Welcome Address By Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Diplomatic Digest at 5th Year Anniversary Lecture, Dinner and Awards.
The Chairman of today’s occasion, Dr. Kingsley Kemebradigha Kuku, former Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan and Chairman Presidential Amnesty Program, Special Guest of Honour, H.E Ambasador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, OON, Minister of Foreign Affairs, ably represented this evening by Alkasim Abdulkadir, SA to the Minister on Media and Communication Strategy, the Guest Lecturer, Rt. Honourable Yusuf Buba Yakub, Director General, Nigerian Technical Aid Corps ably represented by the one l call the Guru Nkem Ayanta-Lafia, SA Media to the DG,Your Excellencies members of the Diplomatic Corps, respectable Awardees, His Excellency, Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah, Envoy to the Ghanaian President John Mahama on Inter-faith and Ecumenical Relations, Her Excellency Ambassador Prof Olufolake Abdulrazaq, Wife of the Kwara State Governor and Chairperson of the Nigeria Governors’ Spouses Forum, Ambassador Davisha L. Johnson, Goodwill Ambassador to the State of Georgia, USA. Very important friends and supporters of Diplomatic Digest, I wish to specially welcome Ambassador Joe Okoro, who served this country as a Career Diplomat for many years and retired with astonishing laurels, locally and internationally.
The Publisher and C.E.O of Canada based Savannah News, Prince Olujimi Adekanle,(JAF) who should have returned to Canada but waited to be part of this event. The Chief of Staff to Chairman of Nigeria Liquified Gas Project, High Chief Francis Soriwei, who delayed his return to Angola just to be at this event. Yeyemofin Fola Vincet also rushed from Paris to celebrate with us at this historic event. Hon Princess Kemisola Adesanya, two time member of the Ondo State House of Assembly flew in from Lagos this morning. Time will surely not allow me to mention each and every one of important dignitaries, as attendees at this event were carefully chosen and there is a story behind all the invitees seated here. Members of the fourth estate of the realm, distinguished ladies and gentlemen l most sincerely welcome all of you.
Diplomatic Digest, is quitting infancy, to enter childhood, having spent the last five years grappling with the basics and learning the ropes in a field of journalism that l consider specialised, because of the caliber of people who operate in this area-Diplomats. Against this background, I wish to single out the Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Emomotimi Ebienfa whose efforts got Diplomatic Digest Accredited with the Ministry when he was SA to the then Spokesman of the Ministry. Now he is the Spokesman, reminiscent of what a group of young American musicians called ” Boys to Men”.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it has been tough but we triumphed because we believe, we have a date with history which is already manifest, going by the lineup of dignitaries in this hall. Like Bob Marley said ” the tougher the battle, the sweeter the victory.
We have called you to celebrate with the Diplomatic Digest family because, 5 years in the business of publishing is a long time if we appreciate how many titles have gone under within the period under review. It is not because they are not hard working but because things simply did not work out. It is in this regard that, I wish to thank all those who have been part of our story. In a world where fake news, misinformation, disinformation and gossips easily get traction and celebrated, sticking to the core values of setting agenda, advocacy or what l call developmental journalism, requires more than regular efforts to be afloat.
In these days where anybody with a smart phone can take photographs and send any kind of information to the globe from a small corner of his room, information management especially for the consumption of the global community cannot be left for quacks or those who don’t know the boundaries between national interest and news worthiness. The newsroom standard is that ” Every bad news is good news”. That is why you see some screaming headlines, but when you read the story, you find no correlation.
Today at this event, we shall listen to the anniversary Lecture delivered by Parliamentarian Diplomat, who shares name with the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rt. Honorable Yusuf Buba Yakub, after which some global citizens who have left indelible marks on the sands of time will be presented with the Diplomatic Leadership Award for their contributions to international diplomacy and advocacy.
There is a Special Edition of Diplomatic Digest which we will also unveil as interlude between the Lecture and the Award presentation. Let me state at this juncture that, we have not arrived at our destination yet. We intend to float the Diplomatic Digest Television and Radio stations in due course. This will give additional leverage to our reportage of the Diplomatic Community. As a journalist and teacher l know the importance of visuals. In Education it is called “Teaching Aids”. People remember things they see more than those they read. That is our destination. We therefore appeal to you to support this dream. It may not necessarily be in cash but can be in the form of equipment or training or facilities that can give us mileage. This appeal is not strange or beggarly because if you go to the internet, you will discover that even international brands like The Guardian UK, solicit for support, no matter how much you wish to support with. I need not mention how much support l gave, for the month of June 2025.
The cover price of this edition is only five thousand Naira if you wish to pay in Naira or only $4 in USA. But any support in realization of our dream and to continue to keep us in business to serve you better will be deeply appreciated. At the appropriate time, we shall invite Mr Chairman to “Unveil” the Magazine for individuals, Embassies and organizations to get copies for themselves.
There after, we shall approach the dinner table for what we can offer our guests.
Once again, l want to thank all of you for honouring our invitation and Welcome.
Thank you so very much.
