Ibrahim Ramalan, Editor of Daily Nigerian, has lauded the impact of the Collaborative Media Engagement for Development, Inclusivity and Accountability (CMEDIA) project intervention on the Nigerian media landscape. Citing direct gain of the news media organisation on the MacArthur Foundation-funded project initiated by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), to the WSCIJ Team that visited the organisation on Wednesday 2 August 2023 Ramalan said Daily Nigerian became empowered to employ more journalists to tell subnational stories.
Daily Nigerian has built the capacity of 105 Journalists in the online, print and broadcast media across Kano, Gombe and Niger States to undertake investigative reports at the subnational level. The training focused on investigative story pitching, fact-checking, multimedia reporting, security tips for investigative reporters and necessary ingredients for writing compelling stories on subnational issues. The organisation also funded successful investigative pitches thanks to the CMEDIA grant.
Rayyan Alhassan, Account Officer, Daily Nigerian, mentioned that these capacity developments were not exclusive to journalists but also to students of mass communication, pupils and youth interested in journalism in the rural areas. He mentioned that the trainees were encouraged to send stories about happenings in Northern Nigeria, and this led to more content and better impacts.
In her feedback, Motunrayo Alaka, ED/CEO, WSCIJ, thanked Daily Nigerian for their contributions to the CMEDIA project as she emphasised that there was more opportunity for unique stories at the subnational level including those that are narratives about of how citizens add value to communities in their own ways. She harped on the need for follow-up stories for impact tracking. She encouraged collaboration between Daily Nigerian, other CMEDIA partners and news organisations with national spread through story syndication.
The WSCIJ team also included Emem Nssien, Finance Officer, CMEDIA project; Ehikioya Ataman, Monitoring and Evaluation Assistant and Afolabi Oni, Communications Officer. CMEDIA is a three-year multi-level intervention that supports media independence, improved transparency, accountability, good governance in state and local governments and the amplification of marginalised voices.
