Media professionals have been charged to prioritize data, research and evidence-based reportage in their journalism practice as a way of helping Nigeria overcome some of the challenges which have impeded its growth and development for several decades.
The Executive Director, International Center for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Mr Dayo Aiyetan, gave the charge in Abuja during a two-day investigative journalism training on ‘Strengthening Public Accountability for Results and Knowledge’ (SPARK 2) reporting fellowship, organized by ICIR and funded by International Budget Partnership (IBP).
Addressing the 20 senior journalists drawn from various media outfits across five states of the federation, Mr Aiyetan noted that the media practice will be of no impact without the right data, intensive research and evidence-based reporting.
According to him, the fellowship which focuses on health and agriculture interventions of the government and their impacts on the citizens, provides yet another opportunity for the fellows to hold duty bearers accountable and improve the quality of services they render to the populace.
“I thank the IBP for its consistent support in our projects, including SPARK 1 & 2. Some of you who were part of SPARK 1 performed incredibly. There were few of you who went further to monitor impact. The task is not just to report but to go extra mile to track impact.
“This is a serious business and we want you to justify the funds provided by our donor for this. In this training, we want to tap from the knowledge in the room. So feel free to share experiences with us. We are here to learn from each other”.
The IBP Country Director, Dr. Olayinka Babalola, who described journalists as the conscience of the nation whose reports could engender change in the society, charged the fellows in SPARK 2 project to do amazing stories capable of impacting positively on governance at all levels.
On her part, the Programme Coordinator, Small Scale Women Farmers’ Organization in Nigeria (SWOFON), Ogechi Okebugwu, called on journalists to help in highlighting the challenges smallholder women farmers who constitute the greater percentage of the entire agricultural workforce in the country.
Earlier, Programme Officer, ICIR, Ayisat Abiona explained that the programme was targeted at building participants' capacity on investigative and impactful reporting capable of holding government officials accountable.
“After SPARK 1 reporting fellowship, President Buhari then ordered a probe into the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) spendings. The goal is to examine factors contributing to the state of healthcare despite government spending.
“In SPARK 2, we will be infusing gender and inter-sectionality into our fellowship and it is critical you reflect this in your reporting.
The two-day training featured many sessions on Solutions Journalism by Seun Durojaiye, Writing for Impact facilitated by Hassan Taiwo of the Associated Press as well as Using your mobile phone for Docus handled by Olayinka Fatunbi.
