HISTORY OF UNIQUE INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE
Unique International Magazine came into existence as a publication in 1997 precisely in March when the first edition appeared on the streets of Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria in the West African Sub-Region.
Unique International Magazine metamorphosed into a print format from a television magazine serial titled ‘ Unique World ‘ a programme that was a larger formation of ‘ Diplomatic World ‘ a special television series that transmitted on ‘NIGERIA TELEVISION AUTHORITY’, NTA, the largest television network in Africa at the time .
The programme was created , produced , presented and initially sponsored by TONY IWEKA PRODUCTIONS LTD. Additional sponsorship came from companies like NIGERIA BREWERIES PLC., GUINNESS NIGERIA PLC., WEST AFRICAN MILK COMPANY PLC.,(Makers of PEAK MILK & other brands), RT BRISCOE NIGERIA LTD., LEVER BROTHERS PLC., DANI FOODS PLC.,(Makers of DANO MILK) , MAERSK LINE NIGERIA LTD., etc.
DIPLOMATIC WORLD TELEVISION SERIES/COLUMN.
Diplomatic World was the first diplomatic series in Nigeria and indeed Africa in general was introduced on television the sole aim of bringing diplomacy to the doorstep of viewers and to enlightened Nigerians on happenings in the other parts of the world, It made people to understand among other subjects, the essence of Cultural Agreements between Nigeria and the other nations as well as the necessary aspects of Joint Ventures between countries around the globe.
Hitherto, a large percentage of Nigerians- even the highly educated ones- had the notion that the Nigerian Government footed the bills of the DIPLOMATIC CORPS in the country. Some even wondered why diplomats lived in affluence ( living in large and decent ‘mansions’ in Ikoyi and Victoria Island parts of Lagos) at the expense of the Nigerian Government while the locals were impoverished.
Diplomatic World featured all the embassies and high commissions resident in Nigeria including the United States Of America, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Ireland, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, South Korea, Japan ,China, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, Cuba, Poland, France, Bulgaria, the African embassies and high commissions etc.
A lot of foreign companies and the MANAGING DIRECTORS e.g. MR. FELIX OHIWERE OF THE NIGERIAN BREWERIES NIGERIA LTD., NBL and other Joint Venture companies participated on DIPLOMATIC WORLD.
PRESIDENT KENNETH KAUNDA of ZAMBIA and PRIME MINISTER SOUMANA SACKO of MALI , the FOREIGN MINISTER .of TANZANIA, AMBASSADOR HASSAN AHMED DIRIA and some other great African leaders appeared on the programme when they were in Nigeria for the ORGANISATION OF AFRICAN UNITY,OAU HEADS OF STATES CONFERENCE IN 1991 IN ABUJA
Over 90% of Ambassadors and High Commissioners e.g. SIR BRIAN BARDER of the UNITED KINGDOM, AMBASSADOR THOMAS LOHSE OF GERMANY, AMBASSADOR LARS BLINKENBERG of DENMARK, AMBASSADOR GORAN ZETTERQUIST of SWEDEN, AMBASSADOR PATRICK CROADOCK of THE REPUBLIC IRELAND and his successor, AMBASSADOR BRENDAN MCMAHON, AMBASSADOR HANS PETER STRAUSS of the NETHERLANDS and his DEPUTY, PETER VEBEEK,DR. RANDOLPH PETER of TRINIDAD & TOBAGO, SIR DUDLEY THOMPSON of JAMAICA, AMBASSADOR GARY GARNYU of FRANCE, AMBASSADOR BOIXING of CHINA, appeared in person on the programme .
The ‘PRESENTATION OF CEREDENTIALS ‘ ceremonies performed to welcome envoys to Nigeria by the Nigerian Government was a special feature especially during the General Ibrahim I. Babangida and General Sani Abacha regimes.
Diplomatic World was broadcast on NTA every Sunday at 7.30pm from 1989 through the 1990s .
In the year 2000 it become a weekly page on the ‘ FINANCIAL STANDARD ‘ Newspaper as ‘ Diplomatic Briefing ‘ for some years when the Author and Creator, TONY NWABUISI IWEKA was the Foreign Editor of the ‘ FINANCIAL STANDARD ‘ Newspaper.
DIPLOMATIC BRIEFING, the print version of DIPLOMATIC WORLD was also a success weekly in the FINANCIAL STANDAND Newspaper because it also featured most envoys (ambassadors and high commissioners) in Nigeria including those of the United States of America, William Twaddell, Canada, Howard Strauss, Australia, Matthew Nuhause, Ireland Joseph Lynch, France, Philip Peltier, Austria, Christoph Parisini, the Deputy High Commissioner of the United Kingdom, Peter Stevenson, Cuba etc.
On the international scene, Diplomatic Briefing featured several high profile personalities from various parts of the world. They included former PRIME MINISTER MAGNE OF NORWAY(while he was in office) REVEREND JESSE JACKSON (former United States Presidential Candidate) CONGRESSMAN JIM MCDERMMOT (the man that pushed the AFRICAN GROWTH AND OPPORTUNITY ACT,AGOA in the United States Congress before it was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 2000), LORENZO BELLAMY,( United States lawyer that wrote and introduced AGOA). The former Leader of the ISRAELI KNESET( the ISRAELI JOINT NATIONAL ASSEMBLY) was also interviewed on DIPLOMATIC BRIEFING. It is worth mentioning that these interviews were exclusive.
