Your Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, and members of my constituency, the Media, permit me to warmly welcome you all on behalf of the leadership and entire members of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) to this historic Book Launch/Fundraiser for GOCOP Media Centre.

We are grateful to God and those who made this event possible. We also appreciate your sacrifice and support by finding time from your busy schedules to honour us with your presence. These, we cannot take for granted.

Our sincere gratitude also goes to the Honourable Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, the chairman of this epoch event, for his support and for keeping his word to be here with us.

We are also thrilled that Dr. Ikeh Neliaku, President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), graciously accepted to review our book. Thank you and welcome.

We equally acknowledge the presence of other dignitaries, prominent scholars, academics, chieftains of industry, and policy and decision makers in both public and private sectors, as well as public relations experts, spokespersons, and students.

We are all here to witness the unveiling of Nigeria Media Renaissance: GOCOP Perspectives on Online Publishing, the maiden publication by the Guild.

It is a unique opportunity to reintroduce the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) to the world and its efforts to drive the business of the online media landscape in Nigeria. It is also an opportunity to explain who we are amidst the misunderstanding of categorizing us as bloggers, and to solicit support towards building our businesses and fighting Fake News.

Who we are:

GOCOP is a 120-member group of mediapreneurs made up of professional journalists who have worked in the traditional media, both broadcast and print, before transitioning to business owners in the online media community. You can call us the small and medium enterprises, a peer review body determined to entrench professionalism in the online media industry.

GOCOP was formed and registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission in 2013 to promote professionalism and fight fake news. It was rebranded in 2014 following the first attack by the very charlatans we were up against, who did not want us to exist.

Details of that assault on GOCOP are captured in the book we are here to unveil, and we would like everyone to please grab copies for self and your friends. We also welcome generous donations to strengthen GOCOP and the building of the Guild’s Media Centre to empower members to run their businesses profitably.

It is a truism that small and profitable businesses are the engine of growth of any economy. We therefore appeal to all public relations practitioners, advertisers, governments at all levels, and civil society to support our businesses to grow.

When you support us to run profitable businesses, you also strengthen us to serve you better as thoroughbred professionals with a critical stake in building a society where justice, peace, and the rights of individuals are respected against Fake News and similar threats.

GOCOP seeks to sanitize the online media space  To succeed in this task, we require the collaboration of stakeholders, many of whom a represented here today. This collaboration draws from Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, as amended, which gave the media a critical role under Sections 22 and 39. Because the Constitution did not specify the funding mechanism for this important role, the online publishers have to innovate. This is challenging, but with determination, structured stakeholder collaboration, and support, the objective is achievable.

Online publication is the future of the media industry, which the government and lawmakers have to support through enabling laws, tax exemptions, and grants, among others. To weed out quacks, GOCOP has introduced a self-regulatory mechanism with zero tolerance for Fake News and similar threats.

Its members subscribe to the Ethics of the Journalism profession, which holds facts, truth, fairness, and balanced reporting as sacred.

GOCOP, as a body of professionals, has also put in place structures for effective peer review and regulation of its members. It has several Committees, including on Constitution Review Committee, the Welfare Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Membership Screening. There is also the Disciplinary Committee/Ombudsman, charged with checking excesses of the Guild’s members, with an avenue to the public to seek redress in case of unprofessional conduct. I must emphasize that GOCOP takes its self-regulation responsibility very seriously.

This informed the publication of Nigeria Media Renaissance – GOCOP Perspectives on Online Publishing. The book was made possible mainly by Godly inspiration and the exemplary teamwork spirit of Guild members.

Describing teamwork, Henry Ford, American industrialist and business magnate, said: “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”

My dear colleagues, may God reward you abundantly for your sacrifices and priceless work

We are grateful to Mr. Dapo Olorunyomi, publisher of PREMIUM TIMES, who wrote the foreword – a rich perspective on the history of online publishing and the pioneers in Nigeria. We congratulate Mr. Olorunyomi on the National honour recently bestowed on him by President Bola Tinubu. The Guild is proud of your contributions to the journalism profession.

Permit me to also acknowledge other contributors to the book. (Please stand up for recognition as I mention your names). Danlami Nmodu, deputy President of GOCOP; Oladipo Dotun, former president, GOCOP; Ken Ugbechie, vice president of GOCOP, South; Tom Chiahemen, vice president of GOCOP, North; Akeem Oyetunji, GOCOP Coordinator, South West; Max Amuchie, GOCOP Coordinator, North; Olumide Iyanda, GOCOP General Secretary; Remmy Nweke, GOCOP Publicity Secretary; Gabriel Akindewo, publisher of Freedom Online; Segun Adeleye, publisher of WorldStage; and Hassan Gimba, publisher of  Neptune Online.

Special thanks also go to members of the editorial team comprising my humble self, Ugbechie,  Azuh Arinze, Financial Secretary GOCOP and publisher, Yes International,  Ray Echebiri, publisher Next Money, and Akindewo.  Yemisi Izuora, GOCOP Treasurer, and Jessica Uwadaze, GOCOP Administration Secretary, also deserve special mention for manning the Secretariat for the production of this book.

On behalf of GOCOP, allow me to express our deep gratitude to all our keynote speakers over the years, whose presentations were also featured in the book. They are Professor Onigbide, Bishop Hassan Kukah, Professor Chidi Odinkalu, Mr. Boss Mustapha, Professor  Uchenna Uwaleke, and Dr. Liyel Imoke.

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, GOCOP is most grateful to the Federal Government of Nigeria, State governments, institutions, and organizations in both the private and public sectors, for their support over the years. These include Lagos, Delta, Kwara, Yobe, and  Osun States, the Federal Ministry of Information, Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Nigerian Development Content Development and Monitoring Board, the Nigerian Communications Commission, Federal Inland Revenue Service, and the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas, among others. We appreciate your support over the years.

GOCOP also appreciates other professional media bodies for their collaboration over the years, including the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria, Nigerian Guild of Editors, Nigerian Union of Journalists, Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria, Nigeria Institute of Public Relations, International Press Institute, International Press Centre, and Media Rights Agenda. Thank you all.

GOCOP is equally indebted to spokespersons of various State governments, corporate bodies, including banks, institutions, security agencies, such as the Federal Road Safety Corps, the military, and the police, for their collaboration and support since its inauguration in 2014.

Finally, we solemnly remember two of our founding members who have transitioned to glory.  May the souls of Late Chijama Ogbu, publisher of Rainbow Online, and Ben Bright Mkpuma, publisher of Watchdogreporters, rest in peace. Amen.

I cannot end this address without thanking government institutions and corporate organisations that have been supporting GOCOP activities over the years, particularly with adverts in the brochure of the  Book Launch/Fundraiser. These are the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board, Nigerian Ports Authority,  Nigerian Natural and Liquefied Gas, NLNG, Fidelity Bank, Shell Nigeria/SNEPCO, TotalEnergies, and Zenith Bank Plc, for their initial support during the production of the book. We are most grateful to you all.

God bless GOCOP! God bless Nigeria.

Thank you all for your attention, and welcome!