When Journalists gathered to learn the ropes of Investigative reporting in Abuja

Organized by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, ICIR, with support from the Ford Foundation, the participants were engaged on topics ranging from complex data journalism to simpler challenges such as utilizing the Freedom of Information Act and how to avoid mistakes in story writing.Veteran Journalist and media expert, Mohammed Haruna who presented the keynote […]

Organized by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, ICIR, with support from the Ford Foundation, the participants were engaged on topics ranging from complex data journalism to simpler challenges such as utilizing the Freedom of Information Act and how to avoid mistakes in story writing.
Veteran Journalist and media expert, Mohammed Haruna who presented the keynote address at the opening ceremony entitled “The role of the media in promoting public accountability”, harped on the watchdog role of the media in policing the public society as enshrined in Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution.
Describing investigative journalism as a risk taking venture Haruna identified the factors militating against its practice in Nigeria to include; hostile operating environment, repressive laws, lack of community based media as well as ownership interference.
The Executive director of the ICIR, Dayo Aiyetan, said the training which was aimed at bridging the existing gap in investigative journalism in Nigeria was put in place to bring Nigerian journalists up to speed with today’s practice of investigative reporting. “We want to bridge the training gap in the Nigerian media, particularly as regards Investigative Journalism; and build a crop of committed, competent and well trained professionals doing critical reporting that can have an impact on good governance. But we also realised that we need to help the cash strapped newsrooms in which these journalists work with the resources to do serious investigative reporting,” he said.
He explained that the project would involve providing training for up to 40 Nigerian journalists over a two year period as well as making available to them necessary funds to undertake investigative projects.
At the closing ceremony last week, Aiyetan said he was impressed with the first phase of the programme, especially the participation and willingness to learn exhibited by the selected journalists, adding that he had no doubt that it was the beginning of steps to revolutionize investigative reporting in the country.
Expressed gratitude to the Ford Foundation for providing sponsorship for the programme Aiyetan thanked the resource persons, Ron Nixon, the Washington DC correspondent of the New York Times and Mark Horvit, executive director of the International Reporters and Editors, IRE, and a professor on Mass Communication at the University of Missouri, Colombia for sparing time to attend the programme.
 On his part, Ford Foundation programmer manager, Paul Nwulu, expressed satisfaction with the enthusiasm shown by the journalists who participated in the training, explaining that the Foundation is sponsoring the project, which also includes giving grants for investigative reporting, in order to aid the media in Nigeria perform its role of keeping government accountable.
 Nwulu said that Ford Foundation would continue to support efforts at strengthening open and transparent government in Nigeria, adding that the media plays an important role in doing that.
Some participants who shared their thoughts about the programme were optimistic that the knowledge gained would impact on their journalism practice.
“I’ve learnt a lot of things which I will put into practice and work towards being an effective and efficient investigative journalist. It was a very interesting training. I’m all ready and all set for the next level,” said Adenike Asogbon-Fagbemi, digital editor for Development Diaries.
She said prior to the training, she had little or no knowledge about how to use Microsoft Excel for journalistic work but that she had been exposed to its use and will definitely find it useful for accurate documentation.
Seye Ojo, a reporter with The Sun newspaper, described the training programme as a giant stride in repositioning the future of journalism in Nigeria, especially in terms of capacity building and that it will go a long way to bringing about the desired change in the profession.
Nkrumah Bankong-Obi, correspondent for The News said he now understands that journalism has moved away from the traditional methods of simply writing to more scientific processes which the new media provides to make the art of reporting more interesting but at the same time more competitive.
 “This is distinct from a lot of other training programmes I’ve attended. The last three days have been very eventful and challenging in the sense that my journalistic impulses have been aroused to see things from very different perspectives; from just writing stories to what you can bring on to bear on the story to give it more meaning and to make it more useful to the reader”, he said.
The NIRP which is a two year training programme is broken into four modules and would incorporate the whole gamut of Investigative Journalism training that would equip participants to practice anywhere in the world.
It also aims at promoting a culture of investigative reporting in Nigeria through the training of journalists and granting of funds for critical reporting. Participants in the training are expected to pitch investigative story ideas, the most plausible and impactful ones which would be funded with seed money from the Ford Foundation.