By AZUH AMATUS

My dear friends and well wishers, please join me in celebrating and thanking God as DAYLIGHT, your most reliable, refreshing and leading online newspaper, has clocked ten years in the very turbulent and tough Nigerian media firmament.

In fact, the DAYLIGHT brand, which I conceptualised and kick started officially on Sunday, May 22, 2015, without financial support from any quarter, is already celebrating a decade of journalism excellence within and outside our shores.

And like they say in Nollywood, where I also play big: ?To God be the glory.?

Yes o! God is great and to Him alone be all the glory, for our fastidious and fascinating journey so far.

Truth is that it has not been an easy journey since inception, but with determination, courage and God's grace, DAYLIGHT has grown to become a major force in our nation's online space.

I am also very excited and grateful to God for the unveiling of DAYLIGHTTV and the encouraging results recorded so far.

The wave making and fast growing channel on YouTube, was also established in 2015, just few weeks after DAYLIGHT, was birthed.

The biggest joy for me and my dedicated team is the fact that since inauguration ten years ago, DAYLIGHT has never gone offline.

Not even for a single day. Never!

We have been as constant as the northern star, serenading and serving our loyal readers and new converts with what we know how to do best ? news gathering, writing and dissemination. At DAYLIGHT, we do it in a very unique way and style.

Despite the many challenges facing entrepreneurs and mediapreneurs in Nigeria today, we have never stopped dishing out hot, exclusive and breaking news cum stories, to our daily increasing and teeming readers within and outside Nigeria, on a daily basis.

The above is also in sync with our vision, which was clearly and lucidly spelt out from inception that: ?DAYLIGHT seeks to be a leading and revered online media supplier of reliable newsworthy contents that will be beneficial to all, irrespective of ethnicity, religion or social status, through excellent and quality delivery of our services.?

We are also very much aware there is still room for improvements on our part.

And we would continue to improve on our services and even go the extra mile, to serve you better.

Our only plea is that you continue to trust, support and rely on us for your news and entertainment stories.

Interestingly, DAYLIGHT, which prides itself as the ?Eyes of the Nation?, also at inception pledged to continually strive to elevate and promote the practice of online journalism, in such a way that will be beneficial to all stakeholders.

Taking it a notch further, we equally vowed to uphold firmly the tenets of fairness, balance and objectivity that will ultimately lead to a better society for all.

I?m very glad and pleased to say boldly and unequivocally that we have not only preached, but practiced religiously and rigorously the above mission statement from inception till date.

I dare say, that?s one of the reasons we have consistently and constantly stand out from the multitude of contenders and pretenders flooding the online space in the name of our revered profession ? journalism.

Meanwhile, I must confess this. Even though, we are not yet where we want to be as a fast growing media empire, we are indeed, very, very grateful for where we are currently.

From our very modest maiden office space in Ojodu, to our corporate office/studio in the heart of Surulere, Lagos, we keep expanding and breaking new grounds.

And currently, we are operating from our latest multipurpose office situated along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway way.

We thank God for the visible and modest success stories we keep recording and celebrating at DAYLIGHT, in the last ten years. It can only be God Almighty and Him alone deserves all the glory, honour and adoration.

We have also been recognised and rewarded with several awards and honours within and outside Nigeria, in the last decade, for the impactful and impressive works we have been doing for nation and humanity at DAYLIGHT.

Painfully, our plans of continuing with the hosting of our yearly prime event ? DAYLIGHT Annual Leadership Awards (DALA), couldn't sail through after the inaugural edition, which held elaborately at the prestigious Civic Centre, VI, Lagos.

And the reason for the discontinuation of this well applauded and critically acclaimed awards scheme that recognizes and celebrates excellence in leadership positions, is simply dearth of sponsors/sponsorships.

Sadly too, we had to also suspend our flagship entertainment show/concert, Bowler Hats Bash (BHB), after the third edition, due to the same reason enumerated above.

BHB, a fun filled evening of comedy, music and more, usually holds amid glitz, glamour and grandeur every October 1, to commemorate and celebrate our nation's independence day.

However, despite these challenges, DAYLIGHT, like I said earlier, has remained focused and consistent in the last decade with its core mandate of dishing out reliable and trustworthy news every day.

We are a very proud Nigerian brand making waves globally.

It gives me excess joy when readers and advertisers reach out to us from around the globe, calling to commend or make enquiries about our services.

Meanwhile, as part of the activities lined up for our forthcoming tenth anniversary celebrations, we intend putting together a special anniversary lecture and awards ceremony to commemorate the historic event.

The two-in-one event has been tentatively fixed for July 27, 2025.

This milestone event will become a reality with the financial commitment of our sponsors, supporters and partners.

We are already in serious discussions with some of the interested partners.

Please, if you are interested and want to be a part of it, kindly get in touch, ASAP.

Above all, special thanks to my darling wife, precious children, family members, dedicated team, readers, advertisers, sponsors, friends, partners and benefactors. God bless and protect you all. Amen!

I want to further assure you that despite the challenges; we will keep innovating, networking, creating, collaborating and connecting with you, for being an invaluable and loyal part of our success stories in the last ten years and counting.

From the inner most part of my heart, I say a huge thank you to all of you.

Let's keep smiling and celebrating.

God bless DAYLIGHT!

#DaylightRocks@10.

? Azuh Amatus, a multiple award winning journalist, is the publisher of leading online newspaper, DAYLIGHT (www.daylightng.com) and author of FAMOUS FACES?Interactions With Nollywood Stars And Stakeholders (1&2). He can be reached via: 08023380008 or azuhamtus@yahoo.com

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