Themed “Navigating The Digital Transformation In The Media Industry,” the training aimed to equip online publishers with the skills to leverage new technologies in media.

The event was held in collaboration with the American Open University of Technology, Nigeria (ATECH) at its Global Campus in Bodija, Ibadan.

Dr. David Akanbi, the Campus Director, facilitated the session, offering practical insights into how emerging technologies are transforming the media landscape.

Akanbi highlighted key technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual and Augmented Reality, Blockchain, and 5G networks, which he said are reshaping how news is produced, distributed, and consumed.

“These technologies are revolutionising media by creating new ways for publishers to engage with their audiences,” Akanbi noted.

He encouraged the participants to embrace these innovations to improve their businesses and positively impact society.

In a post-training discussion, Akanbi shared his motivation for the session, emphasising the importance of knowledge-sharing for societal development.

“If knowledge is not shared, it is wasted. Sharing knowledge is like planting a tree, and by spreading what we know, we contribute to a better society,” he said.

The training also featured a presentation by Mr. John Abayomi, Founder and Chief Strategist of Virals.ng, on Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Abayomi stressed the importance of SEO in achieving visibility in an increasingly competitive digital space. He advised online media practitioners to master SEO tools and techniques to enhance their reach and effectiveness.

“Success in online journalism is not determined by when you start, but by how well you apply SEO strategies,” Abayomi explained, urging SWEGOP members to adopt various SEO applications to boost their work.

Both facilitators noted the critical role of technology in modern journalism, while also stressing the importance of maintaining integrity on digital platforms.

In his remarks, Mr. Olayinka Agboola, Chairman of SWEGOP, described the training as part of a series of initiatives aimed at improving the skills and expertise of its members in the digital media space.

He commended the management of ATECH for their support, applauding Dr. Akanbi for his contributions to the success of the training.

The post S’West Online Publishers Train Members on Emerging Tech in Media Industry first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

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Governor Makinde specifically warned them against granting or making both radio and television interviews/appearances without getting clearance from him.

According to the governor, public office holders who wish to engage  in media appearances to speak about the administration, project initiatives or counter wrong narratives must be encouraged to request for at least  five  (5) days’ notice from the media house, stressing that the notice period must then be used to secure the necessary approval and engage his Media Unit to prepare for any possible, emerging or contending questions ahead of the media appearance.

The governor who gave the directive in a circular letter obtained by our reporter , also warned that public office holders must not appear in crossfire or confrontational programs.

The Circular letter titled “Guidelines On Media Appearances By Public Office Holders/Party Officials” , dated 24th September , 2020 and signed by the Secretary to the state government, Olubamiwo Adeosun read, “In order to prevent un- coordinated and counter-productive media exposure of public office holders and ensure that they are well guided, the following are the guidelines on media appearances :

“All media appearances by public office  holders must be target driven.

“Public office holders who wish to appear on radio/Television programs must secure the approval of His Excellency through the Secretary to the state government via His Excellency’s the Governor’s Media Department.

“Officers of State I.e the Secretary to the State Government, Chief of Staff, Head of Service, Deputy Chief of Staff are to engage in media appearances strategically and Sparingly.

The letter with reference number:  ADI.36/VOL.III/186 continued, “Honourable Commissioners, Director Generals, Chairmen of Boards /Parastatals and State Government spokespersons that engage in media appearances must restrict themselves to issues affecting their Ministries, Departments and Agencies. They must not appear in crossfire or confrontational programs.

“Public office holders who wish to engage  in media appearances to speak about the administration, project initiatives or counter wrong narratives must be encouraged to request for at least  five  (5) days’ notice from the media house . The notice period must then be used to secure the necessary approval and engage His Excellency’s Media Unit to prepare for any possible, emerging or contending questions ahead of the media appearance.

“Public office holders scheduled to appear on media programs  must be familiar with the idiosyncrasies of the media house/anchor in question.

