The event, scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., will take place at the Sir Kessington Adebutu Media Resource Centre of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Ogba, Lagos.

The colloquium is themed: “The decline of human interest journalism in Nigeria.”

While Osoba will serve as the Chairman of the occasion, Owa Haastrup will be the Royal Father of the Day, and Momodu the Keynote Speaker.

The book, with the Chairman/Founder of Nairapoint Finance Limited, Lagos, Funke Otti, as Chief Launcher, is to be reviewed by the Editor of Saturday Tribune, Dr. Lasisi Olagunju.

A former Deputy Governor of Osun State and ex-Minister of State for Defence, Erelu Olusola Agbeja-Obada, will serve as the Mother of the Day.

Oshunkeye, who turned 70 on April 20, 2026, has been celebrated by several Nigerians, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The congratulatory message of Tinubu was contained in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on April 20, 2026.

In it, he eulogised Oshunkeye, a former Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Sun Publishing Ghana Limited and 2006 CNN/MultiChoice African Journalist of the Year overall winner.

The president rejoiced with him and praised his contributions to the struggle for the restoration of democracy and accountable governance in Nigeria, as well as to the development of journalism in the country.

Osunkeye, a Fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, served at various times as Editor of Weekend Concord, Senior Associate Editor of TELL Magazine, General Editor at The Sun Group, Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Sun Publishing Ghana Limited, is now the President/CEO of The Crest Online.

Tinubu “happily notes Oshunkeye’s unrelenting pursuit of truth, not only in Nigeria but across Africa, culminating in his 2006 award as the CNN/Multichoice African Journalist of the Year for his investigative work, Niger’s Graveyard of the Living.”

The president wished him many more years of fruitful service to Nigeria and humanity.

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But beyond his tongue-in-cheek jive that Chief Dele Momodu should have taken to life as a Teacher or Babalawo because he studied Yoruba in the University, and the sidekick at Rufai Oseni, which comes from the animosity between Lere and the two men and the previous feisty interview sessions with Rufai, there is no doubt that Lere’s point is well-founded in law and professionalism.

In the first place there was nothing new or original in the points canvassed by Lere.  He only restated the position of the law on the matter at hand, but in doing so, he might have inadvertently reignited the age-long debate about who truly qualifies to be called a Journalist.

That the debate or confusion is there today is because, unlike the Ancestors in other professions, the Ancestral Spirits in Journalism unfortunately failed to place the practice on sound footing as a profession, something they could have done if there was sufficient backing for the few of them who saw tomorrow.

The Nigerian Union of Journalists, founded in 1955 has never been able to decide on which it is or wants to be between a trade union or professional body. It claims to be one of the two organisations, the other being Nigerian Association of Nurses and Midwives functioning as both a trade union and professional body. Whereas the Nurses have obviously succeeded in that respect, with the Nurses and Midwifery Council responsible for registration of locally trained and foreign-trained Nurses who want to practise in Nigeria, the NUJ is still grappling to find its way around.

I literally walked into the debate on what qualifies one to practise Journalism at the start of my career. The debate had been ignited by the great Prince Tony Momoh, Journalist and Lawyer, who was then the Minister of Information under General Babangida.  The man obviously saw tomorrow, by seeking to professionalise the practice, but ‘Senior’ and not-so-Senior Journalists, many of them having not received professional training in Journalism balked at the requirement for a minimum of a Diploma in the field before registration. They fought the idea, something that would have greatly profited the profession, putting their platforms to use to demonise the initiative. They were myopic, they didn’t see tomorrow.

But Prince Momoh pushed ahead with the National Mass Communication Policy of 1988. Further to that, the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) was established by the Advertising Practitioners in June 1990 through Decree No. No. 55 of 1988.

READ ALSO: Our journalism is challenged but remains a noble profession

The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), which was established in 1963 attained the status of a Chartered Institute in June 1990 through Decree No. 16.

The Nigerian Media Council was also set up in 1988, but unlike PR and Advertising Practitioners who were excited that their dreams had come true, the Journalists didn’t quite embrace the Media Council, which has been revised since then, but has continued to maintain the provision requiring members to have at least a diploma in media studies to qualify as a Journalist.

Today, APCON is a highly respected body. I am a proud member. To become a member, the conditions are stringent. You have to write professional examinations. To upgrade your membership status, you have to attend a minimum number of trainings. Same is it with the NIPR. Today, Journalists are still debating whether an Animal Scientist, having practised as an ‘OAP’ on radio, has become a Journalist. We are still debating provisions enshrined in the law of the land since 1988. Let him try to join APCON or NIPR. Even new professions such as Project Management have such steep requirements, you will struggle to make it as a member of PMI.

As Journalists, we lost the moment. We have no regard or respect for the profession and ourselves. That is why outsiders have the audacity to be defining for us who a Journalist is. What audacity!

