News
Seyi Makinde, Osoba, Information Minister, Idris Malagi, Adesina, Storm Ibadan for Olamiti’s Book Launch Tomorrow
All roads lead to the International Conference Centre of the University of Ibadan, tomorrow, Thursday, November 30, 2023, where activities marking the 72nd birthday of veteran journalist and publisher of Newspot online newspaper, Sir. Folu Olamiti, will climax with the public presentation of his new book, A Peep Into The Past.
The book launch, which will start at 11 a.m., will be chaired by former Governor of Ogun State and a doyen of journalism in Nigeria, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, while the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris Malagi, is the Special Guest of Honour.
They will be supported by another media juggernaut, and former Managing Director of Daily Times of Nigeria, Chief Tola Adeniyi, who incidentally wrote the forward to the book.
The occasion will also be graced by the Oyo State Governor, Mr. Seyi Makinde, as the Chief Host; while the governors of Ogun state, Prince Dapo Abiodun), Ondo (Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu), Ekiti (Mr. Abiodun Qbayomi Oyebanji), Kwara (Mr. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, who doubles as Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum) are expected to attend.
Some former Governors are also expected to attend, including: Dr Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti) and Dr Segun Mimiko (Ondo) respectively.
The Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari and Fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Chief Femi Adesina, will also grace the epochal event as book reviewer. He will be joined by other Fellows of the Guild, top Editors, Veterans and other bigwigs in the Nigerian journalism ecosystem.
Titled, A Peep Into The Past, the book is partly a memoir, and partly a compendium of some of the landmark stories and articles that defined Sir Folu as a quintessential journalist in his about 50 years of practice.
Of the book, Akogun Tola Adeniyi wrote: “This book is more or less a guide and a tutorial on political reporting as well as a study in human and public relations. Even though it is not a biography or autobiography, it nonetheless reveals the innermost character trait of Folu Olamiti as a humanist, a philosopher imbued with the deepest candour and spiritual piety. It could well have been titled A Peep into Folu’s Mind.”
A Fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE, and top shot of the International Press Institute, IPI, Sir Folu Olamiti, worked for 32 years at the African Newspapers of Nigeria Plc, publishers of the Tribune titles. He is a former Editor of the SUNDAY TRIBUNE, former Editor of the daily title, the NIGERIAN TRIBUNE, former Executive Director of the TRIBUNE titles.
After his long years of meritorious service in the Nigerian media space, Sir Folu Olamiti also served as the Resident Media Consultant to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). A Fellow of the Institute for Governance and Leadership Studies in Africa (IGLSA), he is the immediate past Chairman of the Board of Management Advent Cable Network Nigeria Television (ACNNTV).
A release issued by Oloriewe Raheem Adedoyin, a Fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, former Kwara State Commissioner of information and Strategy, also the Chairman of the Organising Committee of the occasion, said the book reflected Olamiti’s rich tapestry of experience in all the places he had worked and all the posts he had held.
Former Managing Director of The Sun Publishing Ghana Limited and a Fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, FNGE, Chief Shola Oshunkeye, also looks forward to the book launch with passionate anticipation.
“Sir Folu Olamiti is an institution in Nigeria journalism,” he said. “Apart from what he did on the field with his extraordinary reportage, the many minds he mentored and nurtured to become stars in their own spheres are numerous. They bear eloquent testimony to the legend of Sir Folu Olamiti. I wish him many more years of fruitful service to humanity and Fatherland.”
