Jonathan chairs 18th Daily Trust Dialogue on Thursday

Former President Goodluck Jonathan will on Thursday chair the 18th edition of the annual Daily Trust Dialogue, with the theme ‘Restructuring: Why? When? How?’

A statement by the acting Chief Executive Officer of Media Trust Limited (publishers of Daily Trust and other titles), Nura Mamman Daura, said the event would hold at 10am at the NAF Conference Centre and Suites, Ahmadu Bello Way, Kado, Abuja.

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Three key personalities to speak at the event, which will be moderated by a renowned media entrepreneur and founder of Daria Media, Kadaria Ahmed, are an elder statesman and Afenifere chieftain, Chief Ayo Adebanjo; the immediate past President-General of Ohanaeze Nd’Igbo, Chief John Nwodo and a renowned political scientist and former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega.

Expected at the event are leaders of Afenifere, Arewa Consultative Forum, Ohanaeze Nd’Igbo, North-Central States Peoples Forum, National Council of Traditional Rulers, Northern Elders Forum, National Council of Women Societies, National Youth Council of Nigeria, among others.

Others include serving and past state governors, serving and former ministers, lawmakers, chairmen of the major political parties in the country, members of civil society organisations, development partners and diplomats.

The statement, however, noted that “unlike in other years, this year’s dialogue would have a mix of physical and virtual convergence due to the inevitable restrictions imposed on physical human interactions by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The statement said aside physical participation, members of the public were encouraged to join remotely through the following webinar link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_b-W7SigrTu-nQq4XY8-QWw.

According to the statement, the event will be broadcast live by the organisers’ media partners such as Arise TV (DSTV Channel 416, GoTV Channel 44, Sky Channel 519, Freeview Channel 136); AIT (DSTV Channel 253, GoTV Channel 93, Sky Channel 454 and StarTimes Channel 494, and will be live streamed on Trust TV as well as the Daily Trust’s social media channels.

The annual Daily Trust Dialogue is part of Media Trust Limited’s contributions to stimulating discussions by Nigerians and fellow Africans towards enhancing national and indeed, African integration and cohesion crucial for sustainable socio-political growth and economic development of Nigeria and the African continent at large.

Since 2002, Media Trust has hosted the annual public lecture series to discuss topical issues on various aspects of governance.

The series of Dialogues had been attended by past Heads of Government, the leadership of the National Assembly as well as captains of commerce and industry and members of the Diplomatic Corps.

The Daily Trust Dialogue had equally been graced at different times by eminent personalities from across Africa, including Mr. Festus Mogae, former President of Botswana; the Late Flt. Lt. Jerry Rawlings, former president of Ghana; Dr Salim Ahmed Salim, former Prime Minister of Tanzania; the Late Mrs. Winnie Mandela of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle; Dr Mo Ibrahim; and Mrs. Samia Nkrumah, daughter of the Late Kwame Nkrumah.

Brief on the Daily Trust Dialogue

The annual Daily Trust Dialogue is our newspaper’s contribution to stimulating discussions by Nigerians as a catalyst for enhancing national integration and sustainable socio-political and economic development of our country.

It has also become a forum where sons of Africa meet once a year to discuss issues that concern the continent.

Media Trust Limited, based in Abuja, gives extensive coverage to African issues and considers this symposium its contribution to the search for useful social, economic and political ideas for the advancement of democracy in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.

As the event continues to gain prominence and recognition across the country, it has become a veritable platform for an aggregation of views that will enable the nation’s leaders to take policy decisions for good governance.

The themes of the previous Daily Trust Dialogues included: Challenges of Democracy in Africa; The Nigeria Question: The Way Forward; Reforming Nigeria: Which Model?, Corruption: The Trouble with Nigeria; Free and Fair Election: Getting it Right; Media and Politics in Nigeria; Democracy: Restoring Faith in Politics; The African Woman in Politics; The Challenges of Good Governance in Africa; Incumbency and Impunity in Politics: Securing Democracy Beyond 2015; Beyond Recession: Towards A Resilient Economy; Nation Building: Challenges and Reality;

Youth and Democracy: The Nigerian Challenge; Twenty Years of Democracy in Nigeria: Strengths, Weaknesses and Challenges.

The Daily Trust Dialogue draws a large audience, ranging from 750 to over 1,000. Students, politicians, foreign diplomats, entrepreneurs usually attend the event, depending on the topic and the speakers’ profile.   Hence, it has a great value proposition for corporate sponsorship and brand enhancement.