As the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) reflects on the events that shaped 2023, we present a special newsletter that captures our journey, memorable moments and milestones that defined our collective experience.
We partnered with Open Extractives and Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) for a three-day workshop, emphasising the importance of beneficial ownership information for CSOs and journalists.
The Collaborative Media Engagement for Development, Inclusivity, and Accountability (CMEDIA) project supported by the MacArthur Foundation continued in 2023. The project with 26 organisations on board is a multi-level intervention that supports media independence to improve transparency, accountability, and good governance at the state and local levels of governance.
Through our intervention under the CMEDIA project, TVC News and The Nation Newspaper set up investigative desks.
Supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Report Women! News and Newsroom Engagement Champions edition of the Female Reporters Leadership Programme (FRLP) fellowship trained, mentored, and inducted 12 Fellows to address issues affecting women through stories and leadership projects.
The Centre also introduced the Champion building leadership project under Report Women! to address gender parity in news and newsroom leadership.
With the United States Mission in Nigeria’s support, WSCIJ hosted ‘What Makes Great Radio?’ in Abuja and Lagos, to enhance the reporting skills of radio professionals.
Launched in 2023, we held six WSCIJ Journalism & Society Conversations. We emphasised journalists’ role in Nigeria’s democratic struggle, and addressed issues like gender inequality and media independence. 38607 impressions represent the number of times the conversations were viewed on X (formerly Twitter), while 1567 engagements were the reposts, replies, follows, clicks, and likes. Furthermore, a total of 11,190 individuals either participated live or listened after the conversation had ended.
The 2023 Visual Realities Media Summit- the first of its kind in Nigeria, addressed ethical challenges, AI integration, and collaboration for impactful visual storytelling among journalists with 52 participants present.
The 15th edition of the Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture Series titled ‘Building a resilient Nigerian media and democracy’ focused on robust framework and sustainable income generation for media viability.
The 2023 Amplify In-depth Media Conference organised in collaboration with 18 other organisations under MacArthur Foundation’s ‘On Nigeria Project’ MAJ cohort prioritised media sustainability.
The 18th Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting honoured ten journalists as late Mass Communication professor, Lai Oso posthumously received the Human Rights Defender Award and Lifetime Award for Journalistic Excellence for his contribution to human rights and journalism.
From noteworthy achievements to valuable lessons learned, this newsletter serves as a month-on-month overview of 2023.
January
In January, WSCIJ initiated a call for applications for the House-to-House investigative journalism desk under the CMEDIA project. House-to-House investigative journalism desk initiative aims to establish investigative reporting desks in media organisations where they do not currently exist and enhance existing ones across Nigeria. Under this initiative, reporters of selected media houses are trained while the management is sensitised on the importance of having a dedicated investigative reporting desk. Before 2023, WSCIJ had successfully trained 636 journalists from diverse media organisations across Nigeria through this initiative.
With the 2023 International Day of Education themed ‘Media’s defence of human right of quality education for all’, WSCIJ urged the media to demand increased government funding for education as we emphasised its role in defending the human right to quality education for all.
Our Executive Director/CEO, Motunrayo Alaka joined media executives at a forum organised by the Centre for Journalism Innovation & Development to denounce the lack of protective mechanisms for Nigerian journalists in the line of duty. She also highlighted the place of excellence for budding journalists within the Nigerian media space during the Journalists For Christ (JFC) fellowship.
February
Our efforts with the Opening Extractives programme, jointly implemented by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and Open Ownership, cumulated in a three-day residential workshop for investigative journalists and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on beneficial ownership (BO) data and its usage in Abuja between 8 and 10 February 2023. The training covered beneficial ownership fundamentals, data access, interpretation, emphasising its impact in fighting corruption and reducing illicit financial flows in Nigerian extractive industries.
February heralded the call for applications for 2023 Report Women! Female Reporters Leadership Programme 
(FRLP) fellowship champion building edition. It was courtesy of a collaboration between the centre and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Report Women! Programme designed to increase the quantity and quality of news reports about access and abuse affecting girls and women in Nigeria started in 2014. Before the 2023 edition, the programme had produced 74 fellows.