“Political office holders must understand   that the media is the most viable vehicle through which government activities can be communicated and they must adapt to the terrain while being flexible

“It is important for all affected government officials to comply with these guidelines in order to prevent embarrassment to their persons and the state government”, the letter warned.

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Irked by the spate of general insecurity that pervades the entire Nigeria’s landscape, President Muhammadu  Buhari, via the instrument of executive order, revoked all the existing gun licenses. This development is a right step in a right direction. In this circumstance, no citizen, no matter how highly placed has no right to be in possession of gun or any fire arm.

Hence, this shall go a long way in stemming the tide of armed banditry, kidnappings and the related social vices that compromise our security network in Nigeria. The herdsmen who are reputedly noted for unleashing terrors on the defenceless citizens are partly the prime targets of this order. Hence,they are no longer entitled to hold firearms in the guise of protecting their cattle against the attacks from the wild animals.

Moreover, the political thugs who are readily armed by some unpatriotic political lords for spurious reasons do no longer have that privilege, including the local vigilantes as the case may be.

It is a matter for regret that Nigerians in possession of firearms or guns takes delight in abusing such rare opportunities. Records shows that these citizens resorts to extra judicial usage of these weapons to amass questionable wealth. Our society has lost innocent lives of promising citizens to the malevolent conducts of these evil minds. Ranging from armed robbery, kidnappings, banditry to land grabbing, the uninspiring and gory tales of death are touching and unpleasant.

The citizens need to complement the efforts of the law enforcement agents in curbing the menace of the gun runners. They can achieve this by giving adequate information to the police and other relevant agencies regarding the nefarious activities of the recalcitrant gun runners. It is only in this way that our society could be freed from the violent activities of the dare devil gun runners and murderers.

On the part of the government, it is not yet Uhuru on this matter. The punitive law for gun running should be reviewed upwardly. As against terms of imprisonment which has failed to achieve the desired goals and objectives, capital punishment should be prescribed for gun running and the related acts. This shall bring about the desired positive effects and reduce the disturbing menace.

Suffice stating here that drug addictions in various forms induces violent crimes in Nigeria. While commending the efforts of NDLEA in reducing the influence and bad effects  of drug addiction in our society, the concomitant punishment prescribed for the offenders have inconsequential effects on the menace of drug addiction, most especially, among the youths. In this connection, stiffer punishments need to be introduced via the appropriate laws to deal effectively with this social absurdity.

Besides, the media, parents, NOA, schools and other relevant bodies should contribute their quota towards reducing the bad effects of drug addiction. Also, government’s social investment schemes should be expanded to accommodate more youths as beneficiaries.

One is at sea seeing most of our law enforcement agents still finding it difficult to apply modern technology in resolving issues in their professional assignments. This means  that they have not been exposed to the state of the art trainings in the acquisition of relevant skills in their professions.

Hence, most of them are not able to apply computer systems in information processing, ‘coding and decoding’. This missing link adds up to their inefficiency at work. As a matter of urgency, our government should expose our military and paramilitary personnel to the required training and retraining programmes in line with the standard global practices.

This is necessary to enable them meet up with the prompt realisation of the set goals and objectives. Furthermore, it is observed that most of these personnel are ill equipped. Often times, they carry weapons which are superbly inferior to the ones being carried about by the criminals. This dampens their morale, zeal and commitment to their jobs. They are ready casualties in serial engagements with the criminals such as armed robbers, bandits, terrorists, including common hooligans.

This amounts to an irony of tragic proportion. The government must as a matter of duty, on periodic basis make available for the usage of  our military and paramilitary personnel the modern weapons that are superior to the ones in possession of the criminals.

The post OPINION: Revocation of gun license by the federal government |By Akeem Adebiyi first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

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DAILY POST recalls that while speaking at the Commonwealth Business Forum in Westminster penultimate week, President Buhari remarked that a lot of Nigerian youths were lazy and waiting on just government.

