 Let me begin by saying how privileged I am to be here joining you to honor the memories of the recently departed leaders in the media. The roll call of these leading lights that have left us is a truly impressive one and it can be said without exaggeration that eternity has claimed a rich harvest. These men were remarkable and outstanding giants of their crafts in every right. While we recognize that their exit leaves a significant vacuum, this gathering serves a threefold purpose. It is at once a celebration of their lives and the illustrious tradition to which they belonged. A reflection on their legacies and an affirmation of the great values for which they stood. The Nigerian press has deep roots going back about 150 years. Indeed the Nigerian press came into existence before Nigeria itself and was instrumental to the birthing of this nation. The pantheon of heroes of free speech as an institution is one to which all our honoraries belong and this is a rich one indeed. Several luminaries of the anti-colonial and nationalist movements were also leading figures in the press. Namdia Zikwe, Ernesto Ikoli, Anthony Enahorom, Herbert Macaulay. First established themselves as journalists of repute. Indeed at one point between Namdia Zikwe and Obafemi Aholoa, the controlled five and ten newspapers respectively. Considering its origins as a bastion of the nationally struggle, it's not surprising that the relations between the Nigerian press and the Nigerian state were always largely adversarial. In the years after we gained our independence from the British, this dynamic was accentuated by the succession of military dictatorships that seized power following the collapse of the First Republic in 1966. Since military rule is defined mainly by the abbreviation of civil liberties and in particular the right to freedom of expression, the press found itself on the opposite side of confrontations with the military regimes of that era. The apogee of the tensions between the press and the military in the 1970s was the nationalization of the daily times. Those with long memories will remember the 70s as the era in which Bola Boogunsoho and Adi Adi Rinoku came into their own as editors of the Sunday Times and Daily Express respectively. Both of these giants held court as two of the most respected journalists and public commentators of their time. Who can forget Bola Boogunsoho's interventions in the Joseph Taka Godwin Dabo affair, the cement importation scandal or the cement armada, Kuku and Toss Benson, the Kuku and Toss Benson Tango. Adi Adi Rinoku was exceptional and accomplished poet with compilations like Ebony on Snow, Dance of the Vulture and the Pritiants Dark Days are here. He was one of the earliest and most influential promoters of Nigerian music and entertainment. Broadcast journalism also had its shining exemplars of professional excellence with the likes of the late Berné Guna who was the golden voice of the network news of the Federal Radio Corporation in the 1980s and 1990s that guided the nation through a turbulent period. A 40-year veteran of broadcast industry he would serve as news director of the voice of Nigeria and rise to be the director general of the FRCN and also serve as the president of the African Union of Broadcasters. But what will live long in our memories is the rich texture of his voice interpreting national events for millions of Nigerians for nearly two decades. And there was also in that era another iconic figure, B.C. Lawrence, Uncle B's law, whose multi-faceted career saw him write a hugely popular long-running column in the Vanguard. He served as general manager of Radio Lagos from where he midwives the establishment of the Lagos Television which pioneered 24-hour broadcasting in Nigeria and also he also earned acclaim as a seasoned sports administrator. Having begun his career at the Nigerian Broadcasting Service, the precursor to the FRCN, these laws remarkable footprint of excellent spanned radio, television and print journalism as well as sports administration. In the illiberal and hostile climate of the 1980s and the 1990s many journalists took to the front lines of civil society's struggle against tyranny and they did so at great risk to their personal well-being and safety and they used their publications to advocate democracy. Many of you in this room and your absent colleagues are veterans of that period and paid the price of voluntary deprivation, imprisonment, exile and in some cases the ultimate price. We will remember of course Ismail Aisa for example who served as president of the newspaper proprietors association of Nigeria from 1995 to 2002 which is possibly the darkest era in the life of Nigerian media and he was right there in the trenches at that time rallying the press call against official censorship of the press. There are of course many stories of how he helped many news publications to stay alive in those days but we have a democracy today owes in large part to the sacrifices of the media of those of you gathered here and those that have departed. These are sacrifices that should never be forgotten. As I said earlier your departed colleagues were true giants of their craft whose significance in public life loomed larger than their chosen vocations might have indicated. Alaji Latif Jaconde, the action governor of Lagos State is best remembered now for serving with great distinction not just as the first elected governor of Lagos State between 1979 and 1983 but also for numerous achievements ranging from infrastructure to laws covering practically every aspect of governance. What even before then he had an