Hurray! Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture is 15.
It has been fifteen years of uninterrupted conversations to underscore the importance of fostering a resilient democracy that delivers better standards of life for citizens. The Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture was initiated in 2008 by Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) and since inception it has brought to the forefront conversations on media Intervention and electoral reforms, the salience of a democratic state and local government governance, Tax, education, and national development, national security, the challenges of journalism and many more. These discussions have also been led by the brightest minds within and outside Africa such as Obiageli Ezekwesili (former Minister of Education), Ibrahim Gambari, former (Minister for External Affairs), Adebimpe Balogun (the first female president of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, CITN) and so many others.
This edition of the Lecture of a two-day conversation on Wednesday, 12 July, and Thursday, 13 July 2023, by 11 am daily WAT on Twitter Spaces as we also mark our Grand patron, Prof Wole Soyinka’s birthday. This year’s theme, ‘Building a resilient Nigerian media and democracy’ stems from the need to set a tone for the new government in Nigeria on the need to strengthen an independent media that will hold state actors accountable and promote an informed and engaged citizenry. Already confirmed for the two-day events are Ropo Sekoni, Board Chair – Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ); Toun Okewale-Sonaiya, Chief Executive Officer – Women Radio WFM 91.7; Christoph Plate, Director of Media Programme Sub-Saharan Africa at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation; Balarabe Ilelah, Director General – National Broadcasting Corporation and Adedoja Allen, Managing Director/CEO – City 105.1FM alongside seven other distinguished speakers.
Over the past few months we have executed impactful media intervention projects. In May, we partnered with US Mission in Nigeria to train 48 radio executives from 27 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Steven Reiner, Associate Professor/Director of Broadcast and Digital Journalism from Stony Brook University, New York, was the resource person for the four-day training held in Lagos and Abuja themed ‘What makes great radio?’. Meetings were also held with executives of selected radio stations under the same initiative to discuss innovative partnerships to strengthen the radio practitioners in Nigeria.
To commemorate the 2023 Democracy Day, the centre brought together experts across media, CSO, politics and academic sectors to discuss the importance of professionalism and stakeholder coalition in establishing a sustainable media landscape in Nigeria to hold the government to account and accelerate national development during the WSCIJ’s Journalism & Society Twitter Spaces.
We also held several activities under Collaborative Media Engagement for Development Inclusivity and Accountability project funded by the MacArthur Foundation. WSCIJ trained over 70 editors and reporters from 26 partner organisations as the multi-prong project entered year two to help these media organisations improve. We are excited over The Nation newspaper’s commitment to making more funds available for investigative reports at the subnational following our team’s visit to the organisation in June under the CMEDIA project, House-to-House activity. Our team visited TVC News and met with the management and staff. We highlighted the media’s crucial role in uncovering corruption and security challenges inimical to national development.
Still, on our interventions within the media space, Arise News, Blueprint newspaper, Voice of Nigeria, Techcabal, and Titilope Fadare of Premium Times Nigeria were honoured during the maiden edition of the ReportHer Awards, an initiative of WSCIJ and Women Radio with support from UN Women and the Government of Canada. The awards celebrated media organisations and journalists who give women, girls, and the issues they face adequate coverage. Three Report Women! fellows were shortlisted in the individual journalist category and underscore the impact of the Report Women! Female Reporters Leadership Programme (FRLP) to their careers. A 2019 fellow, Lami Sadiq of Daily Trust newspaper, finished in the top five. 2017 fellow, Ene Oshaba of Blueprint newspaper, was the runner-up, and Fadare of Premium Times (a 2021 fellow) won the overall prize.
As we conclude, we will not forget to mourn the loss of a long-time supporter of our work and a stellar professor of Mass Communication, Lai Oso. While alive, he served on the faculty of many of our training programmes and as a member of the judges’ board of the WSCIJ award for ten years. We mourn him and pray that his soul finds eternal rest.
Signed
Motunrayo Alaka
Executive Director/CEO, WSCIJ