“More than 60 percent of the population is below 30, a lot of them haven’t been to school and they are claiming that Nigeria has been an oil producing country, therefore, they should sit and do nothing, and get housing, healthcare, education free,” he said.

Even though the comment was interpreted as a dismissal of the work ethic of most Nigerian youths and drew criticism from political opponents and the public, the president had never directly explained his remarks.

However, while speaking during an interview with Voice of America, Hausa service, in Washington, United States on Tuesday, the President said his words were misinterpreted by the media who love to do what they like.

He explained, “You know Nigeria’s population is now between 180 and 190 million and 60 per cent of this population is youth that is 30 years downward.

“You know in the North most youths are uneducated or school dropouts. If not because we had good harvests in the last two farming seasons, the situation would have been deteriorated.

“These youths even if they travel out of the North for greener pasture ,they hardly make it economically because what they earn as income cannot afford them to meet their basic needs or return home.

“All these explanations I made, they refused to highlight them in their report and you know the media in Nigeria in most cases only do what they like.

“For instance the nation’s achievements in the agricultural sector where millions of Nigerians benefited financially were left unreported by the media.”

President Buhari is currently on a working visit to overseas where he has met his US counterpart, President Donald Trump, at the White House.

https://iso.keq.mybluehost.me/atiku-counsels-youths-on-mentoring/

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Also, the government, through its Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project (IUFMP), with support from the World Bank, said it was on top of the situation.

Addressing newsmen at a three-day workshop on the role of the media in mitigating flood risk in Ibadan, organised by IUFMP, held at the Prince Ajibola Afonja Hall of Plaza De Haruna, Oyo town, the state commissioner for Information and Culture, Mr Toye Arulogun urged residents not to panic as they welcome the rainy season, with the government assuring that measures were being taken to prevent disaster as well as ensuring that the flood does not wreck havoc in the state this year.

Arulogun, in his goodwill message/lecture titled ‘ The Imperative of a Cordial Government – Media Relationship on Development Projects’ sought synergy between the government and media in mitigating flood risks in Ibadan.

He highlighted innovative works such as the Ibadan City Master plan, Flood Risk Management and Drainage Master Plan, and the Solid Waste Management Master plan as part of the government’s strategies to halt flood in the city.

https://iso.keq.mybluehost.me/iufmp-declares-open-workshop-on-medias-role-in-mitigating-flood-risk-in-ibadan/

Also speaking at the workshop, Commissioner for Finance and Budget, Mr. Bimbo Adekanbi acknowledged flood as a universal disaster, recalling that the city had been witnessing flooding for a long time, with the first recorded one being in 1951.

The commissioner, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Alhaji Musa Olawoye, lamented that successive governments had offered palliatives, which amounted to merely redressing the damage done to hydraulic infrastructure and cushioning the loses to lives and properties, but without remedying the fundamental causes of the menace.

“Much unlike its predecessors, the Ajimobi administration took the bull by the horns by designing a comprehensive and deep-rooted solution to the longstanding problem, the result of which is the IUFMP. It is gratifying that the project is already delivering masterpiece civil works across Ibadan, and many more will soon commence”, he added.

Other resource persons at the workshop, which began on Monday, included Dr. Adeyinka Lanihun from Communications and Language Arts Department, University of Ibadan and a Media Consultant, Mr Bolaji Oladepo, who recommended a synergy between the media and IUFMP to assist in mitigating flood in Ibadan.

The post Oyo moves to curb flooding first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

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Afegbua is also demanding N1 billion damages from the police, its spokesperson, Jimoh Moshood, and two media houses..

His legal representative, Kayode Ajulo, filed the suit at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court Tuesday afternoon.

The reliefs sought include an immediate end to the alleged harassment being meted against him by the police.

Ajulo joined the National Television Authority and Channels Television in the lawsuit for airing claims that Mr. Afegbua was a wanted man.