accomplished career as a journalist that started in 1949 from the daily service and led him in 1953 to join the Nigerian Tribune where he rose to become editor in chief. He was the first president of the Nigerian Newspapers Association of Nigeria NPA and of course his life has been celebrated again and again and especially by chief Olushevmo Shoba. Tony Momo we've heard already about him an authentic prince of Auchi Edo State just as Mr. Rieku pointed out his father had 257 children all I can add to that is that he was the 165th child of King Momo I of Auchi. Tony Momo's personal battle for press freedom earned him a place in the constitutional annals of Nigeria in the famous case of Tony Momo v. the Senate Joseph Wires of Blessed Memory, former Senate president someone him to appear before the chambers over an uncomplementary and contemptuous publication he had actually referred to senators as glorified contractors a matter which at that point was considered a grievous insult the Senate sought to compel him to disclose the source of information and as you've heard Momo sued the Senate at the Lagos High Court over what he described as an attempt to infringe press freedom in the country Momo argued that a journalist had the constitutional obligation to hold the government accountable at all times and that this duty will be jeopardized if he had to disclose his sources the High Court agreed that an individual had the right to refuse to disclose their source of information whether that individual was a journalist or not however and I think it's important as a professor of law to correct the notion that the matter ended there it did not on appeal unfortunately the High Court was overruled the appellate court held that under the 1979 constitution nobody, no individual including journalists was shielded from disclosing their sources of information especially in exceptional circumstances Tony Momo went on to become one of the founding fathers of the APC we'll also of course remember Sam and Isaiah was also another media icon whose path led from journalism to politics though originally a pharmacist what earned Sam national acclaim was his forthright and uncompromising columns first in the daily trust and then in the leadership newspaper which he founded in 2004 and he carried that principled forthright disposition into politics in the years before and after his presidential bid in 2015 he established himself as one of the most principled voices in the media one remarkable attribute of all of the luminaries that we're celebrating today is the wide-ranging nature of their careers their vocational pursuits cut across public and private sectors and the scaled impressive heights of accomplishments in both domains I have in mind also a man like the gentleman Malam Wida Maida who served as chief press secretary to President Muhammad Buhari back when he was the military head of state he went on to serve as editor in chief of the news agency of Nigeria between 1985 and 1994 before becoming the agency's managing director in 1994 he would go on to co-found the daily trust and was chairman of the board of the news association of Nigeria until his passage such was his work ethic that he was at work right until the day of his death I'm gratified that members of the media are honoring the memory of departed colleagues today there is a great need to immortalize those who have gone before us and ensure that their words and deeds are kept aflame as a guiding light for successive generations especially so that younger people grasp the significance of the traditions which they belong and I've gone to these lengths in exploring history because the true character of an institution and the true weight of its calling is revealed by its past by its trajectory through the times at times it may seem that the media and the government are mortal enemies but the occasionally turbulent nature of our relationship is in my view part of the natural creative tension that must exist between institutions arising from our different mandates those of us who govern must do so with the understanding that power is a public trust and it is your calling as journalist to invigilators and hold us accountable I urge you to do so relentlessly, fairly and unapologetically when we are both true to our respective callings our democracy is strengthened however there is a reason why the media is described as the fourth estate of the realm in terms of the share ability to influence hearts and minds and direct the public imagination no other institution comes close to its power you can shape how people think and you can interpret reality in a way that animates our most constructive public spirited instincts or in a way that summons our darkest and most destructive impulses you have the power to elevate public debate in a way that no other institution can it is said that journalism is the first rough draft of history it is true that reportage shapes the perception and understanding of events it shapes memories and because of all of this it can influence behavior for good or for ill there are arguably no bigger influencers than those who report and interpret the world to us this is considerable power and it comes with responsibility and I emphasize this because we are at yet another defining moment in history the age of technology where once the dissemination of news was the preserve of states and corporations the information revolution has completely democratized the media environment the very meaning of the term media owner has changed and no longer refers to people with the profiles of some of those of us who are here in