Daily Times Nigeria has unveiled plans to mark its 100 years of existence in the media industry.
The Chairman of Folio Communications Plc, publishers of DTN, Fidelis Anosike, announced the plans while briefing journalists at the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) secretariat in Lagos.
Founded in 1926, Daily Times is regarded as one of the most influential newspapers in post-independence Nigeria.
Daily Times consistently covered important events in Nigerian history, including the discovery of oil in Nigeria (1956), Nigerian Independence (1960), the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970), the Second Republic (1979–1983), the transition to democracy (1999) among others.
Its centenary celebration tagged ‘Daily Times @100’ will run from October 2025 to June 2026, featuring exhibitions, archival showcases, a national lecture series on media and democracy, and a grand gala and awards night in Lagos to honour media pioneers and cultural icons.
Part of the activities also include the unveiling of a 700-page book which details various important events and developments in Nigeria.
“Daily Times is more than a brand. It is still the biggest industry in Nigeria.” Anosike said “If you go to any media house in Nigeria today, you will see at least one person who has some connection or link with Daily Times. It is a media company, it is more than a newspaper.”
The Chairman said the celebration marks an end to the first century of the newspaper and the beginning of another 100 years journey with the unveiling of two key initiatives including the Nigerian Archive Project.
According to him, the focus in the next century is to reposition the newspaper and professionalism, bridge the digital skills gap, and equip young journalists to tell Nigeria stories and reshape the global perception of the country.
Emphasising the historical relevance of the newspaper, Anosike described Daily Times as the only composite archive of Nigeria, linking it to the
Library of Congress.
“The archive of Daily Times is the only composite archive that you have in Nigeria. For us, what we went to buy in Daily Times was not the building. The building was already compromised. What we went to buy in Daily Times was the brand, the soul, the intellectual property and the archive. It is in the archive that we found out why Nigeria was created. The founding fathers of Daily Times were at the forefront of that,” he said.
Anosike said the events to mark the 100 years anniversary will also include giving special recognition to some past editors and writers in the paper including the Publisher of Vanguard Newspaper, Mr Sam Amuka-Pemu, former Ogun State Governor, Aremo Olusegun Osoba and Chief Onyema Ugochukwu.
The Managing Consultant, Precise Platform, Bolaji Okusaga, disclosed plans to partner 100 Nigerian organizations to support for the centenary celebration and the initiative to launch the National Archive project for Nigeria to properly document the county’s story.
“The whole issue about perception for Nigeria needs to change. A country without a story is certainly a jungle. Nigeria is not a jungle. Nigeria has authentic stories and those stories have been documented well by Daily Times platform across the 100 years period.
“What is going to happen now is that we are putting together a 100 corporate bodies that are going to partner with us to unveil the Nigerian National Archive and that’s part of the centenary project,” he said.
