Nigerian Tribune

Nigerian Tribune
TypeDaily newspaper
PublisherAfrican Newspapers of Nigeria PLC
Editor-in-chiefEdward Dickson
Founded1949
LanguageEnglish
HeadquartersIbadan, Nigeria
Websitewww.tribuneonlineng.com

The Nigerian Tribune is an English-language newspaper published in Ibadan, Nigeria. It was established in 1949 by Chief Obafemi Awolowo, making it the oldest running private Nigerian newspaper.[1]

During the colonial era, the newspaper is served as the mouthpiece for Awolowo's populist welfare programs. It played an important role in defending the interests of the Yoruba people in a period when different ethnic groups struggled for ascendancy.[2] After Nigeria gained independence in the 1960s, most publications were government-owned until the 1990s, but private papers such as the Nigerian Tribune, The Punch, Vanguard, and the Guardian continued to expose public and private scandals despite government attempts at suppression.[3] General Ibrahim Babangida stated that out of all the Nigerian newspapers, he would only read and take seriously the Nigerian Tribune's editorial column.[4]

The book Leadership Failure and Nigeria's Fading Hopes by Femi Okurounmu consists of excerpts from a weekly column in the Nigerian Tribune published between 2004 and 2009. The author, a patriotic Nigerian elder statesman, laments how "the corruption and selfishness of successive leaders have destroyed the hopes not just of Nigerians but of the entire black race".[5]

The managing director and editor-in-chief of the Nigerian Tribune, Segun Olatunji, resigned in December 2008 in the wake of a series of staff changes. A few days later the editor, Rauf Abiodun, also resigned. Sam Adesua was appointed as the new managing director and editor-in-chief of the newspaper by Mrs. HID Awolowo, the chair of African Newspapers of Nigeria Ltd., which owns the Nigerian Tribune. The changes were said to be part of a move to modernize the paper and expand beyond its narrow Yoruba base in the face of competition from papers such as The Westerner, The Nation and the Nigerian Compass.[6]

In September 2012 the newspaper's board of directors appointed Edward Dickson as managing director and editor-in-chief, Debo Abdulai as editor of the Nigerian Tribune, Sina Oladeinde as editor of the Sunday Tribune, and Lasisi Olagunju as Saturday Tribune editor.[7]

African Newspapers of Nigeria PLC is the publisher of the Nigerian Tribune, with Tribune Online as its online edition.[8]

  1. ^ "About Us". Nigerian Tribune. Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2011-05-11.
  2. ^ "Awolowo, Obafemi (1909-1987) 2004". Encyclopedia of African History. London: Routledge. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  3. ^ Sriramesh, Krishnamurthy; Verčič, Dejan (2009). The global public relations handbook: theory, research, and practice. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-415-99514-6.
  4. ^ McNezer Fasehun (29 June 2009). "Nigerian Tribune - a Salute to Awo's Newspapernomics". Daily Independent. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  5. ^ Femi Okurounmu (2010). Leadership Failure and Nigeria's Fading Hopes: Being Excerpts from Patriotic Punches a Weekly Column in the Nigerian Tribune from 2004 - 2009. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-4490-8409-7.
  6. ^ "MEDIA: CHANGE OF BATON AT NIGERIAN TRIBUNE". NBF. 10 January 2009. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
  7. ^ "We'll solve cases of killings in Akinyele soon, says Oyo CP". Tribune Online. 2020-06-23. Archived from the original on 2022-05-23. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
  8. ^ "About Us". Tribune Online. Retrieved 2022-08-08.