Egba ati Yoruba – in Abeokuta 160 years ago in 1859.”
Speaking about the book, the author, Mr. Duyile, noted that the book “presents the historical accounts and analysis of the pioneers, the proprietorial families and individuals who have contributed to the growth of journalism in Nigeria.”
According to him, the book is the fulfillment of his desire to ‘produce a book on the evolution of the Nigerian Press for educational needs, reading pleasure and for research works for scholars who are seeking information on the Nigerian mass media.”
Makers Of Nigerian Press is the fifth Journalism and Mass Communication book to be authored by Mr. Duyile.