WSCIJ and its partners under the Coalition for Whistleblowers Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF) denounced the arrest of Haruna Muhammed, publisher of WikkiTimes, while on duty during the 2023 General elections in Bauchi state by the state Police command at the behest of Governor Bala Mohammed.
March
March witnessed the birth of the Journalism & Society Conversations. This platform provides a safe space for stakeholders to discuss the health and performance of journalism and its important role in society nationally and globally. The first edition in collaboration with the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), focused on ‘Nigeria media, political leadership and women’s equity during the 2023 elections’ to mark the 2023 International Women’s Day (IWD).
A WSCIJ delegation visited the African Foundation for Young Media Professionals (AFYMP)- a (CMEDIA) partner. This visit enabled the WSCIJ team to better appreciate the nuances of the work partners do under the project. It was the first of many visits to our CMEDIA partners across Nigeria. The need for improved media collaboration was the focus when we visited the Media Rights Agenda (MRA). The WSCIJ team were updated on MRA’s progress, offered feedback, and gained insights into their plans for the second year under the project supported by the MacArthur Foundation.
April
Twelve female journalists a
cross Nigeria were shortlisted from 173 valid entries received for the 2023 Report Women! Female Reporters’ Leadership Programme (FRLP) fellowship. Four reporters were selected from Abuja, three from Lagos, and one each from Ondo state, plateau state, Rivers state, Kaduna state and Ebonyi state. These selections covered the North Central (5), South West (4), South East (1), South South (1) and North West (1) geopolitical zones in Nigeria.
The fifth edition of the fellowship commenced with a three-day residential training for selected journalists. It launched the project that included a three-month mentorship, virtual share-fairs, and execution of investigative stories and leadership projects by these journalists.
Representatives of the Nigeria Police Force, media and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) called for a multi-stakeholder response to ensure the safety of journalists while appraising their safety during the 2023 general elections at the April edition of the WSCIJ’s Journalism & Society Conversations.
May
We collaborated with the US Mission in Nigeria to organise a four-day workshop titled “What Makes Great Radio?” for 48 radio professionals (reporters, producers, and presenters) across the six geo-political zones.
The gathering in Lagos and Abuja elevated the skills of these radio professionals, facilitated the exchange of industry insights, and fostered connections between the US Mission and the Nigerian media.
Furthermore, WSCIJ collaborated with the U.S. Mission to co-host a dinner for media executives in Lagos and Abuja. The event facilitated interactive discussions on crucial topics within the Nigerian media landscape.
The Journalism & Society Conversations continued in May as we marked the 2023 World Press Freedom Day. The WSCIJ team also sounded a clarion call for a free press at the dawn of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led government as we highlighted the findings of the 2022 media monitoring report of civic space infractions spanning a decade (2012-2022).
June
June’s WSCIJ’s Journalism & Society Conversations was titled, ‘Media and Democracy: How has Nigeria fared?’ The conversation had Dapo Olorunyomi, publisher of Premium Times; Stella Din-Jacob, Director of News, TVC Communications, Hafsat Abiola-Costello, founder of the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND); Tolu Ogunlesi, former Special Assistant on Digital/New Media to former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari; Mercy Abang, CEO of Hostwriter, and Patrick Allam, Legal Compliance officer at Spaces for Change (S4C). Panelists discussed the impact of democracy on media’s performance(s) as the fourth estate of the realm during the last 24 years of democracy in Nigeria (1999-2023).
Saturday, 24 June, will forever be etched in our memories as we received the heartbreaking news of the tragic passing of Prof. Lai Oso. He was a respected communicator, scholar and a devoted member of the WSCIJ family.
July
The 15th edition of the Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture Series themed ‘Building a resilient Nigerian media and democracy’ happened in July. The conversation underscored the importance of fostering a resilient democracy that delivers dividends while marking Prof Wole Soyinka’s birthday. The two-day event featured over ten speakers who highlighted the need for enhanced frameworks, collaboration and diversified revenue streams to ensure long-term viability.
