Dr Paul Nwosu
A remarkable event held over the weekend on Saturday, 5th of October. The event was akin to what we see in the Western world where media institutions fervently devoted to improving their societies roll out the red carpet to celebrate a milestone. This is happening for the first time in this country and the significance of the celebration is better appreciated against the background of the high rate of media mortality in Nigeria. So, for a homegrown newspaper to have earned the centenary club ticket rightly deserved a loud ovation. And that was exactly what happened last weekend.
The Catholic Herald newspaper celebrated one hundred years of uninterrupted existence in the country. The event was marked with a lecture, insightfully titled: “The Nigerian State: Transcending Challenges; Attaining True Nationhood”
The event also had an Award Presentation segment where The Catholic Herald Centenary Man of the Year Award went to Mr Femi Otedola, along with other Award categories going to Muhammed Buba Marwa, Chief Simeon Eyisi, Lagos Metropolitan Council of the Knights and Ladies of St Mulumba and a host of other five eminent Nigerians who contributed to the development of the Catholic Church, the country and humanity as a whole. The event which was held at the high profile venue, The Hall, Musa YarAdua Crescent, Victoria Island, Lagos was rounded off with the launching of N150million Centenary legacy audio-visual studio.
To underscore the significance of the event, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who was unavoidably absent delegated the Minister for Youth Development, Dr Jamila Bio Ibrahim to represent him while Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State was represented by his Secretary to State Government, Barr Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin. The Chairman of the occasion was Senator George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
The Catholic Herald Newspaper
The Catholic Herald Newspaper was founded by Bishop Ferdinand Terrien SMA on June 21st 1924 at St Paul’s Catholic Church, Ebute Metta, Lagos.
It is important to note that even though the publication was established by white Catholic missionaries, The Catholic Herald was reputed for being a thorn in the flesh of their fellow white colonialists at the time. According to Most Rev Alfred Adewale Martins, the Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Lagos and publisher of The Catholic Herald, the newspaper travelled the noble path of history, hand-in-hand with our founding fathers and fellow compatriots, “The Catholic Herald was therefore in the forefront of our struggle for independence, a role that has largely gone unsung.”
This rich credential as an unabashed stakeholder in the country’s nationhood was probably what prompted the editorial board to come up with title of the centenary lecture which would elicit further discourse and possible solutions to the country’s challenges in attaining true nationhood in over six decades of independence.
And to do justice to the theme of the lecture, the editorial board went for Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, one of the finest eggheads in their constituency and some other brilliant professional minds in the academia, private sector, public service and the clergy to discuss the all important topic. The discussants included Mr Femi Falana, Prof Mike Ozekhome, Hadiza Bala Usman, Prof Chris Ogbechie and Rev Fr Anoliefo.
