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NMMA Rewards Nigeria’s
Best Pens
The best of Nigerian journalists and media professionals were rewarded
with a total of 36 different prizes by the Nigeria Media Merit Award (NMMA),
in three main categories during this year’s awards ceremony held at
Ada-Osogbo, Osun State, South-west Nigeria on November 17.
Chris Ajaero, Senior Associate Editor of Newswatch Magazine, won
The Guardian Newspapers prize for Investigative Reporter for the
Year.
Louis Odion of the Sun newspapers won the Alade Odunewu Prize for
the Columnist of the Year while the Dele Giwa Prize for the Editor of
the Year went to Femi Adesina also of the Sun newspapers. Godwin
Nanna of BusinessDay newspaper won the NAFCON prize for Environmental
Reporter of the year; Oluchi Ojukwu of Broad Street Journal got the IGI
Insurance Reporter of the year; and Joseph Onyekwere, Staff Writer of
the Newswatch magazine went home with the Peter Odili prize for
Power Reporter of the Year.
Other winners were Niyi Arogbada of The Punch newspapers who was awarded
the Nnamdi Azikiwe prize for the Cartoonist of the year; Dele Oyawale
got the Aviation reporter of the year award; Ronke Olawale of the
Guardian was awarded the MTN prize for best Telecoms reporter of the
year; Chude Jideonwu received the Olu Aboderin Entertainment Reporter of
the year prize; and Tony Manuaka of Tell magazine, the UBA Money Market
Reporter of the year prize.
The Babatunde Jose Prize for Newspaper of the Year went to the Sun
newspapers; WAMCO Prize for Newsmagazine of the Year went to Tell
Magazine while The Guardian newspapers won the Prize for the
editorial writing.
In the broadcast categories, Cool FM won the National
Broadcasting Commission (NBC)’s Radio Station of the Year while to Minaj
Broadcasting International (MBI) took the prize for the television
station of the year.
Other broadcast prize winners are Nasir Muazu who was awarded the Radio
Producer of the year prize; Gimba Umar of MBI got the Cadbury Prize for
TV Reporter of the year; while for his work, ‘Edge of Paradise’, Greg
Odutayo went home with the Television Drama of the Year prize.
The awards, given in three categories: Print, Radio, and Television, had
27 awards for the print medium; three for radio and six for the
television category.
Tony Momoh, chairman of the Award Nominating Panel, said that winners
emerged after a rigorous assessment of entries by knowledgeable and
reputable media practitioners cut across the wide spectrum of the media
industry, including academics, public relations consultants and veteran
journalists.
Alade Odunewu, chairman NMMA board of trustees who turned 80 years,
described the event as the celebration of media excellence. He said:
“The founding trustees envisioned that NMMA should be the foremost
institution for the promotion of excellence in the Nigeria media.
NMMA is not just a prize giving day, it is packaged to give all media
nominees and guests a good treat and the winners their prizes they
deserve”.
Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, the executive governor of Osun State who
hosted this year’s NMMA editions said he recognizes the power of
information and how well it could help in developmental efforts. He
noted that the task of re-building the country must start with the
Nigeria media and added that if the media carried out its duties
diligently with integrity, the multiplier effect would rub-off positive
on the society.
Governor Oyinlola also used the opportunity to endow the Oba Moses
Oyewola Oyinlola prize for Arts and Culture Reporter of the Year as from
the next edition of the ceremony billed to take place in Kano State. He
urged media owners to always embark on training and retraining of
journalists to ensure professionalism and high ethical standards. He
emphasized that: “Media practitioners should be more knowledgeable than
the public that want to inform.” |
