THISDAY is a Nigerian national newspaper. It is the flagship newspaper of Leaders & Company Ltd and was first published on 22 January 1995. It has its headquarters in Apapa, Lagos, Lagos State. Founded by Nduka Obaigbena, the Chairman & Editor-in-Chief of the THISDAY Media Group and ARISE News Channel. As of 2005, it has a circulation of 100,000 copies and an annual turnover of some $35 million. It has two printing plants, in Lagos and Abuja. The publishers of the newspaper are the THISDAY Newspapers Ltd., a company that was noted for its early investment in colour printing, giving the paper a distinctive edge among the few durable national newspapers that exist in Nigeria. THISDAY publisher Nduka Obaigbena has previously been criticised for late and non-payment of the paper's staff and suppliers.
Operations
The headquarters of THISDAY is in Lagos. It also has offices and correspondents in the 36 states of Nigeria and other parts of the World. THISDAY provides a rich content in demand by the business, economic, political and diplomatic elite; middle class professionals as well as aspirational millennials. THISDAY, named Newspaper of The Year, was the first Nigerian newspaper to print in colour at a time when most newspapers and the industry were in black and whitearound the world. It was also one of the first to go digital in Africa. THISDAY also creatively pioneered the idea of devoting the back page of the newspaper to informed commentaries from nationally acclaimed columnists as well as guest writers occasionally drawn from among the leading lights of public service and seasoned technocrats in the private sector. The Newspaper Company has , and global dialogues which have seen global leaders like Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Gerhard Schroder, John Howard, Collin Powell, Condoleezza Rice and Dominique de Villepin amongst others, attending. of Beyonce, Jay Z, Rihanna, Lionel Richie, Seal, Diana Ross, John Legend, Mary J Blige, Missy Elliott, Snoop Dogg, Naomi Campbell, Liya Kedebe and Alec Wek, among others.
Attacks and Challenges
In 2001, several THISDAY editors survived a plane crash at the Maiduguri airport in North East Nigeria. In 2012, THISDAY’s offices in the nation’s capital Abuja, and in Kaduna were attacked in suicide car bombings thought to have been carried out by terrorist groupBoko Haram. Founder Nduka Obaigbena spent time in exile in London in 1998, before returning to Nigeria.
ThisDay Awards
The , in which the newspaper honors leading lights of the society for sectoral performances and lifetime achievements, has become a much sought after event. The Awards have been received by statesmen including former presidents, captains of industry and exceptional individuals in various fields and all walks of life.
Staff
THISDAY has had in its employment over a thousand staffers in the editorial and non-editorial departments. Alumni are to be found among those holding leadership positions in the public and private sectors as well as the media.
