Nigerian Institute Of Journalism, Ikeja Lagos

This is the profile page of Nigerian Institute Of Journalism, Ikeja Lagos on Manpower Nigeria. This page contains the email, contact phone number, address, website and other contact information of Nigerian Institute Of Journalism, Ikeja Lagos.

The Nigerian Institute of Journalism started in 1963 as one of the two experimental schools of Journalism in Africa established by the Zurich-based International Press Institute (IPI) in Lagos and Nairobi, Kenya respectively. Prior to the establishment of the two schools of Journalism, aspiring journalists in Africa had little or no opportunity for formal training. Most of them were forced to learn on the job the basic skills of the profession.

Few that had the benefit for formal education obtained that in professional institutions in Europe, especially in the United Kingdom. The IPI, which is the international professional organization of media executives devoted to the advancement of press freedom and professionalism among practitioners worldwide, saw the absence of formal training opportunity in Africa as a major barrier to the development of the profession on the continent. Consequently, the organization decided, in accordance with its global objectives to establish the two experimental schools in Lagos and Nairobi.

The IPI Lagos experiment (NIJ) suffered a temporary setback shortly after its establishment. The school was forced to close in 1965 because of the political crisis in the country and subsequent Civil War. But four years later, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, the President of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) spearheaded a move to resuscitate the IPI experiment in Nigeria.

In 1970, NPAN, in collaboration with Nigerian Guild of Editors, appointed a committee of experts to consider the need for establishing an institute of Journalism in Nigeria. The committee recommended the establishment of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism and its report was accepted by the Proprietors and th Guild. At the request of both NPAN and the Guild, the Executive Board of IPI decide to support the project and in particular to provide a Director for the initial years. Thus, NIJ was founded on October 12, 1971.