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Nigeria’s oldest newspaper, the Daily Times of Nigeria (DTN), will mark a rare milestone on June 1, 2026 (tomorrow), as the revered newspaper, founded on June 1, 1926, celebrates 100 years in grand style.
Marking the centenary celebrations, the management of DTN will hold a press conference on Monday (tomorrow) at the Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Utako, Abuja, with a theme titled: “The Daily Times is 100 Years Tomorrow: Celebrating 100 Years of Fearless Journalism, Defending the Future 1926-2026.”
DTN management led by publisher Fidelis Anosike will unveil a year-long calendar of activities: public lectures, exhibitions of archive front pages and a digital archive project to put 100 years of Daily Times editions online for researchers and the public.
The banner adds: “100 years honoring the past, shaping the future. 1926-2026: Practicing journalism for the people.”
It is instructive to note that the Daily Times was founded by Richard Barrow and Ernest Ikoli as a four-page newspaper in colonial Lagos. From that small beginning, it has become the nation’s go-to newspaper.
In the 1950s, the Daily Times published nationalist rumors and debates about self-government. After independence in 1960, it brought back all the major turning points: the First and Second Republics, the 1966 coups, the Civil War, decades of military rule and the return to democracy in 1999.
At its peak in the 1970s and 1980s, the Daily Times had the widest circulation in West Africa. His building on Kakawa Street in Lagos has become a landmark. For many families it was the newspaper on the breakfast table, containing election results, public notices and stories that shaped public opinion.
It is important to note that the last 25 years have been turbulent. Ownership changes, economic downturns and the digital revolution have forced the print edition to downsize. But the brand survived. Today, the Daily Times publishes in print and online, still maintaining its founding mission of journalism “for the people.”
Organizers say the Abuja event is not just about nostalgia. It’s a statement of intent.
“The centenary is about honoring the past, but more importantly, shaping the future,” said a senior editor. “We are 100 years old, but we are not a museum piece. We are supporting the future of journalism in Nigeria, Africa and the global community.”
The NUJ Secretariat was chosen to signal that the anniversary belongs to the entire profession. Expected guests include former Daily Times editors and reporters, media owners, journalism professors, students and press freedom advocates.
The expression “fearless journalism” establishes the way the newspaper wants to be remembered. He clashed with colonial authorities in the 1950s. During the military regime, its editors risked imprisonment for articles that held power to account. In the Fourth Republic, he continued to do investigative journalism despite shrinking advertising revenue and online competition.
The second pillar is “practicing journalism for the people”. Editors say this means keeping readers at the center: reporting on government, but also on markets, clinics, schools and everyday life.
“You can change owners, you can change the format, but if you stop being for the people, you stop being the Daily Times,” said a veteran journalist who spent 30 years at the paper.
The centenary comes as the Nigerian media faces harsh reality. Advertising has moved online, audiences are mobile-first, and misinformation spreads rapidly. The Daily Times had to rebuild its digital newsroom and retrain journalists for multimedia content.
In tomorrow’s press conference, management will outline how it will “support the future: digital newsroom* with data journalism; videos and podcasts to reach younger readers; public digital archive of its century-old collection for research and education; media literacy projects with schools and the NUJ to help Nigerians spot fake news; training grants for young reporters in investigative and solutions journalism.
“The world has changed since 1926,” the publisher noted. “But jobs don’t. People still need reliable information to make decisions. That’s what we’ve done for 100 years, and that’s what we’ll do for the next 100.”
Daily Times Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Fidelis Anosike emphasized that “Why does 100 years matter?”
Anosike said: “Centenarians are rare in African media. Few newspapers reach 100 years, and even fewer are still in publication. For Nigeria, the Daily Times at 100 is a living archive. It has carried headlines on independence, July 29 and January 15, 1966, June 12, 1993, and May 29, 1999. It has also recorded quieter stories: a new bridge, a fire in the market, a college admissions list.
“Tomorrow’s event at the NUJ Secretariat will be short, but the message is big. The Daily Times isn’t just celebrating 100 years. It’s asking what journalism is for.
As the banner says: “1926-2026, practicing journalism for the people, for a newspaper that has survived colonialism, war and the Internet, that mission may be why it is still here 100 years on.”
■Dadiya, an Abuja-based journalist and analyst, contributes this piece from Abuja.
