A three-day photo exhibition, as part of events marking the 50th anniversary of PUNCH Newspapers, has opened in Lagos.
The photo exhibition, which is curated by Steve Ayorinde, a former commissioner for tourism, arts and culture in Lagos State, showcases iconic photographs from PUNCH’s rich archive. The exhibition comes after a colourful novelty football match at the Onikan Stadium in Lagos, on Saturday, February 24, 2024, which kicked off ceremonies for the newspaper house’s golden jubilee.
Founded in March 1973, PUNCH, Nigeria’s foremost newspaper, clocked 50 years on March 18, 2023, but its board of directors moved the 50th-anniversary celebration to this year because the anniversary month fell within an election month and year.
PUNCH’s anniversary is being marked with the 40th anniversary of the passing of the late James Olubunmi Aboderin, its founding chairman, who died on February 28, 1984, at the age of 50.
At the three-day photo-story exhibition held at the Alliance Francaise de Lagos/Mike Adenuga Centre in Ikoyi, Lagos, the newspaper will be showcasing 100 of its iconic photographs that tell the rich history of Nigeria and her people, as well as how the media house has been a major part of the country’s history.
The exhibition will afford PUNCH readers and other Nigerians the opportunity to view the best photographs from its extensive pictorial archive of the biggest news events in the nation’s history.
Some of the photos will show action moments of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, a late Afrobeat icon, as well as Gani Fawehinmi, late human rights activist and lawyer.
Following the photo exhibition is the distinguished public lecture to be held on Thursday, February 29, 2024, at the Civic Centre, Ozumba Mbadiwe Road, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The lecture is expected to play host to leaders from the public and private sectors.
Wole Soyinka, a Nobel Laureate and professor, will deliver the anniversary lecture. The renowned playwright, novelist, poet and essayist is expected to deconstruct an important issue of national discourse.
Speaking on the photo exhibition, Ayorinde, who is also a former editor of The PUNCH, in a curator’s text titled ‘Timeless Lenses: A Newspaper’s Visual Journey Through Nigeria,’ said the exciting journey into the heart of Punch Nigeria Limited would naturally commence from Mangoro, the suburban Lagos area from where it started operation, and end up at Magboro, a burgeoning new development area in Ogun State.
