The Times Heroes Awards Council has announced plans to convene a high-level Town Hall Meeting on November 3, 2026, at Harbour Point, Victoria Island, Lagos, as part of activities marking the centenary of Daily Times of Nigeria (DTN).
The Town Hall, themed “Honouring the Past, Shaping the Future,” will bring together stakeholders from government, business, media, creative industries, civil society and other sectors to examine practical pathways towards a more prosperous, competitive and positively positioned Nigeria.
The meeting will form the second phase of the Daily Times@100 centenary programme, following the Times Heroes Awards held on September 3, 2026, where individuals and organisations were recognised for their contributions to national development and nation-building.
While the first phase focused on honouring Nigerians and institutions that have contributed to the country’s development, the November Town Hall will shift attention to the future, with discussions expected to focus on Nigeria’s development trajectory, global perception and the roles of different sectors in building a stronger country.
Speaking with journalists in Lagos, Chairman of Folio Communications, owners of Daily Times, Fidelis Anosike, said Nigeria has enormous potential and that Nigerians at home and in the diaspora must play a more active role in shaping the country’s future.
“Nigeria has a great future ahead of it, and every Nigerian, at home and in the diaspora, must take part and take pride in its development. We have a responsibility to contribute to the Nigeria that we want to see,” he said.
Anosike identified Nigeria’s international perception as one of the critical issues that must be addressed, stressing the need to change the narrative through which the country is presented to the world.
“Nigeria is struggling with perception, and we believe that one of the first things we can do is to change the narrative through which Nigeria is perceived. We have also embarked on the writing of the Nigerian Grand Book because we believe we need to tell the story of Nigeria better and, in doing so, change the global perception of our country,” he stated.
He also stressed the role of the media in changing the narrative around Nigeria, saying Folio Communications and Daily Times would work with stakeholders across the media ecosystem to amplify positive developments taking place across the country.
“It is very critical to us at Daily Times to galvanise the necessary stakeholders to change the negative stories about Nigeria. We will work with the entire media ecosystem to make this happen,” Anosike said.
He added that the strategy would include identifying and telling the stories of Nigerians and Nigerian institutions making meaningful impact across different sectors.
“We will tap into what the game changers in Nigeria are doing to tell this story better—in music, business, banking, oil and gas and other sectors. There are many Nigerians doing remarkable things, and these stories need to be told more effectively,” he said.
The November 3 Town Hall will retain elements of the first phase of the centenary celebration, with awards, a fireside chat and a keynote address by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) forming part of the programme.
The event is expected to provide a platform for robust conversations on Nigeria’s development, its global image and the contribution of different sectors and stakeholders to building a more prosperous and competitive nation.
Speaking on the broader vision behind the Daily Times@100 initiative, Chairman of the Times Heroes Awards Council, Bolaji Okusaga, said the centenary celebration was not merely about commemorating the newspaper’s history but also about positioning the institution for its next century.
Okusaga noted that Folio Communications had, over the past 22 years, invested in rebuilding and expanding the Daily Times brand while developing new platforms and franchises across the media and creative economy.
According to him, the transformation included the digital evolution of Daily Times, the re-engineering of the Miss Nigeria pageant, the development of the Craft Creative Market as a pan-African franchise and strategic partnerships within the international media ecosystem, including its partnership with CNN.
He said the initiatives formed part of a broader effort to reposition Daily Times for relevance in a rapidly changing media environment.
Okusaga added that the next phase of the journey would focus on taking the newspaper and its platforms into their second century through accelerated digital transformation and a renewed commitment to relevance, innovation and national development.
Founded in 1926, Daily Times has played a significant role in Nigeria’s media and national development history, documenting major political, economic and social milestones while providing a platform for public discourse across generations.
The centenary celebration is therefore designed not only to reflect on that legacy but also to explore how the institution can contribute to the ideas, conversations and innovations required to shape Nigeria’s next chapter.
For the Times Heroes Awards Council, the Town Hall is intended to extend the centenary conversation beyond recognition and celebration to action, ideas and shared responsibility.
The Council said changing Nigeria’s global perception would require sustained efforts to identify, document and amplify the achievements of Nigerians across sectors, while creating platforms where policymakers, entrepreneurs, creatives, professionals and citizens can engage meaningfully on the country’s future.
The “Honouring the Past, Shaping the Future” theme therefore captures the central philosophy of the Daily Times@100 celebration: recognising the people and institutions that have helped build Nigeria while mobilising the ideas, partnerships and leadership required to move the country forward.
