NGE holds Lateef Jakande memorial lecture Tuesday

The Nigerian Guild of Editors is set to hold the second edition of the Lateef Jakande Annual Memorial Lecture on Tuesday in Lagos State.

In a statement on Sunday signed by its President, Eze Anaba and General Secretary, Dr Iyobosa Uwugiaren, the NGE said the Chairman, THISDAY/Arise Media Group, Prince Nduka Obaigbena, will share with editors, media executives and other stakeholders, the survival strategies for the trying times.

The statement noted that the lecture, wiith the theme “Rapidly Changing Media Landscape: Survival Strategies”, will hold at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Ikeja, Lagos.

It added that the lecture will be chaired by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, while Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State will be the Special Guest of Honour.

The statement noted that the publisher of Vanguard Media Group, Sam Amuka; former Governor of Ogun State, Segun Osoba and a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gen. Ike Nwachukwu (retd.), will be Fathers of the Day.

The annual lecture, which was instituted in 2023 by the NGE in honour of its founding president, the late Lateef Jakande, according to the professional body of editors and media executives, is a testament to the cherished service rendered by Jakande, and an acknowledgement of the significance of having such a conversation for the overall good of the media and the country.

“The Nigerian Guild of Editors 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 statement added.

The NGE said that after discharging “uncommon duties” to the Nigerian media, Jakande went on to render appreciable service – as the first civilian governor of Lagos State, and as a federal Minister of Works and Housing.

It added, “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.”