The post IBB’s media aide, Afegbua sues police for N1bn first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

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President Zuma is scheduled to answer six questions that include the appointment of the National Police Commissioner, Government programmes to combat poverty, the “Unburdening” report of the South African Council of Churches, the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission’s further use of infrastructure development to stimulate economic growth and create jobs, the legal costs incurred in the National Prosecuting Authority’s decision to drop the fraud, corruption and racketeering charges against the President, and whether government is able to effectively manage the effects of climate change and its impact on the economy.

Regular plenary House sittings featuring question and answer sessions with the President is one way in which Parliament implements its constitutional responsibility of scrutinising and overseeing executive actions.

In terms of the rules of Parliament, the President is scheduled to appear once per quarter to answer questions in the National Assembly, to deal with matters of national importance. The questions to be put to the President for oral replies, are submitted to the Speaker of the National Assembly at least 16 days before the President’s appearance.

Media who do not have Parliamentary media access permits or photographers wishing to be in the National Assembly Chamber for the President’s question and answer session on Thursday 2 November 2017 should send their details to Mlindi Mpindi (Mmpindi@Parliament.gov.za, 081 716 7329) before the sitting. Details needed are: the full name, identity number and name of media organisation.

For the full list of questions for oral reply by the President today, please click the following link: https://www.Parliament.gov.za/storage/app/media/Docs/quest_pap/70e80742-eece-48df-b68d-c82c09153b2a.pdf.

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President Zuma has declared to the relevant authorities all income received and allegations contained in the reports are misleading and are clearly part of the ongoing smear campaigns. The tax matters of the President are in order.

The President has also not received any information related to taxes linked to the Nkandla upgrades as alleged by the media.

The post South Africa’s President, Zuma Rejects Allegations first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

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I could never have imagined my own boss in our time, travelling without me or shutting me out of any important event. He took my team everywhere. Every President has what is called a Main Body. This comprises his first line of assistants, namely his Chief Security Officer, Aide-de-Camp, Chief Detail, Chief Physician, State Chief of Protocol, Personal Assistant (Luggage), Personal Assistant (Private matters), and of course, the Special Adviser (Media and Publicity)/Official Spokesperson.

Whereas other parts of this body face their own challenges, the major problem that the President’s media team often faces is that everyone in the Presidency, and even persons from outside, particularly the na-my-brother-dey-there crowd tend to assume that they know a lot about the media. They probably have an uncle who once worked as a journalist or newspaper vendor, or they happen to know one or two editors or correspondents, who are perpetually telling them how the media team is not doing what it is supposed to do.

While other parts of the President’s Main Body are usually civil servants, the Chief Physician and the Special Adviser (Media) are traditionally political appointees, and they are easily the targets of so many people who want their positions. My then colleague, the Chief Physician used to complain bitterly about how on many occasions he had to warn self-appointed physicians who used to recommend vitamins and other drugs for the President behind his back. In the corridors of power, the jostling for power, territory, and space could be psychologically crippling and emotionally corrosive.

I recall in particular, how in those days, (indeed, yesterday is beginning to sound like those days!), some persons used to draw attention to how the media is managed in the US White House. After a while, I started asking them: “have you ever worked in this White House, that you talk so eloquently about?” Now, we have seen a different White House under President Donald Trump, and hence, when I call up “the White House experts”, their only response these days is that “it is not easy.” Of course, no part of Presidential work is easy.

There is also no standard formula for serving a President. No two presidencies are alike in any way. The nature and character of an executive Presidency is determined by the style/temperament/competence/choices of the individual President and the circumstances of his tenure, and it is these same factors that account for the differences between great, mediocre and bad Presidents. To each category, history is the eventual judge.

Nonetheless, I thought it was wrong to have kept President Buhari’s team out of the London trips. The core team should have been there all the time to take photographs, issue statements, if needed, organize video recordings, liaise with local journalists, and manage “inconvenient” journalism and public perception. But what did we have? The various pictures taken of the President until the visit by his media team, looked like photos taken by quacks. The President was presented as if he was a statue, or at best, as a sick man propped up for photographic effect. Nobody even paid attention to his wardrobe.

