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Forbes Is Keynote Speaker At Nigerian TV Launch

Forbes Is Keynote Speaker At Nigerian TV Launch

Africa is not all about diseases and poverty, Forbes Media Chairman and Editor-in-Chief  Steve Forbes said in a keynote address at the launch of a new Nigerian TV station, according to a report in All Africa.

Speaking in a prepared statement at Sunday’s launch of EbonyLife TV in Lagos, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan congratulated TV station founder Mo Abudu, describing the establishment of the station as historic.

Jonathan wants his country’s economy to be the leader in Africa, the report said. Creating a media industry that tells the good stories of the continent would be a way to accomplish that, said Labaran Maku, Jonathan’s spokesman.

“There is an exciting image of Africa,” Forbes said in the keynote address. “Nigeria’s growth is just beginning. The potential is here and EbonyLife TV will inspire Africa. The globe is waiting.”

Forbes urged Africans to invest more on the continent, noting that just 12 percent of Africa’s trade is being done within the continent.

Nations must grow a media industry to tell their stories and showcase their talents, Maku said. “Nigeria, being the giant of Africa, must take a leadership position in this quest…Our greatest stories lie in our creative industry, and the president is prepared to support this to the last letter.”

Nigeria’s Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, said he hoped the TV station would be a “new voice” for Africa, according to the report.

“This station is coming … at a time (when) Africa has a compelling story to share with the rest of the world,” he said. Six out of the world’s fastest-growing economies are in Africa and  Nigeria and Angola are among the top four, he added.

“The world has never seen this Africa before,” Maku said. “This is our own. Our time has  come. Our time is now.”

EbonyLife TV will transmit African movies, reality shows, fashions, music, drama and other programson on DSTV Channel 165.

Honored at the launch for their contributions to African music were musical legends Victor Olaiya, King Sunny Ade, Ebenezer Obey, Onyeka Onwenu and 2face Idibia.

Obey, Onwenu, Omawumi, Banky W, Tiwa Savage, M.I. and Zaina performed.