At a time when the traditional Nigerian media has come under attack on its responsibilities to the polity for concise, precise, informed and confirmed information, the Nigerian Tribune again, rose to the occasion. This time, the Nigerian Tribune did so on a world stage, thus restating its commitment to continued coverage of factual, verified dissemination of necessary information to the whole world.
The Nigerian Tribune emerged as a favourite pick by the Cable News Network (CNN) to feature on their lists of newspaper front-pages around the world that reported the unprecedented scenes of chaos at the US Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump who breached the building just as Congress kicked off a joint session to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s win. At least four people died in the encounter. The CNN is a multinational news-based pay television channel headquartered in Atlanta.
Globally, CNN programming has aired through CNN International, seen by viewers in over 212 countries and territories. CNN won a network-record six news & documentary Emmy Awards. They are, Outstanding Breaking News Coverage, Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story in a Newscast, Outstanding Live Interview, Outstanding Hard News Feature Story in a Newscast, Outstanding News Special, Outstanding Science, Medical and Environmental Report. Today, its reportorial capacity, integrity and global interface remain a melting-point. Therefore for CNN to have selected the Nigerian Tribune for its global review depicting the Capitol Hill insurrection authenticates Nigerian Tribune’s place of strength and competence.
The Nigerian Tribune was the only Nigerian newspaper featured by CNN on the African continent depicting the Capitol Hill insurrection.
This, according to a social critic and media stakeholder, Keni Akintoye, “is proof that the 71 years of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s heritage, remains a shining light not just for Nigeria and Nigerians, but for Africa and the entire black race.
“When I saw the report online, I called a friend of mine at the Nigerian Tribune immediately to inform him. I was proud that a Nigerian news platform could be listed among top newspapers around the world like Daily Mail, Daily Star, The New York Times, The Jerusalem Post, The Australian etc. It shows that the media in Nigeria is still much reckoned with. The CNN doesn’t select randomly, so I am very happy.”
Notably, the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States took place on January 20, 2021, marking the commencement of the four-year term of Joe Biden as president and Kamala Harris as vice president.
Kamala Harris in her speech talked about the power of “American aspiration” in her first speech to the nation as vice president.
Also present at the inauguration, former president Barack Obama said, “Inaugurations celebrate a tradition of a peaceful transfer of power that is over two centuries old.”
Also selected alongside the Nigerian Tribune on the global media platform were The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, Free Metro, among others. Canada’s National Post was one of many papers to pick out Biden’s proclamation, made in his inaugural address that “democracy has prevailed.”
It noted Biden’s message of healing, writing that “an extraordinary, sometimes violent, transition of American power came to a peaceful end Wednesday.”
Also, a local popular online medium, News of the People, on Thursday, January 21, 2021, featured Nigerian Tribune’s cover amongst the front-pages of 12 newspapers selected from around the globe to review the reportage of Joe Biden’s inauguration as the 46th president of the United States.
Nigerian Tribune’s front-page photo in which Biden was being sworn in with the 127-year-old copy of his family’s Bible, assisted by his wife, Jill, as America’s new president was selected for review amongst other newspapers around the world. The News of the People also selected UK’s Dailymail, Scotland’s the Scotsman, Financial Times of Ireland, the News York Times, among several others.
Many newspapers in most countries, just like the Nigerian Tribune, described the swearing-in as dawn of the Biden era with pictures of the new US President taking the oath of office.
Some newspaper front-pages also took jabs on the end of the Donald Trump administration, reflecting the major relief among the international community, global bodies and American citizens felt as his time in office ended.
Some comments drawn from social media posts about the feature said that the Nigerian Tribune’s selection was a pointer that the newspaper has not deviated from its journalism mandate given by its founder, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, to be the most credible political and business newspaper in Africa
Rotimi Ige and Daniel Abel
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