The Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting is 15! Hurray! It has been a decade and a half of rewarding the bravery, dedication and grit of Nigerian journalists who go beyond the expected to challenge constituted authority, amplify the voice of the most vulnerable, and contribute to entrenching social justice in our society.
In the last three days, we have rolled the drums out the best way we know to. We introduced the In-depth Media Conference—which we hope to sustain as a precursor to the award event. We brought professionals from the news media and related fields together to discuss the issues that affect the fourth estate and proffer solutions.
In this post-truth era, investigative journalism has become even more difficult. The truth is constantly besieged from all sides. Journalists and news media organisations are attacked daily by public office holders, organised peddlers of misinformation and citizens alike. Our predicament has been further complicated by the pandemic, the #ENDSARS protests and the vandalism that followed both incidents, with losses too many to recount, including the death of a budding journalist, Pelumi Onifade of Gboah TV, who died while in the custody of officers attached to the Lagos Task Force.
Journalism has been masked by these issues. Yet, we are not silenced. Despite the many woes of the media, this has been a great year for reporters and news media organisations alike. The media took up the responsibility to report the pandemic extensively and debunk fake news around it. Nigerian reporters, including the WSCIJ Founder, Dapo Olorunyomi, who received the 2020 International Press Freedom Award by the Committee to Protect Journalists, were also acknowledged globally for their sterling reporting.
For the many wins, we choose to celebrate. This award programme again salutes the courage and prowess of the Nigerian reporter. Those who make it their business to discredit this important work must know that we may be masked, but we cannot be silenced.
Motunrayo Alaka
Executive Director/CEO, WSCIJ