PENPUSHING: A MODEL IN MEDIA ENTREPRENEURSHIP CONVENES 8TH ANNUAL LECTURE

PENPUSHING: A MODEL IN MEDIA ENTREPRENEURSHIP CONVENES 8TH ANNUAL LECTURE

Inside the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, the hall was full of dignitaries, journalists, and students. 

Penpushing Media was celebrating 8 years of online journalism, but the atmosphere quickly turned serious.

The question on everyone’s lips was simple: what is the point of elections if nothing changes after?

Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Femi Falana, didn’t hold back in his keynote. 

He said Nigeria must stop pretending that conducting elections alone equals democracy. 

To him, electoral integrity must lead to good governance — food on tables, jobs for youths, and schools that work.

 “Democracy means nothing when people are still poor, unemployed and excluded,” he told the audience at the lecture themed “Restoring Electoral Integrity: The Path to Good Governance and Public Accountability.”

Falana called for an end to the imposition of candidates, sanitized party primaries, and a total clampdown on vote-buying and the monetization of politics. 

He also demanded strict compliance with the Electoral Act, saying anything less keeps Nigeria in a cycle of rituals instead of results.

The Chairman of the occasion, Mr. Tunde Lemo, a former CBN Deputy Governor, shifted the spotlight to the judiciary. 

He described the courts as the backbone of democracy and warned that once their independence is eroded, public trust collapses.

 The Father of the Day, Justice Oladeinde Soremi, was even blunter. He looked directly at the politicians in the room and urged them to stop corrupting judges or interfering with justice. 

“A credible judiciary is not optional,” he said. “It is the last hope for electoral integrity and good governance.”

Traditional and civic voices added weight. The Osile of Oke-Ona, Oba (Dr.) Adedapo Tejuoso, recalled his days as a delegate at the 1994/95 Constitutional Conference. 

He said Nigeria’s problem has never been a lack of laws, but a lack of strong institutions to enforce them. 

In a message read at the event, Dr. Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosunmu of the Obafemi Awolowo Foundation urged stakeholders to recommit to accountable, people-centred governance, warning that democracy cannot thrive on slogans alone.

It was also a day of reflection for the host as the  Penpushing Media Founder, Mr. Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji, took listeners down memory lane — 8 years of pioneering online journalism in Ogun State, the early struggles, the attacks, the milestones, and the partners who believed in the vision.

 Planning Committee Chair, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, said the lecture was designed to create a credible platform for tough national conversations. Editorial Board Chair, Deaconess Olufunke Fadugba also  thanked everyone who had supported the media house’s growth.

Before the event  ended, awards were presented to Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun; former Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun; former Nigerian High Commissioner to the UK, Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Ishola; and Apostle Lawrence Achudume of Victory Life Bible Church, in recognition of their contributions to governance, diplomacy and service.

But beyond the plaques and photographs, the message was loud. From the SAN to the monarch, from the bench to the newsroom, speakers agreed on one thing: elections, the judiciary, the media and traditional institutions must all guard the ballot. Because as Chief Falana put it to a silent, nodding hall, “without electoral integrity, democracy is empty.”  # Waheed