Your story epitomises resilience, excellence, Egbewole tells DTN @ 100
By Abubakar Imam
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, SAN, has congratulated the management and staff of the Daily Times of Nigeria(DTN)as the foremost newspaper outfit marks its 100 years of existence. The newspaper, which is Nigerian oldest surviving daily, rolled out its first printed copy on June 1, 1926.
The Daily Times, which was government-owned, is now under private-ownership.
In a statement issued by the University’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr Kunle Akogun, the Vice Chancellor described the Daily Times as the most enduring news platform in the nation’s history.
The legal luminary said that the history of the newspaper is replete with cases of excellence and resilience as he said that for it to have operated up to a century is an achievement worthy of celebration.
Prof. Egbewole, who is also a member of the Nigerian Body of Benchers, said that the newspaper was at a time the most influential source of news and entertainment for the entire country. He said that as a school boy in the 1970s and an undergraduate in the early 1980s he was always looking forward to reading the daily editions of the publication in order to broaden his knowledge of issues, events and personalities across and beyond Nigeria.
He explained that the nation would remain grateful to the newspaper outfit for its numerous contributions to national development, particularly peace-building and national integration.
The Vice Chancellor specifically thanked the newspaper for supporting the University through its history as he described the centenarian media outfit as one of the most dependable and friendly news media.
Prof. Egbewole, who is also the Secretary-General of the Association of West African Universities (AWAU), thanked the newspaper for also serving as a training ground for numerous students and staff of the University over the years. He said that many students of the University had enjoyed industrial training in the fields of journalism, marketing, advertising and general media management at the newspaper house. He noted that quite a number of them subsequently became staff members of the newspaper after their graduation.
While wishing the Daily Times of Nigeria more years of quality services to the nation and humanity, Prof. Egbewole assured the publication that the University would not hesitate to offer necessary support towards returning it to its past glory.