We are still busy debating, just as they were in the late 80s and 90s. I came into the profession with a degree in Political Science. Thank God for, Mrs Vic Williams, my senior colleague who I sat next to at the time. She had attended the Nigerian Institute of Journalism the previous year. She pushed me to enrol for a post-graduate Diploma. One of the best decisions, I dare say. A great learning experience. Wonderful classmates who later became big boys in the industry. Funke Egbemode, former President of NGE, Ima Niboro, Tunde Rahman, Kolawole Oyeyemi, and so many others.

It speaks to the disrespect that the profession of Journalism is held that it is assumed that anyone can simply walk his way in without proper training and certification, which would have empowered the person with sufficient knowledge of rules, procedure and ethics of the profession.

So, there is nothing really new or unusual in the point made by Lere. To the point by my friend, Dr Reuben Abati that Journalism is multidisciplinary, there is no doubt about that. It was well recognised by our Fathers in the business. That is why apart from the regular diploma programmes, the post-graduate Diploma was set up at The Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Times Journalism Institute and International Press Institute.

But the question has been raised, what becomes of Elderstatesmen like Dele Momodu, Reuben Abati, Yomi Odunuga whose pedigree in the profession is not in doubt, even if they did not follow the traditional route to the profession? Are we saying that they do not qualify to be referred to as Journalists?

The Nigerian Press Council Act 2004 takes care of that. Whereas the law insists on at least a diploma in Journalism, as aforestated, it also makes special provisions in Section 19(d) for anyone who “the holds a certificate of experience issued in pursuance of section 24 of this Act.

(2) Subject as aforesaid, a person shall also be entitled to be registered as a journalist if he satisfies the Council

that immediately before the commencement of this Act he had not less than five years experience as a journalist.”

However, the overriding point is that in the face of the law, you do not qualify as a professional journalist unless you are duly registered, after having received approved qualifications from institutions of training approved by the Nigerian Press Council.

The Act is clear:

“It shall be the duty of the executive secretary to maintain a register of accredited journalists compiled by the Council in collaboration with the Nigeria Union of Journalists and the Nigerian Guild of Editors.”

The Act also provides for what qualifies one to become an Editor of a newspaper.

Without a doubt, Dele Momodu, who made a mark as one of the top Reporters in Nigeria in the late 80s and early 90s, especially with Weekend Concord, qualifies, even without the diploma, as he will easily qualify for a ‘certificate of experience’. Same for Reuben Abati, Yomi Odunuga and other legends. So, this is surely not about them.

Journalism must be one of the few professions where non-professionals in the field assume the right to dictate who the professional Journalist is, who qualifies to be called one, and what the boundaries of the profession is. Insisting that because someone has been in and/or around the profession, or has worked in a media house, irrespective of the capacity or department he worked in makes the person a professional.

It speaks to the disrespect that the profession of Journalism is held that it is assumed that anyone can simply walk his way in without proper training and certification, which would have empowered the person with sufficient knowledge of rules, procedure and ethics of the profession. People invested 4 years studying Mass Communication in the University to be able to practise the profession, and it is deemed appropriate that others can stroll in from wherever and lay claim to being a professional in a field in which he/she has not received training. Such is the anomaly that someone whose job is that of picking random supposedly trending stuff off social media was recently named ‘Investigative Journalist of the Year’ by one funny organisation.

The idea that people can lay claim to Journalism by insisting on lowering the bar to allow themselves in, without having received proper training from approved institutions or tutelage under proven professionals is not it and should not continue. We cannot define who a Journalist is, just to accommodate people who lack the requisite knowledge of the methodology, rules, procedure and ethics of the profession, just because they have a voice on radio or a desk in the TV Studio, as what they now call OAP.

Can a Court Clerk robe as a Lawyer or Judge, on account of having served in Court for a number of years, without properly studying Law and being called to the Bar?

It is a statement to how much the media profession has been abused that we are even having this debate. A lot of the unprofessional behaviour in the field today won’t be there if we would insist on following the provisions of the law and ensure that practitioners receive proper training before taking to the screens or going to the field.

Journalists must come together to take ownership of their profession and set the standards, and that won’t be by making it an all-comers affair or lowering the bar. The Nigerian Press Council Act is a good-enough framework to start with. Eventually, there needs to be a Journalists Registration Council which will register members, certify practitioners, sanction them, if they err, and regulate the industry.

The post A place for ‘babalawo’ in Journalism, By Simbo Olorunfemi appeared first on Frontpageng.

The matter is currently a subject of litigation before the court.

Davido also expressed displeasure over Sophia’s usual reference to the death of his son, who died in 2022.

Davido, in an Instagram story wrote: “Your constantly bringing up the death of my child at any point you can to just remind us of this tragedy that haunts us everyday of our lives.

“Imade will grow up to see I fought for her… as for now u can have her P.S she won’t be a child forever… enjoy Imade Aurora Adeleke ! Your father loves you!

“All I ask for is JOINT CUSTODY !! And nothing else! But cus it’s ‘Davido’ yall wanna act like yall can’t read. Smh .. I’m off this! Yall be blessed and I pray this never happens to you.