I imagined that some characters would have filled the gap left by the absence of the media team, and would have been busy taking pictures with a miserable gadget, not knowing that photos are meant to tell stories and that they are taken with the brain. Whoever was behind that newspaper vendor style of journalism did the President a disservice and was responsible for most of the damage that was done. The real damage was that Nigerians did not believe the official narrative, they concluded that the pictures were photo-shopped or that they were old pictures and that there was an attempt to hoodwink the public. It didn’t help that whoever took those early pictures focused on the President’s weak points: his fingers and arms in a poor pose, for example.

But the game changed the day Bayo Omoboriowo accompanied seven governors to London to see the President. With five pictures, the President’s official photographer showed him in better light. The photographs presented him as a living being. Every Presidential assistant is as important as the amount of access and empowerment that he/she enjoys. Many Presidents undermine their media team, as US President Trump has done. I consider the visit to London by President Buhari’s media team, a form of rehabilitation, for the team and for the office. The meaning of that visit was not lost on the team either.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on his arrival at the Abuja House, looked like he had been grinning about 100 metres away before he met the President. When the President extended his hands for a handshake, Alhaji Lai Mohammed did a Nigerian version of the Cameroonian Bidoung challenge. He bowed close to 90 degrees. Even when the President took another person’s hand, Lai Mohammed was still busy bowing. When the President praised him, he grinned so much, I thought he was going to prostrate! My brothers, Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu didn’t bow, they stayed professional, but I have never seen both former Presidents of the Nigerian Guild of Editors grin so enthusiastically!

Lauretta Onochie was probably the biggest beneficiary of the visit. Considered by opposition activists a footnote in the Presidency pretending to be a valuable attack dog, her inclusion in that trip has elevated her relevance. She still has a lot to learn on the job though, especially from the masters of the attack dog game in Nigerian politics: the inimitable and talented Femi Fani-Kayode, the grandmaster of this chivalric Order, Doyin Okupe, the senior warden of rebuttals, Lai Mohammed, Ayodele Fayose, Reno Omokri, Lere Olayinka, Deji Adeyanju, and Jude Ndukwe. Given the nature of Nigerian politics, future Nigerian presidents will certainly need the services of these dogged political fighters to complement the officialdom of Presidential spokesmanship.

Lauretta Onochie has a lot to learn from them, albeit she is doing much better than the pathetic play-safe crowd in the Buhari team but the London recognition should further empower her. Abike Dabiri-Erewa was also in London, curtseying with both legs and hands; she was described in the reports as Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora Matters, but I guess she was included in the team in her professional right as a seasoned broadcast journalist. Bayo Omoboriowo, the official photographer, was also in attendance and when it was his turn to have a Presidential handshake, he grinned and shook so much he almost staged an Olamide-inspired Wo-challenge. I hope he remembered to inform the President that his wife had just been delivered of twins and that being a father of twins has serious implications in Yorubaland!

Together, the team delivered a professional reportage. Brilliant. Different. Good moment for the Presidency’s Media Department. Whereas previous coverage before the Governors’ visit showed the President in an unconvincing manner, his media team has managed to show him in a three-dimensional frame. We saw him sitting, standing, and walking. He shook hands. He talked. His wardrobe was different. He appeared animated and alive. With that visit, many doubts have been laid to rest through the power of media. We now know that Buhari can talk. Dirty-minded persons may even stretch the matter and imagine that our President has been engaging in “the other room” skelewu in London. The media team has also managed to establish that medication or not, Buhari remains in charge. He is still President and he is not incapacitated.

In the kind of system that we run, there cannot be two Presidents at a time. When you have a living and breathing President, be he in Iceland or Antarctica, for whatever reason, he remains the President. This, thus, creates a special problem for Acting President Yemi Osinbajo. The combined interpretation of the to-ing and froing to London to visit President Buhari is the impression that whereas Acting President Osinbajo has an office, transmitted to him constitutionally in the light of Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution, he has neither the power nor the authority of that office, or he is not being allowed to enjoy the full benefits of his legal status. This puts Nigeria in a lurch, technically and pragmatically and let no one make any bones about that.

