Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma has proposed establishing a national media centre in honour of the late founder of DAAR Communications Plc, Raymond Dokpesi.
Mr Uzodimma proposed this on Sunday whereas delivering the third annual Diamond Lecture in Abuja in reminiscence of Mr Dokpesi.
The lecture, organised by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and DAAR Communications Plc, was themed Media, Democratic Consolidation and Development.
Mr Uzodimma stated the proposed centre would function a hub for media research, specializing in how journalism could possibly be harnessed to advertise financial development and growth.
He stated the initiative would assist protect the late Dokpesi’s legacy and promote growth journalism. He additionally pledged to guide a marketing campaign to determine it.
“This memorial lecture is an effective place to begin. But we should go far above that. The greatest tribute we are able to pay to his reminiscence is to guard that freedom and make sure that the journalism practised inside it stays worthy of public belief.
“But I think that as his friends and associates we should take the lead by building a national media centre in his honour. The centre will be a hub for research on the media and how it can be properly channelled for economic development, or, put simply, for development journalism. I shall be prepared to lead in the campaign for the establishment of this centre,” he stated.
Mr Uzodimma stated Nigeria’s democracy would profit from a media that might maintain public officers accountable with out intimidation.
“Our democracy will be better served when the media can pursue the truth without intimidation, when government accepts the discipline of scrutiny, and when the institutions of accountability respond to what is established,” he stated.
The governor maintained that the proposed centre would assist maintain Mr Dokpesi’s legacy by strengthening the media’s contribution to democratic governance and national growth.
Dokpesi’s legacy in Nigerian broadcasting
Mr Dokpesi, who died in May 2023 at 71, was a media entrepreneur credited with pioneering non-public broadcasting in Nigeria. He based DAAR Communications Plc, the media firm behind RayPower FM and Africa Independent Television (AIT), after the nation’s broadcasting trade was deregulated in 1992.
RayPower 100.5 FM started business broadcasting in Lagos on 1 September 1994, turning into Nigeria’s first non-public radio station and pioneering round the clock radio broadcasting. Two years later, on 6 December 1996, Mr Dokpesi launched AIT, which expanded the vary of tv programming accessible to Nigerians and have become a platform for information, leisure and public affairs.
Through the 2 retailers, Mr Dokpesi helped create alternatives for entertainers, music producers, and programme makers who had struggled to entry established broadcasters. AIT, in specific, supplied a platform for Nigerian tv productions, whereas RayPower contributed to the expansion of up to date Nigerian music and leisure.
Mr Dokpesi died in Abuja after reportedly falling whereas exercising on a treadmill as he recovered from an earlier sickness. Reports on the time stated he had suffered a stroke earlier than his loss of life. His loss of life was introduced by his household on 29 May 2023.
Beyond broadcasting, Mr Dokpesi was concerned in politics and philanthropy. His contribution to the media trade, significantly the enlargement of privately owned radio and tv, stays a central half of his legacy. The proposed national media centre in his honour would prolong that legacy by supporting research on how the media can strengthen accountability, democratic governance, and national growth.
NIPR hails Dokpesi’s legacy
In his remarks, NIPR National President Ike Neliaku recommended the late Mr Dokpesi for his integrity and dedication to press freedom.
Mr Neliaku stated the annual Diamond Lecture was organised to have fun Mr Dokpesi’s contributions to the expansion of Nigeria’s media trade and protect his legacy.
He additionally introduced the forthcoming World Public Relations Forum, scheduled to happen in Abuja, saying it might deliver collectively contributors from 126 nations.
The NIPR president stated the institute had concluded preparations for the occasion and was able to host contributors from the world over.
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