Adeniyi Bags NIJ Fellowship, Unveils Multimedia Centre, Radio Upgrade for Institute

Adeniyi Bags NIJ Fellowship, Unveils Multimedia Centre, Radio Upgrade for Institute

The Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ) has conferred its prestigious Fellowship on the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, in a ceremony marked by recognition, reflection, and a major institutional donation.

Held at the Institute’s campus, the event drew notable figures from journalism, public service, and academia, including media veteran Sam Amuka-Pemu and renowned journalist Ray Ekpu.

Chairman of the NIJ Governing Council, Olusegun Osoba, described the honour as historic, noting that Adeniyi is the first alumnus of the Institute to receive the Fellowship. He added that the award, reserved for individuals with exceptional career achievements and contributions to national development, was unanimously approved.

Osoba commended Adeniyi’s leadership at the Customs Service, highlighting his role in significantly increasing revenue generation and his emergence as Chairman of the World Customs Organization Council—a milestone for Nigeria on the global stage.

In his remarks, NIJ Provost Gbenga Adefaye said the Fellowship goes beyond personal recognition, describing it as a validation of the Institute’s core values of discipline, professionalism, and ethical conduct. He noted that Adeniyi’s career trajectory—from public relations officer to Comptroller-General—underscores the impact of effective communication in driving institutional reform.

Adefaye credited Adeniyi with transforming the public perception of the Customs Service through transparency and strategic communication, alongside strengthening enforcement and trade facilitation, which have enhanced national security and economic productivity.

In his acceptance speech, Adeniyi expressed gratitude to the Institute, recalling his time as a student in 1989 and describing the Fellowship as a full-circle moment. He noted that the values instilled in him at NIJ have guided his nearly four decades of public service.

A major highlight of the ceremony was his announcement of a two-storey multimedia resource centre for the Institute. The facility will include modern production and editing studios, classrooms, and office spaces designed to equip students with practical, industry-relevant skills.

He also pledged support for upgrading the NIJ community radio from an online platform to a terrestrial station, including provision of a transmitter and related infrastructure.

Adeniyi said the initiatives form part of a broader corporate social responsibility effort focused on education, capacity building, and professional development.

Encouraging students, he urged them to remain committed to self-improvement, assuring them that consistent effort leads to recognition. “The distance between the platform and the podium is shorter than you think,” he said.

The ceremony reinforced NIJ’s role in shaping media professionals and highlighted the strong link between journalism, public service, and national development, while further cementing Adeniyi’s reputation as a reform-driven public servant committed to advancing media practice.