The [Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID)](https://cjid.org.ng) inaugurated its Living Archives Initiative on Thursday in Lagos, a programme designed to digitise and safeguard the papers, photographs and recordings that document Africa’s media history, with veteran journalist Lade Bonuola selected as the first subject.
**What is the Living Archives Initiative?**
The project seeks to fill chronic gaps in the continent’s journalistic memory where newspaper records, personal papers, broadcast tapes and eyewitness accounts are often scattered, deteriorating or inaccessible. By creating a searchable digital repository, CJID hopes to make these resources available to scholars, journalists and the public.
**Why was Lade Bonuola chosen?**
[Mr. Dapo Olorunyomi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dapo_Olorunyomi), publisher of Premium Times and CJID’s chief executive officer, explained that Bonuola’s five‑decade career, which began at the Daily Times in 1976 and spanned The Guardian, The Comet and The Compass, epitomises the editorial excellence and mentorship that the initiative aims to celebrate. “We are grateful for his labour of love,” Olorunyomi said, adding that the programme deliberately starts with a figure from the Nigerian media community.
**What does the new book reveal?**
The launch coincided with the release of *Lade Bonuola: A Life in Print*, a collection of essays chronicling the journalist’s contributions. The volume marks Bonuola’s 80th birthday and outlines six themes of his legacy: commitment to quality, editorial skill, mentorship, courage, and contributions beyond the newsroom. Olorunyomi described Bonuola as “perhaps the most remarkable of the most consequential editors of the late‑20th‑century Nigerian press.”
**Who attended the ceremony?**
The event gathered prominent media figures, including former Ogun State governor and journalist Olusegun Osoba, Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism chief Motunrayo Alaka, semiotics professor Ropo Sekoni, and Premium Times board chairman Idowu Obasa. Consul‑General of the Netherlands Frank Keurhorst, veteran reporters Dipo Ajayi and Kunle Ajibade, and former Guardian colleagues also paid tribute.
**What memories were shared?**
Osoba recalled Bonuola’s insistence on correcting grammatical errors, sometimes delaying publication to perfect stories. Ajayi recounted how Bonuola intervened when he was detained after the Daily Times published photographs of the 1976 coup that killed Head of State Murtala Muhammed, sending a rider to locate him and contacting his family. Ajibade highlighted Bonuola’s belief that newspapers should be “truthful, not neutral” and praised his efforts to preserve newspaper archives and libraries.
**How does Bonuola view the honour?**
At the ceremony, Bonuola thanked Olorunyomi and the Premium Times team, noting that he reads the outlet daily and admires its “matchless application and dedication to work.” He reflected on his early days at the Daily Times, his “Caught Out” column under the pen name Ladbone, and his later roles as pioneer editor of The Guardian, co‑founder of The Comet, and publisher of Nigerian Compass. He now chairs VerityHeights Bureau Limited, an online knowledge platform.
The Living Archives Initiative therefore not only commemorates a distinguished journalist but also establishes a lasting digital record for future generations of African media practitioners.