Some prominent Nigerians who spoke to Realnews Magazine

Realnews media celebrated its 10th anniversary on Thursday, November 17, 2022 in Lagos. The event was attended by guests from the media, academia, industrial sector, politics, Faith-based institutions, security and friends and family members.

Some of the guests spoke and below are their views on how the magazine has fared in the last 10 years,

Excerpts:

Ralph Afolabi Akinfeleye, Council member of the World Journalism Education Congress in USA, representing Africa, former chairman & HOD, Mass Communication, University of Lagos, thanked Realnews for always staying true to its goals and urged them to keep up the good work.

“I read Realnews every time. Realnews annual lecture has improved tremendously over the years in terms of the quality of the attendees and in terms of the content, pluralism and diversities on what it did last year.

“Also the quality of people you brought in, look at retired Brig-Gen, Buba Marwa, his presentation was excellent, look at the likes of Ray Ekpo, you brought in who is who in the media system for this occasion and I want to congratulate your organization.

“It’s a tremendous improvement and you are celebrating your 10th year, which is commendable. Congratulations and I wish you more good things to happen,” he said.Prof. Ralph Afolabi AkinfeleyeMartins Oloja, Managing Director and Editor-In-Chief of The Guardian Newspaper, recounted the lessons from the lecture and appealed to parents to appreciate the fact that we live in a different time and era and urged them to desist from bringing up their children the way they were brought up.He attributed the successes recorded by Realnews to the fact that the publisher, Maureen Chigbo, has remained focused. According to him, the success of the 10th Anniversary lecture is not about the event, but about the deliverables.“The best of the deliverables is focused on the family and that people should not be looking outside, thinking that the problem is external, that the problem is outside there, is somebody’s else’s problem, when it may be right in your home.“Obviously, Realnews has improved because of the person behind the Realnews is an experienced person, who is also very organized and resourceful and because they structured the event to be more interactive.Recounting the lessons from the lecture, Oloja said: “The fact that parents should no longer be bringing up their children the way that they were brought up, that parents need to understand the times like the children of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel ought to do. That is very important.”Martins OlojaGoddy Uwazurike, President of the Credibility Group, expressed delight and satisfaction with the theme of the anniversary lecture and the caliber of the guest speaker and the discussants.“I am very happy I came. I have been missing these events and every year, I keep promising Maureen that I would be there. But this year, I said I should be there, and I am happy I am here. I like the quality.“God will continue to bless you, the publisher, because it takes a strong willed person to do what you are doing. The money is not there, but you are soldiering on, and that is so important,” he said.Goddy UwazurikeCharles Onyewuchi Anyiam-Osigwe, Chairman, Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe Foundation, gave kudos to Realnews and said that he was happy to have attended this anniversary lecture and recalled that he had attended some of Realnews annual lectures.According to him, the 10th anniversary lecture seems to be the best and urged Realnews to continue to keep up with its game in terms of the topics and the lecturers.“It gets better from year to year. This year’s lecture is really, really interesting for me, the keynote speaker was very educative, informative, and he really x-rayed the challenges of drug menace in our country presently, and what they are doing about it.“So far, so good, it is kudos. I am very proud of my sister, Maureen and what she is doing and when I am in town, I will try to attend.Charles Onyewuchi Anyiam-OsigweDuro Sandey, Group Managing Director, GMS Travels and Tours, expressed his excitement at the quality of speakers and the relevance of the topic of discussion and promised to keep a date with Realnews annual lectures.“Realnews yearly lectures will continue to be to me a date to keep because they seem to go deep into the thoughts, they are clear in their conscience about what should come to the surface and steer up things for the betterment of the nation.“I am excited about what they have been doing over the years, but this 10th year anniversary lecture is of particular interest because of the potential hazard of drug abuse, especially in an African nation like Nigeria, heavily exposed to Western ways, with a substantial middle class population, and yet a grossly large under privileged class.“The economy might be one of the things we will need to focus on to be able to destroy this onslaught of drug abuse and companies like Realnews, and the way they craft their topics and bring well-meaning lecturers and thinkers to the fore, might be one of the ripple centres that will help to bring about the “awareness now”, but a commitment from the larger population to come up with solutions to these issues,” he said.Duro Sandey