“Joint custody – Both parents will have access to the child. Sole custody – Only a single parent will have access to the child ????????.”

Meanwhile, Momodu, told a Lagos State High Court sitting in Sabo, Yaba, not to grant the child’s custody to the musician.

READ ALSO: I refused to be Davido’s sex slave –Sophia Momodu

She told the court on Friday that the applicant was not fit to be granted custody of their daughter because he is always not available and does not possess the ability to dutifully care for her.

She stated this in a counter-affidavit she filed in opposition to Davido’s suit seeking custody.

Contrary to Davido’s claim that he had consistently fulfilled his financial obligations toward his daughter, Momodu told the court that the child was almost sent away from school because the artiste refused to pay her tuition fees.

According to her, while their relationship lasted, Davido never showed true commitment or love toward their daughter.

Source: NAN

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He said he had expected the anti-graft agency’s boss, Ola Olukoyede, to have learnt from the cases of his predecessors, who he said were “booted out ignominiously”.

Momodu, who spoke on his Instagram Live show, while responding to questions on the burning topic by viewers, also frowned at the issue of selective prosecution, saying “a situation where EFCC would have to be told who can be touched and who cannot be touched is unacceptable.”

He said, “When they brought in the new chairman, I thought oh, you will have the benefit of learning from your predecessors. All of them were booted out ignominiously and if I were in the shoes of the current chairman, what I will simply do is make sure I do my job as meticulously, as professionally, as efficiently as possible. And, you will never go wrong if you obey the rule of law.

“I watched the EFCC chairman, I think either last week or the week before the last, I was almost crying because the way he went on and on… if I don’t do this… spitting fire and all.. you don’t have to do media trial.”

When asked if EFCC was lying about the former Governor, he said, “I have no idea, I don’t work for EFCC but from all the things that I have read, a lot of them, they misfired. That is the honest truth. They misfired. They didn’t do their due diligence. When you said a man took out money and paid for his children’s school fees, just as he was about to leave power, and you go and check the documents and you see that these things started happening from 2021, 2022 (laughs); I am not an illiterate.

“How do you expect me to believe everything they said when they were too much in a hurry to prosecute him that they did not take their time to check the file. Once you allow a lacuna in law, everything will fall flat.

“That is it. I am not one of those people who will say because I don’t like APC and because I supported Dino Melaye in the last election in Kogi State. Dino is my guy. But, I will not because of that be blinded by hatred for Yahaya Bello and say yes, he should go and surrender himself to EFCC when there is an existing injunction.

“And he is not the only governor who went to court and if the court has granted him that, so be it. We all know that our judiciary is not so perfect but you know, even at that, law is law, it must be obeyed. If we disobey the rule of law, then, we will have to obey the rule of the jungle. So, I never said that they are lying, it is their own statement that shows that they didn’t do their due diligence.”

Momodu, a PDP presidential aspirant, advised President Bola Tinubu not to allow people mislead him into disregarding the rule of law, saying those people would not be there for him tomorrow.

READ ALSO: INTIMATE AFFAIRS: The foolhardy he-goat, By Funke Egbemode

“My advice to President Tinubu is, don’t listen to all these people who will run away when tomorrow comes. Just follow the rule of law. I am appealing, obey the rule of law…. A situation where the EFCC will have to be told who can be touched, who cannot be touched; It is unacceptable. It is unacceptable! And that is why a lot of people have given up. You can see that a lot of serious people are not even interested in whatever they are doing to Yahaya Bello. A lot of people are not interested because they have felt all the ‘gra gra’ before, it is nothing new,” he stated.

The veteran journalist added that there were a lot of criminals in the system to prosecute but a situation where the agency was getting personal on just one person was uncalled for.

“Nigerians should stop wasting time. There are a lot of criminals in our system to prosecute but when the chairman who should take the people to court comes and say to one person, ‘if I don’t prosecute you to conclusion, I will resign’, that is getting personal. You don’t need all that,” he pointed out.

He disclosed that one of his favourite books while growing up was The Rights of Man by Thomas Paine and that it had influenced him so much that he would always defend the rights of everybody to fair hearing even if he had something against the person.

“I don’t hate anybody as a Christian. I don’t have anything against Yahaya Bello. If they like, they can choose to jail him for one million years, as long as you try him properly. This is my position, you can quote me on it,” he said.

Still on the issue of school fees, Momodu said, “I mean, I looked at the issue of school fees. Before I read, I was like how can somebody pay that kind of money? Then, when I read, it was something else I was seeing. They said he paid upfront just before he left government, and when I checked, that was not what happened. How can you try people before you will go and examine the fact?”

On if he had resigned from the PDP, he said, “If I resign, that means I am quitting. No, I am still a member of the PDP. I said it clearly after the election in 2022 during the PDP primary; they asked us, if you don’t get our ticket, are you going to jump ship? And, I said, I can’t, I won’t jump ship and I stand by that.”

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