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Global Patriot Newspapers’ Dialogue on the Media of the Future holds Friday, September 20, 2024
…..Dabiri-Erewa, Khalfani, Adaba, Anderson, Kolawole, Umesiri, Akande, Coker, others feature
Top media practitioners, political and business leaders, diplomats, scholars, activists and other stakeholders will, on Friday, September 20, 2024, converge, for a virtual Dialogue on “The Media of the Future,” a side event of the Black Futures Summit taking place on the sidelines of the 2024 United Nations Summit of the Future in New York, United States of America (USA).
The UN Summit of the Future is taking place during the 2024 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), which will feature High Level Debates by leaders from different countries of the world who will congregate in New York.
Friday’s Dialogue, with the theme “The Media of the Future: Bridging the Gap Between the West and People of African Descent,” is being put together by Global Patriot Newspapers (GPNews), and will feature as Panelists, such well grounded personalities as Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, CEO, NiDCOM, Professor Akil Khalfani, Director, Africana Institute, Essex County College, New Jersey, USA, Oyiza Adaba, CEO AfricaRelated, Yul Anderson, President, African America Future Society, Simon Kolawole, CEO, The Cable Newspaper, Toyin Umesiri, CEO, Nazarau, Laolu Akande, Editor-in-Chief, Empowered Newswire and Nicky S. Coker Esq., Spokesperson, Permanent Mission of Sierra Leone to the UN.
The Dialogue, according to a statement by Simon Ibe, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Global Patriot Newspapers, will attempt a review of the current state of the media of People of African Descent in comparison with that of the West, make projections concerning what the ideal should be, and recommend what must be done for the existing gulf to be bridged, and for the media of People of African Descent to attain the desirable heights, in the interest of all.
The log in details for the program, which starts at 3:00PM (EST), 8:00PM (WAT) are:

Meeting ID – 874 3571 2414
Passcode – guest
The Panelists
Hon. Dabiri-Erewa was a celebrated broadcast journalist who went on to become a multiple-term member of the Nigerian House of Representatives, before being appointed the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM). She was also named Diaspora Champion for her efforts to mobilize other African countries to set up Diaspora Commissions in their countries to cater to needs of their nationals living outside their countries.
Akil Khalfani, the Director, Africana Institute of Essex County College, Newark, New Jersey, is an acclaimed pan Africanist and a Professor of Sociology. A committed community leader, he ran for election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District in 2022, and is back in the current race. He is also media personality.
Oyiza Adaba, daughter of Professor Tom Adaba, the pioneer Director General of Nigeria’s National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) is the CEO of New York-based multi-media organization, AfricaRelated, and the award-winning Producer of a widely acclaimed documentary on the internationally celebrated Ghana-born Sculptor, Professor El Anatsui.
Yul Anderson, the brain behind the Black Futures Summit and Afro4UN, is a Future Analyst and the President of the African American Future Society (TAAFS) Inc, while Akande, the Host of a popular Television show, Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, who served as Spokesperson for Vice President of Nigeria (2015-2023, and before then, the North American Bureau Chief for The Guardian in New York, is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Empowered Newswire, an integrated news agency that he founded in New York.
Simon Kolawole, Founder/CEO of frontline pan African online media platform, The Cable Newspaper, was a Chevening scholar (2006), won a grant from the Centre for the Future State, University of Sussex for a Masters dissertation (2006), was nominated among Africa’s Next Generation of Leaders by The Banker Magazine, published by Financial Times of London (2009), was a Fellow of the Mo Ibrahim Governance for Development in Africa Initiative (2010) and was named Young Global Leader (YGL) by the World Economic Forum (2012).
Toyin Umesiri, the creator and host of the TV Show, Quantum Leap which airs in Aurora, Illinois, USA; was appointed by the U.S Secretary of Commerce to serve on the Illinois District Export Council (ILDEC) in 2022, served previously as Ambassador for Intra-African Trade by appointment of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Union (AU) and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Westrock Coffee Company, a leading integrated coffee, tea, and extract service provider in the US.
