The Executive Director of Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Mr. Edetaen Ojo, has been honoured with the “Freedom of Information Champion of the Decade” Award by DigitalSENSE Africa Media, which also inducted him into its DigitalSENSE Africa Hall of Fame at the 2024 Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum on Internet Governance for Development and award ceremony held in Lagos.
The award plaque was jointly presented to Mr. Ojo on behalf of DigitalSENSE Africa Media by the President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Mr. Eze Anaba; and the President of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), Ms Maureen Chigbo, at the ceremony held to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum.
Thereafter, Sir Remmy Nweke, the Lead Consulting Strategist at DigitalSENSE Africa Media, inducted him and other awardees into the DigitalSENSE Africa Hall of Fame, adorning him with a DigitalSENSE Africa medallion.
DigitalSENSE Africa said the award was conferred on Mr. Ojo “in recognition of your industry roles over the years”.
The award to Mr. Ojo was one of several awards handed out at the ceremony to individuals and corporate entities, according to DigitalSENSE Africa, “for their contributions in deepening Internet penetration, improving access, affordability, and technological adaptation that bring forth digital sense in Nigeria.”
Other awardees were Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, the immediate past Secretary to the Government of Akwa-Ibom State; the chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA), Mrs Ibukun Odusote; the Managing Director of Condata Systems Limited, Dr. Chris Nwannenna; the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Engr. Gbenga Adebayo; the Managing Director of Wizzyhub Technologies, Mr. Francis Uzor; the Managing Director of Digital Realty Nigeria, Engr. Ikechukwu Nnamani; the Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN), Mr. Gbenga Sesan; and the Managing Director of the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN), Mr. Muhammed Rudman.
Corporate bodies that were honoured are the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Digital Realty Nigeria (formerly Medallion), Upland College, and Welcome Center Hotels.
Sir Nweke said the awards were “our own ways of appreciating both individual and corporate support over the years”, adding that the support of most of the persons and organisations that were being honoured had assisted DigitalSENSE Africa in deepening and sustaining its contribution to Internet penetration, improving access and affordability, and technological adaptation that brought forth digital sense in Nigeria.
DigitalSENSE Africa is an At-Large Structure (ALS) certified by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a global multistakeholder group headquartered in the United States and responsible for coordinating the maintenance and procedures of several databases related to the namespaces and numerical spaces of the Internet, ensuring the Internet’s stable and secure operation
At-Large Structures are independent and self-supporting organizations within ICANN’s At-Large Community, which aim to represent the voice of individual Internet users all over the world and provide avenues for individual internet users to take part in all the issues discussed within ICANN.
