Speech delivered on the 5th anniversary of NAIJA LIVE TV by the CEO, Saint Mienpamo Onitsha on the 14th of February, 2022

all protocol duly observed, Ladies and gentlemen.

It is with great delight and pleasure that I address you all on this auspicious occasion of the 5th anniversary celebration of our ever growing NAIJA LIVE TV. This is because this anniversary celebration is akin to the glorious delivery of a child carried in the womb of his mother for an expected period of time. Many people may not understand how we started, all we have encountered, and how far we have gone before getting to this near-the-pinnacle point.

2. Ladies and gentlemen, what is today known as NAIJA LIVE TV was simply a microscopic idea nursed in my head some time ago – say, not up to a decade. In 2012 when I was appointed as a Special Assistant on Social Media to the former Governor of Bayelsa State, Hon. Seriake Dickson, I developed a strong desire to professionally venture into social media practice. It was more than a hobby; it was an imaginary world that needed to be made real for ready-exploration. However, in 2017, it was no longer a desire or a dream as it then was, it was a reality indeed as the 14th day of February, 2017 saw the birth of what is today popularly known as the NAIJA LIVE TV.
4. When the NAIJA LIVE TV was finally founded, the Bayelsa State social media cyberspace was not heavily dominated by state-based influencers and bloggers as it is today. Like every young establishment, we started very small scrawling as it were. I started with just two laptops, an iPad, and a mobile phone. Then, I had just a staff strength of four persons struggling to scribble out what should be read to keep our readership going. Our readership base was also relatively small then, but today the story is different. Like the famous legal maxims goes, res ipsa loquitor – which means, the fact speaks for itself.
6. Ladies and gentlemen, today the NAIJA LIVE TV has a followership base of over two million persons in all of our channels. This of course is a result of our diligence, hard work, and consistency in service delivery over the past years and counting. NAIJA LIVE TV is a team of experienced and professional social media influencers, that connect people around the world. Our unrivalled peculiar story telling style guarantees a balanced and insightful analysis that trend from platform to platform online. This is an undisputable fact. Ladies and gentlemen, today the once weaned cub, has grown to become one of the best media platforms in Bayelsa State, and indeed the Niger Delta at large. Thanks to my highly esteemed staffs, partners, and teeming supporters all over the world.
8. Nevertheless, ladies and gentlemen, this success story is not without some challenges. Indeed, every great organization must have had some challenges at some point in time of its existence. NAIJA LIVE TV is not different. One of the major challenges we are facing is that many Bayelsa State youths are politically affiliated. This makes them to always read political meanings to almost all the politically related news published by us. There are times we are faced with vulgar words thrown at us for publications perceived to be against their interests; there are other times I was even arrested for publications made and even charged to court. In some cases, I received threats to my life, and even threats of kidnapping. But none of these challenges stopped me from practicing what I love doing. Every challenge makes us even stronger and better. We never allowed the challenges to discourage us.
   
9. Instead, we learn, pick up ourselves, and do even better. We have tried to live above the bar by giving authentic reportages and in balancing our stories. It is this show of professionalism that has earned us many accolades and recognitions locally and globally, even the face of all our challenges. Just recently, I was awarded as the Best Investigative Media man of the year 2021 – an award that reflects our collective hard work, consistency, and diligence in investigative reporting.
11. Ladies and gentlemen, while you all patiently listen to how far we have come, posterity will never be kind to me if I fail to mention those who are worthy of some brief mention – by this, I mean people who must be appreciated for their roles and supports in bringing NAIJA LIVE TV this far.
13. Let me start by first thanking the Almighty God for the life and strength to work and deliver when necessary. Without God, we will not be having this conversation. May his name alone be praised. In no particular order, I want to also thank my dear mother and all my siblings and relations both close and far. Special thanks must also go to my personal boss, Hon. Bello Bina, the-then Executive Chairman of Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. Honourable is part of the story of the birth of this platform. I wish to add at this point that this platform that we celebrate today was unveiled by him during my 31st birthday when I was working as his Chief Press Secretary then. In other words, today also double as my birthday. Thank you very much sir. We appreciate you.
15. My appreciation also goes to Amb. Godknows Boladei Igali and HRM King Diete Spiff, the Amayanabo of Twon Brass for their fatherly supports towards the success of this program. We shall always count on such royal and ambassadorial supports and presence to keep the train moving. Very much imperative to mention are the legal juggernauts who at some point have stood by me to give useful advices and also defend me. I want to particularly thank Barr. Benjamin Ogbara, Barr. Ebi Robert, Barr. Wisdom Adike and all those who have defended us when we were hit by the tornadoes and whirlwinds. Without the efforts of these human rights defenders, I doubt if we can be bold enough to write and publish the kind of news we handle in the face of fierce oppositions and intimidations. Thanks to them all for their fearless boldness.
17. Permit me to also mention other stakeholders such as the Committee to Project Journalists (CPJ), The Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) as well as the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) for their ceaseless supports all the way. It’s a big shout-out to them all, and all others who do what we do.
18. Ladies and gentlemen, as I round up my speech, I want to say that I am indeed very grateful for all the supports given. Time may not permit me to mention all the people who have been supportive to our cause. But know this one thing that we deeply appreciate you all. It is our outmost desire that we continue doing this job very well, and in an advanced and more productive manner.
    May God bless you all. Thank you all for listening.

Signed:

Saint Mienpamo Onitsha
Chief Executive Officer of NAIJA LIVE TV

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