A global influencer, Umesiri is an Author, world-class Business Educator, Supply Chain Strategist, Founder and CEO of Nazaru, Convener of the acclaimed Trade with Africa Business Summit and provides Entrepreneurship and International Trade Support, Training and Education in her Business School, and Community and Advisory and Consulting Services to Government Agencies and Multilateral Institutions.
Madam Coker Esq., is a trailblazer in her own right. The Spokesperson for the Permanent Mission of Sierra Leone to the United Nations in New York for Sierra Leone’s two-year term on the Security Council (2024-2025), Madam Coker is an Activist Lawyer who was appointed to her present office from PURPOSEFUL (an African-rooted global hub for girls’ activism and resourcing young feminists.
A Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of Sierra Leone, she was the Senior Litigation Adviser and Head of Advocacy and Movement Building at PURPOSEFUL. Previously a State Counsel at the Ministry of Justice and Senior Defense Counsel at the Sierra Leone Legal Aid Board, Coker Esq. also served as General Secretary of the General Legal Council (the authority responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in Sierra Leone) from 2017 until her move to New York in 2024.
Named one of the 100 Most Inspiring Sierra Leoneans and 50 Most Influential Sierra Leonean Women 2019 and 2020, Nicky, a former presenter of the weekly Saturday Breakfast Show on Capital Radio SL, in 2007, navigated seamlessly through moderating for the Vice-Presidential Candidates’ Debate during Sierra Leone’s General Elections and served as the Legal Analyst for the Eminent Women’s Situation Room during Sierra Leone’s 2018 and 2023 Elections.
Professor MO Ene, one of the two Moderators of the program, is popularly known as “Chairman Moe.” A doctorate degree holder in automotive engineering from the University of Southampton, England, Dr. MO, who has taught various university courses at four universities on three continents is multilingual, has authored and published many consequential books and seminal documents in academics, culture, fiction, and current affairs.
A widely travelled campus citizen, he is multilingual and an ardent across-the-curriculum scholar who set up, in the 1997, one of the first Afrocentric magazines on the Internet: www.kwenu.com. Before the advent of AI, he pioneered Cyberology: the study of cyberspace – history, evolution, sociocultural trends, and the changing human society.
News
I might not be alive to contest in 2027 – Peter Obi raises alarm over threats to his life
Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Mr Peter Obi, has cried out over alleged threat to his life.
Obi, who is a major contender ahead of the 2027 presidential election said he might not be alive to participate in the election.
According to him, there is obvious attack on everything that had to do with him, including his life.
The former Anambra state governor made the allegation during a podcast with Chude Jideonwo.
“The way they are going now I might not be alive, I’m telling you every single thing I do for a living this government is frustrating it deliberately so.
“Everything, so there’s even a possibility if they have opportunity I will not be alive. I get frustrations every day because you do things that may think it may be normal it is not normal they won’t come directly and say oh we are doing this but you could see their hand in eventually everything.

“The government is attacking everybody, I am being attacked personally even to provide me with things I am entitled to, not at all,” he said.
He recalled how his vehicle was clamped down at the airport while he was right there, whereas other vehicles lined up on the same spot were untouched.
Obi further that stated that even close associates were beginning to avoid him over fear of government clampdown.
He disclosed that friends now send him invitations for occasions but tell him not to bother attending.
News
Yilwatda hails Tinubu’s intervention funds as a promise kept
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has said that the intervention programmes of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu have continued to demonstrate that the Renewed Hope Agenda is delivering tangible economic benefits to millions of Nigerians through strategic investments in entrepreneurship, small businesses, and youth empowerment.
According to Professor Yilwatda, the Presidential Intervention Funds represent yet another example of the Tinubu administration fulfilling its campaign promises by providing the critical financial support needed to stimulate enterprise, create jobs, and deepen economic inclusion across the country.
