The 2021 Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting (WSAIR) winners also known as Soyinka Laureates recently embarked on a media tour to South Africa between 31 October – 4 November 2022 as part of their win at the 16th edition of the annual WSAIR. The study tour which is a component of the Civic Space Guard project initiated by WSCIJ is supported by the MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundation- Africa, Luminate and Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Foundation. The study tour connected the Soyinka Laureates with journalists from over 40 countries across the continent for the African Investigative Journalism Conference (AIJC) in Johannesburg, South Africa from 31 October to 2 November 2022 where they acquired in-depth knowledge on investigative journalism for national development, the safety of investigative journalists, media collaboration and media funding. The role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in journalism and how journalists can investigate AI privacy intrusion. It also created platforms for participants to network, share experiences and learn from media experts and reporters with proven track records in investigative journalism.
The Soyinka Laureates and WSCIJ team which comprised of; Olukunle Akinrinade, winner print category and 2021 WSCIJ- Nigerian Investigative Journalist of the year, Mary Abayomi-Fatile, winner radio category, Abiodun Omotosho, winner photography category, Samson Ademola, Programmes and Research officer- WSCIJ and Motunrayo Famuyiwa-Alaka, Executive Director/CEO- WSCIJ, visited the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg on Thursday 3 November 2022 and interfaced with seasoned journalists and civil activists, Joseph Nong Thloloe and Anton Harber, Journalism professor and Executive Director, Campaign for Free Expression. They held a series of media industry-related conversations around freedom of expression, media ethics, investigative journalism, the role of the media in national development and much more.
Also, on Friday, 4 November 2022, the Soyinka Laureates visited the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). Angie Kapelianis, National Radio Current Affairs Editor welcomed the team, while Sophie Mokoena, Foreign Editor for SABC took them on a tour of the facility and held a series of discussions around the media.
Recounting his experience, Head of the Weekend Crime Desk of Nation Newspaper, Akinrinade declared that the study tour gave him deeper insights into advanced technologies and tools within the media ecosystem. “My participation at the African Investigative Journalism Conference in South Africa afforded me the opportunity to establish relationships with colleagues across the continent and network with individuals and organisations supporting investigative reporting. It also gave me exposure to the operational media systems in some countries and modern tools, technics and technology that can be deployed for investigative reporting.”
Another beneficiary, Mary Oluwayomi-Fatile of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), winner radio category, thanked the centre for the opportunity to attend the 18th AIJC and meet journalists such as Anas Aremeyaw Anas from Ghana. She said the conference encouraged her to push for more and become exemplary as an investigative journalist.
“I thought I was doing more till I met people who have done more than I have and still aspiring to do more, like Anas of Ghana. This has taught me to push more in investigative journalism to enable me to stand out in the nearest future. It has also made me learn more about cross-border collaborations and meet and make more friends.”
Speaking further, Oluwayomi-Fatile said, “The tour reminds me that though investigative journalism might be tough, challenging, expensive and difficult, I must not give up. I must fight till the end to achieve what I want. If the victims say they do not want the case anymore, I must not push. I should leave it at that to avoid being charged.”
Standing L-R: Azola Dayile, Researcher, Media Monitoring Africa; Samson Ademola, Programme and Research Officer, WSCIJ; Mary Fatile-Abayomi, Winner, radio category of the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting 2021; Professor Anton Harber, Executive Director, Campaign for Free Expression; Haruna Mohammed, Publisher, WikkiTimes; Kabir Yusuf, reporter, Premium Times; Yuxi Wang, Data Journalist, CCIJ; Olukunle Akinrinade, winner, print category. and Isak Lam, freelancer.
Abiodun Omotosho also appreciated WSCIJ for the exposure, noting that it is his first outside the shores of Nigeria. He noted that it was an eye-opener as he got exposed to diverse cultures, weather, food, networking opportunities and reported as an international media practitioner.
“I shot Mandela’s status, met first time in life outside Nigeria international media gurus like Azola Dayile of Media Monitoring Africa, South Africa’s Yuxi Wang of Centre for Collaborative Investigative Journalism, China and Isak Lam, a Freelancer from Taiwan. Motunrayo Famiyuwa- Alaka’s expose at the first session of AIJC on mainstreaming women’s voices in investigative reporting was very strategic and critical. It changed my perception too! I have never even considered it as paramount until then. This tour has equipped me to think internationally and embark on projects that will transform my locality, especially my immediate community in Nigeria and Africa with support through the platform created for networking,” Omotosho said.
