Captivating! Photos from the Media Leaders’ Summit in Abeokuta

Stakeholders in the Nigerian media industry met in Abeokuta, Ogun State, from May 5-6 to review the nation’s media ecosystem and devise new strategies to meet emerging challenges.

The convener and founder of the Journalism Clinic, veteran journalist and trainer Taiwo Obe, described the Nigerian Media Leaders’ Summit as “an opportunity to rethink and reinvent” media business in Nigeria to remain relevant, particularly in the rapidly evolving era of artificial intelligence.

The summit, the 3rd in its series, had as its theme “Market Squared: Turning Connections into Gold in the AI Age”, deliberated on the revolutionising influence of artificial intelligence on the media landscape and the need for stakeholders to leverage the digital innovations to stay relevant.

Leading discussions at the summit were the big players in the Nigerian media industry, including the Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of The PUNCH, Mr Joseph Adeyeye; the Founder of Branama Children’s Television, Mrs Betty Dibiah Akeredolu-Ale; Editor-in-Chief, Premium Times, Mr Musikilu Mojeed; Co-founder and CEO, Women Radio, Mrs Toun Sonaiya; and award-winning journalist and former Special Assistant to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Mr Tolu Ogunlesi.

Other speakers at the event are Dolapo Kuye Otegbayi, a global marketing and business development consultant; Mr Dan Mason, an international journalism and digital media consultant; Mr Rasheed Adebiyi (PhD) of the Department of Mass Communication, Fountain University, Osogbo; Mrs Helen Ese Umoren (PhD) of Scientist Partners Innovation Hub; and Mr Richard Ikiebe, Media Scholar and Adjunct Faculty, Pan Atlantic University, Lagos.

Participants encouraged the adoption of AI tools for engagement but noted the ethical issues around their usage. The disconnection between media leaders and their new audiences, particularly Gen Z, topped the discussion with suggestions on how to bridge the generational gap.

There were practical demonstrations by Dan Mason on how journalists can deploy AI for efficiency and effectiveness in content creation.

Stakeholders agreed that artificial intelligence tools have profound implications for communication and journalism and should be deployed as a strategic asset for reaching a wider audience and building value across Nigeria’s media sector.