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy, Abimbola Tooki, the National Chairman noted that for decades, access to affordable financing remained one of the biggest obstacles confronting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), despite their enormous contribution to national economic growth and employment generation.
The current administration, he said, has deliberately moved to address this challenge through targeted intervention programmes that are unlocking the entrepreneurial potential of Nigerians.
“The Tinubu administration understands that sustainable economic growth begins with empowering the productive sector. By supporting small businesses and young entrepreneurs, government is laying the foundation for long-term prosperity and shared economic progress,” he stated.
Professor Yilwatda highlighted the ₦75 billion Presidential Intervention Fund for MSMEs as a landmark initiative designed to provide accessible financing for small businesses across various sectors of the economy.

He said the programme is enabling entrepreneurs to expand their operations, increase productivity, and create employment opportunities.
He further pointed to the ₦11 billion support package through the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), describing it as a strategic investment in strengthening the capacity and competitiveness of Nigerian small and medium enterprises.
The APC National Chairman also commended the ₦30 billion Youth Entrepreneurship Fund through the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), noting that the initiative reflects President Tinubu’s commitment to equipping young Nigerians with the resources required to transform innovative ideas into successful businesses and become drivers of national development.
Professor Yilwatda emphasized that these interventions are already making meaningful differences in the lives of ordinary Nigerians. Across the country, young entrepreneurs, artisans, farmers, traders, tailors, manufacturers, and other small business owners are accessing capital to expand their businesses, employ more people, and contribute to the economic development of their communities.
He explained that the impact extends beyond individual beneficiaries, creating a multiplier effect through increased productivity, higher household incomes, stronger local economies, and expanded opportunities for wealth creation.
“The APC remains committed to building an economy that works for all Nigerians. These intervention funds are not mere policy announcements; they are practical investments in the dreams and aspirations of millions of our people.
“The evidence is clear. Businesses are receiving support, young people are being empowered, jobs are being created, and economic inclusion is expanding. This is governance that delivers results, and it is another demonstration that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is keeping his promises to the Nigerian people,” Professor Yilwatda said.
He reaffirmed the commitment of the APC and the Tinubu administration to implementing policies that promote entrepreneurship, stimulate investment, strengthen local industries, and build a resilient economy capable of delivering sustainable prosperity for all Nigerians.
News
Ex-Minister Uche Nnaji set for arraignment as ICPC files six criminal charges over alleged certificate forgery
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has filed a six-count criminal charge against former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, , over alleged certificate forgery and related offences.
The charges, filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja, are contained in suit number FHC/ABJ/CR/389/2026, with the Federal Government listed as the complainant and Nnaji as the sole defendant.
According to the charge sheet, the ICPC accused the former minister of receiving N29.58 million in salaries and allowances while serving in office, alleging that he ought to have known the funds were proceeds of an unlawful act arising from corruption and fraud. The commission said the action contravenes provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The anti-graft agency also alleged that Nnaji used his office to confer corrupt advantage on himself and knowingly presented false information to the Federal Government by submitting forged > (NYSC) and (UNN) certificates during his ministerial appointment in 2023.
In separate counts, the ICPC accused him of producing and using as genuine a forged NYSC Certificate of National Service and a forged UNN degree certificate, offences punishable under the Penal Code.
The filing of the charges follows Nnaji’s arrest last Wednesday after arriving in Abuja from Enugu aboard a chartered flight.

The prosecution stems from an investigation published by Premium Times, which alleged that Nnaji forged his university degree and NYSC certificates submitted to President and the Nigerian Senate during his ministerial confirmation.
The newspaper reported that the confirmed Nnaji was admitted in 1981 but neither graduated nor was issued a degree certificate, while the NYSC also reportedly disowned the discharge certificate attributed to him.
Nnaji resigned as minister shortly after the allegations became public. He has since defected from the APC to PDP , where he emerged as the governorship candidate of a faction of the party for the 2027 Enugu governorship election.
He is expected to be arraigned before the Federal High Court in the coming days.
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