Women Radio (WFM 91.7) and the WSCIJ celebrated journalists and media houses addressing discriminatory gender norms, violence, and stereotypes against women and girls through their primetime coverage and gender-balanced reportage. The government of Canada and United Nations Women supported the collaboration tagged the ReportHer award. The inaugural edition honoured Arise News, Blueprint newspaper, Voice of Nigeria, Techcabal and Titilope Fadare of Premium Times Nigeria.
The crucial role of the media in uncovering corruption and the country’s security challenges were some of the issues discussed by media experts during a visit to TVC News under the WSCIJ’s House-to-House initiative.
During the House-to-House visit to The Nation Newspaper, our experts emphasised investigative reporting’s pivotal role in fostering national and sub-national development. Consequently, the Nation Newspaper committed to increased financial support for its investigative reporters.
August
Lekan Otufodunrin, Director of Media Career Development Network (MCDN), led his team to the WSCIJ’s headquarter to present an award to our ED/CEO for her outstanding contributions to capacity development of female journalists in Nigeria and the advocacy for gender equity in the news media.
Visit to our partners under the CMEDIA project continued in August. WSCIJ team visited Safer Media Initiative, National Record, Daily Nigeria, Dataphyte, Clearview TV, PR Nigeria, Gender Strategy Advancement International, AD4TVRadio, Ikenga Online and International Centre for Development Reporting (ICDR) all based in Abuja. Our team made a stop in Port Harcourt to interface with National Point before returning to Lagos. The visit gave the WSCIJ team a deeper understanding of partners’ activities, milestones, challenges as we also provided feedback under the project supported by the MacArthur Foundation.
Also in August, WSCIJ commissioned four investigative journalists under the CMEDIA project to execute stories. Juliana Francis of The Eagle Online did a story on how residents of some areas within Lagos state are denied basic amenities while Abdulwasiu Olokooba of Sahara Reporters focused on the state of insecurity and healthcare delivery in terror-ravaged Zamfara communities. Humangle’s duo of Nathaniel Bivan and Usman Abba Zanna wrote about the health care delivery in Kaduna state and the implication of Borno state government’s resettlement programme on the out of school children in the state.
During the year under review, WSCIJ directly engaged 15 resource persons (9 male, 6 female), trained 231 journalists (148 male, 83 female) and commissioned seven stories as part of our activities under the CMEDIA project.
September
As a follow-up to our House-to-House visit to The Nation Newspapers in J
uly and the setting up of an investigative desk, WSCIJ commissioned and supported the investigative desk of The Nation Newspaper to execute and publish three investigative reports. The initiative supports media organisations with technical and financial aid to foster transparency, accountability, and good governance through investigative stories at the sub-national level.
2023 Report Women! FRLP climaxed in September with the induction of twelve female journalists as Fellows. These Fellows implemented investigative stories and leadership projects on issues affecting women. It brought the number of Fellows to 86 since inception.
Three winners were awarded high-end laptops, plaques and cash prizes of N200,000, N150,000, and N100,000, for their exceptional leadership and story projects. Blessing Oladunjoye got the winning prize of 200,000 naira, a laptop, and a plaque.
Their published works were on issues, such as the impact of insecurity on the well-being of displaced women and children in IDP camps, human rights abuses and unethical practices within surrogacy facilities, delays in achieving justice for cases of SGBV, the challenges of female coaches in male-dominated sports, women’s inheritance rights, the hazards of traditional birth attendants, and the exploitation of female cleaners in select regions of the North Central geopolitical zone.
We wrapped up September with the 2023 Visual Realities Media Summit on Thursday, 28 September 2023, to commemorate the 2023 International Day for Universal Access to Information. The event which had 52 participants present focused on the importance of AI, ethical challenges, and collaboration for a more impactful visual storytelling experience. The discussants also stressed the power of cartoons and photography to tell compelling stories.
October
To mark Nigeria’s 63rd Independence Anniversary, WSCIJ hosted a special edition of the Journalism & Society Conversations event on Sunday, 1 October 2023. Amongst the issues discussed were press freedom, regulatory frameworks and the pivotal role of investigative journalism in holding the gov
ernment accountable.