this era of citizen journalism everyone now has a voice whether through blogs, websites, online publications, podcasts etc the democratization of information unleashed by the information age has also introduced related risks with the serious implications for economic and socio-political stability individuals and private interests now control means of information dissemination that were once the exclusive preserve of corporations and governments who we could easily hold to account these capabilities are increasingly used now in all sorts of maligned ways by those who harbor ill intent fake news has been trafficked on a scale that is capable of warping the perception of reality by huge numbers of people and inducing social conflict I believe that media leaders must use the considerable influence that you have to seek ways of achieving a consensus on the responsible use of social media but that is a matter for much fuller discussion perhaps another day for the moment this developments converge with this period of turbulence in the life of our nation there is really no question at all that what should occupy our minds today is whether we are building up our country or whether we are intent on tearing it down this is a question that we must ask ourselves in every sphere of human endeavor it is the plumb line by which history will judge our generation because there is really only one divide at this point is the line between those who are committed to constructive action and those who are pursuing a destructive cause our country is not perfect and we all know this but the cure for her imperfections is certainly most certainly not destruction nor a heedless descent into anaki especially has been promoted by some voices we all have a share in the much needed work of rebuilding redesigning and reforming and healing our nation creating a commonality or purpose in technically diverse and culturally diverse society is challenging the world over however nation building is not the sole preserve of politicians and governments in fact it is just as much a task for civil society of which the media is an important member the giants that we celebrate today understood that journalism operates in a social context and cannot be value neutral this same cognitive commitment is incumbent upon all media practitioners we are at a time in our national odisy in which retailers of discord and merchants of strife are working assiduously against our collective potential as a people among the powers of the press is the ability to amplify and to drown out voices media practitioners have a responsibility to exercise discernment in their deployment of their platforms in this regard we must ask ourselves are empowering and amplifying the most insensit and intemperate and incendiary voices in our midst while marginalizing the voices of reason of course the most dramatic voices are those voices that are calling for nihilism in one shape or form of the other it is true the freedom of expression is enshrined in our constitution but we all agree that society progress and order depend upon responsible exercise of freedom of expression and other freedoms otherwise the end result will be anaki as we struggle to build our nation with the bricks of mutuality plurality and tolerance I would suggest that those of us that stand as gatekeepers in the fourth estate must demonstrate a greater awareness of the sensibilities and sensitivities of our society debates over our country's future may be intense and passionate but they need not be toxic or polarizing the media can help to promote a climate of civility in which even the most contentious national issues can be discussed in full and frank terms without degenerating into chaos let us reject the temptation to fracture our society and choose instead to elevate those constructive elements in our midst that can promote justice healing and togetherness the media has been at the forefront of all our epochal struggles from the fight against colonialism to the struggle to entrench democracy a third struggle is now underway it is a quest to deepen democracy and to realize our collective possibilities as a just, prosperous and progressive nation I remain on yielding in my personal belief that we have a common destiny and that we, the constant parts of our nation are stronger together than apart I personally believe that all of us have a stake in advancing the cause of justice of equity and progress this is a task that is incumbent on everyone the media leaders in whose names and memories we have gathered today are giants precisely because they understood the struggles of their times and they embraced their roles in them in so doing they wrote their names in gold and remain reference points for succeeding generations today we too must embrace all of those quests that are before us to make common cause with progressive nation builders across all divides to take ownership of our country and build a sustainable future for our children finally let me commend the MPO and BON who conceived of such immemorial immemorial of such taste and magnitude among our people there is a common saying that the care or loyalty demonstrated by those championing our causes when we are no longer there or when we are no longer present is more genuine than the obsequousness of those engaged in eye service still in a position to pay back so for this let me salute the exemplary leadership exhibited by the NPO and the BON with this you have really lived up to expectation as the ultimate custodian of the finest traditions of our media tradition very well done thank you very much thanks for listening