Celebrating our Media Ambassadors
Lanre Idowu
Before we go on, I will like to ask us to observe a minute’s silence in honour of some of our colleagues who passed on since the last DAME, especially Chief Lateef Jakande, Prince Tony Momoh, both of whom were Lifetime Achievement Awardees of DAME, Chief Eddie Aderinokun and Mr. Ben Egbuna.
Distinguished guests,
It is my privilege to welcome you to the 30th presentation of DAME—the Diamond Awards for Media Excellence. We must give glory to Almighty God for the grace to gather here today to celebrate thirty years in the life of DAME.
The journey started on March 20, 1992, when the first edition of DAME was held at the Lagos Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja. To have kept the faith in this journey of fishing out the best in the media and honouring them without fail year-in-year-out, in our mind, calls for today’s celebration.
In celebrating, we are also offering our thanks to the One who has kept us going. It is He who has raised the partners who have helped us to keep the dream alive.
What is this dream?
It is one that holds that the media as keepers of public conscience and morality need regular and special attention. By that, we recognise that the media represent an important institution that is central to making meaning out of our daily existence. It is the media’s role to guide and shape society’s understanding of the evolving world. The media are effective and enjoy society’s support when they employ credible yardsticks to assess what goes on in society and deliver their judgments in a fair and honest manner. Because media output affects us all, the public cannot afford to take the media for granted. Part of the business of according the media due recognition is by celebrating individuals and organisations who have kept the faith, who have done well in protecting the ethos of the industry and expanding public understanding of the world in which we live.
We hold that this culture of appreciation remains important to building self-belief and encouraging best practices in our society. That way, the younger ones can be encouraged that the tremendous sacrifice they make as media professionals is appreciated. And where that is replicated across various disciplines, we will as a people have worthy causes and people to emulate.
For you all to turn out this day of rest, Sunday, and at a time of deep concern about the menace of covid-19 testifies to the importance you attach to this event. On behalf of DAME, I thank you sincerely for it and welcome you to the 30th DAME.
To all our partners, we say Welcome. From UNICEF to the Lagos State Government, Nestle Plc, Nigerian Guild of Editors, the Latoye Idowu Family Fund, Tunji Oseni Memorial Trust, Justice Onalaja Family Trust, the Estate of Segun and Elsie Olusola, JAMB, Estate of Ahmed Onibudo, Cornerstone Insurance, First Bank, we appreciate your support over the years and pray that your tribe will multiply.
I welcome our judges, colleagues, friends, and relations. I wish you all a pleasant evening.
I also welcome all our honorees—Lifetime Achievement awardee, Mr. Lade Bonuola, my boss at the Daily Times and the Guardian; my colleagues, the three Distinguished Fellows.
To all the finalists for the various categories, I congratulate you for making it to this stage. Only one person will take home the big prize. But you are all winners and as the example of many familiar with DAME shows, the first or second runner up may become the first place winner tomorrow. Keep at it. A lot is expected of you in the coming months as preparations for the political future of Nigeria unfold. Be vigilant. Be prayerful. Do not shut out people of ideas who may lack huge war chests but deny access to anarchists and scrutinise closely the mundane and familiar.
Of the 24 categories advertised, we are awarding only 13 prizes. Why? Because eleven other categories did not satisfy the requirements of DAME. This says a lot about the state of practice in the industry. In the New Year, we will talk more about what we plan to do to address this development in consultation with our partners.
For now, I welcome you all to the 30th DAME and wish you a Merry Christmas.
*Address of Welcome at the 30th DAME Presentation, December 19, 2021 by Mr. Lanre Idowu, the supervising trustee of the Diamond Awards for Media Excellence