Next was the call for entries submissions for the 18th Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting. Submissions commenced on Wednesday, October 4 for investigative stories produced between October 4, 2022, and October 3, 2023.
We passionately championed gender equality, vehemently called for an end to gender-based violence, and fervently advocated for increased investments in girls’ education and health during the 2023 International Day of the Girl Child campaign.
We also embarked on the Champion building component of the Report Women! News and Newsroom Engagement designed for the Female Reporters Leadership Programme Fellows to improve parity between men and women in news and newsroom leadership with the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. 12 pitches were received, 11 entries were selected while 10 Fellows completed their proj
ects focused on training media professionals, enhancing their understanding of reporting gender issues, narrowing the gender gap in news and newsrooms, promoting journalism as a career for female students, and advancing gender mainstreaming and inclusive reporting. Additionally, these leadership projects trained female journalists on Artificial Intelligence, specialised training for women to become expert sources and advocates in the media.
Also, WSCIJ announced a call for applications from journalism students from tertiary institutions in Lagos interested in reporting local issues as part of our activities under the CMEDIA project. This opportunity for next generation of journalists will equip selected students with the requisite knowledge to effectively report local issues and hold government accountable at the state and local government levels.
We also joined other media organisations and civil rights advocates to condemn the wrongful arrest and detention of Damilola Ayeni, Editor at the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) by the government of the Republic of Benin.
November
Speakers at the November edition of the WSCIJ Journalism & Society Conversations urged media organisations and journalists to embrace digital tools, ethical reporting and take advantage of support groups to stay safe in the line of duty. The monthly conversation with 964 listeners celebrated the ‘2023 International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists’ as panelists emphasised journalists’ protection in the digital age.
A two-day capacity building on safety and security was organised for 63 journalists from the 26 media organisations under the CMEDIA project. The training designed to improve the cyber safety, digital security, mental and personal safety of journalists became necessary amid the increasing threats to journalists’ safety and press freedom in Nigeria.
Six Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting (WSAIR) winners spanning various years, along with two staff members from WSCIJ, participated at the 2023 African Investigative Journalism Conference at Wits University in Johannesburg. The gathering of investigative journalists across Africa which featured 140 speakers delved into topics on new technologies, collaborative efforts, media safety and funding. The CMEDIA-funded study tour provided a dynamic platform for WSAIR winners to network, interact with journalists from over 50 African countries and discuss their impactful investigative works.
The 2023 edition of the 16 days of activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) was celebrated in style as WSCIJ collaborated with Women’s Optimum Development Foundation (WODEF) to host conversations for 16 days on X Spaces from Saturday, 25 November to Sunday, 10 December 2023, at 4pm daily. The 16-day conversation featured 15 moderators 56 speakers across various sectors to raise awareness against child marriage, advocate for changes in legal frameworks, gender inclusion in the war against GBV, affirmative actions, improved involvement of the media to combat gender-based violence and other issues with Women Entrepreneur Association of Nigeria (WEAN) and Step Up for Women in Journalism Initiative (SWIJ) as collaborators.
December
In December, over 40 speakers participated at the Amplify In-depth Media (AIM) Conference as they tasked participants on financial stability and independence, objective reporting, collaboration, technology, ethics and alternative funding for investigative reporting. Panellists also discussed the importance of innovations, Artificial Intelligence, reporting beyond just the stories, academia’s role in journalism and fact-checking as ingredients for media sustainability at the two-day event which was a collaboration between WSCIJ and 18 other organisations under the MacArthur Foundation’s ‘On Nigeria Project’ Media and Journalism (MAJ) cohort.
The centre also honoured ten (10) distinguished journalists at the 18th edition of its annual award in Abuja supported by the Embassy of Netherlands in Nigeria. Professor Lai Oso posthumously earned the Human Rights Defender Award and Lifetime Award for Journalistic Excellence, making history. It was in recognition of the late legendary journalist mass communication scholar’s contribution to the field of journalism for over four decades.
Closing remarks
At this junction, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to our esteemed funding partners: The MacArthur Foundation, United States Mission in Nigeria, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Nigeria and Open Ownership. Your invaluable support has been instrumental in our success, and we look forward to continued collaboration.