What is worse is the declaration by the media team that the President’s return now lies in the hands of his doctors and he is resolved to obey their orders. It is tragic that Nigeria’s sovereignty, which resides in part in the office of the President, has been ceded to UK doctors. They alone can determine when Nigeria can have its President back in the homeland. Saddening as that situation is, not even the Queen of England or the British Prime Minister has deemed it necessary to visit President Buhari or seek audience with him.

This egregious insult is well-deserved by Nigeria and other African countries whose leaders embark on medical tourism to Europe, Asia and North America. The intelligence agencies in these countries have all the strategic information on our leaders and country, but we are happy to play third fiddle in global politics. In 2050, Nigeria’s population is likely to be over 300 million, with some of the youngest people in the world being Nigerians. If by 2050, we do not have enough good hospitals and medical facilities to take care of our people, we would be a doomed nation.

This is not a task for Buhari’s media team. But just as they tried to put out a fire in London, another had already started at home. By the way, a Presidential media department is a Fire Service office and an ambulance operation. There is always another fire next time and victims in need of desperate rescue. In the present instance, a group called “Our-mumu-don-do” group, led by Charly Boy, the self-acclaimed Area Fada of Frustrated Nigerians had begun a protest in Abuja asking President Buhari to resume office or resign.

They were echoing the protests of those who have argued that the Nigerian electorate voted for a President not an absentee one, that they voted in the expectation that their President would stay in office and serve them, and did not expect that the President would become an apparition or a London-based tourist and museum attraction. Charly Boy, 66, went out with his pro-democracy troops, but they were tear-gassed and harassed by the police. They were accused of engaging in unlawful pro-corruption and irresponsible activity that was hijacked by hoodlums. That of course is stupid talk.

At issue was the right of every Nigerian to protest without being molested, and the right to free speech. When free speech is denied, hate speech is encouraged. It is ironic that the same government that is so concerned about hate speech is the same one promoting it.

Meanwhile, sycophantic speech is encouraged. To counter the Charly Boy group, someone organized a pro-Buhari group, which has been busy dancing around Abuja proclaiming that Buhari will win the 2019 election, denouncing those who want him to resign. I have taken a look at this group and they look like a bunch of hoodlums, every one of them, but they have so far enjoyed police protection and the government is very happy with them. When government gains one thing with one hand, some other characters remove it with another hand. This is the sign of the times.

But there are unresolved questions that will not go away just like that. For how long will the President remain on medical vacation in London, even when the Constitution, the country’s basic law, is silent and ambiguous on this score? What is the actual cost of the President’s absence in a context that disallows the transfer of power and authority in the presence of an apparently living and said-to-be-capable President who is otherwise indisposed?

I’ll not ask that the visits to London be stopped, in case that is part of the doctors’ therapy, but it is ridiculous and insensitive that government officials are now visiting the President in medical exile, with some of them posing for photo-ops with their children. Our President should not be turned into a tourist attraction and the Abuja House in London should not become a museum.

The post Buhari’s Reunion With His Media Team first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

The post Buhari’s Reunion With His Media Team appeared first on MegaIcon Magazine.

Contained in a press statement issued by the group’s chairman, Mr Yinka Agboola, the media chat which is scheduled to hold at the group’s office located within CEO Africa’s Headquarters in Jericho, Ibadan will start by 10:00 a.m. and witness the presence of representatives of online media organisations who will be involved in conducting an interview with the Chairman, House Committee on Telecommunications, Fijabi.

The two-term lawmaker is expected to answer questions on national issues, ICT, and politics amongst others.

The post BREAKFAST MEDIA CHAT: ONLINE PUBLISHERS SET TO HOST FIJABI TODAY. first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

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