Nduka Obaigbena

Nduka Obaigbena is a Nigerian media mogul, the founder of Nigerian based African newspaper Thisday, African focused style & culture magazine Arise and 24-hour international news channel Arise News.

Born on July 14, 1959in the Delta State of Nigeria, Obaigbena attended Edo College, Benin City, and the University of Benin, receiving an honours degree in Creative Arts.

He began the publication of the Thisday Nigerian newspaper in 1995. In 2000 Obaigbena founded the annual Thisday Awards which honour those who made contributions to Nigerian society in the political arena, global business, Women of distinction, and leading figures in the Nigerian education sector.

In 2013 he launched an international TV news channel with an African focus, Arise News, signing a contract with Globecast for satellite transmission on Astra 2G for broadcast on the UK Sky platform, and to Hot Bird for cable distribution, with bases in London, New York City, Johannesburg, and Lagos.

Non-payment of staff

Nduka Obaigbena's media ventures generally fail to pay staff or suppliers. His latest venture, Arise TV, has seen staff unpaid in London and New York and a former editor of Thisday has taken him to court over unpaid salaries and expenses. Private Eye, a UK current affairs and satire magazine, noted that his channel Arise TV failed to pay war reporters who were involved in recording the bombardment of Gaza in 2014, and that in 2013, he faced strikes at his Thisday paper over non-payment of his staff. Employees are often paid two or three months late, and only under duress: payments of more than $10,000 are overdue by between six months and two years.

The New York staff and crew is owed money from May 2015 and the production house has shut down the New York operation for non payment of rent. They were told to clean out their work areas as of September 3, 2015.