For many journalists, the growth of private broadcasting in Nigeria is closely linked to the vision of the late Raymond Dokpesi.
As the media industry remembers the broadcasting pioneer on what would have been his seventy fifth birthday, journalists in Edo State are calling for October 25 to be recognised as a National Day for Private Broadcasting.
AIT’s Osarose Sadoh reports that the call was made during the 19th edition of the Raymond Dokpesi Annual Endurance Walk in Benin City, organised to celebrate his life and contributions to the media industry.
It is more than an endurance walk. For these journalists, it is a tribute to a man whose vision helped open new doors in Nigerian broadcasting.
Staff of DAAR Communications Plc in Benin City join the Edo State Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Festus Alenkhe, and other members of the union to honour the late founder of the Communications outfit, Raymond Aleogho Dokpesi on the occasion of his posthumous birthday.
Dressed in branded tee shirts, participants take to the streets of Benin City to celebrate a media entrepreneur whose bold investment in private broadcasting helped expand the choices available to both Nigerian and foreign audiences.
Back at the secretariat, the focus shifts from the walk to the legacy of a man many regard as one of the defining figures in Nigeria’s broadcast history.
Raymond Dokpesi’s establishment of DAAR Communications helped create alternatives to government owned broadcasting and widened the space for news, public debate, entertainment, and diverse perspectives.
They’re ⁶believe setting aside October 25 as a National Day for Private Broadcasting would be a fitting tribute to his contributions.
Dokpesi, who passed on May 29, 2023, left behind a legacy closely associated with innovation, enterprise, and the expansion of Nigeria’s broadcast industry.
From pioneering private radio broadcasting to establishing AIT as a major television platform, his work helped reshape the country’s media landscape and created opportunities for generations of media professionals.
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