10 Nigerian broadcasters making it globally, and how you can be like them
The changing media landscape and improving coverage of complex subjects require newsrooms and journalists to invest in different kinds of skills and training that will enable them function in the new media age and be globally competitive.
Whether they are in traditional employment or pursuing careers as independent journalists, the new world expects journalists to master more storytelling formats and learn how to successfully run a media business in an ever-changing media profession.
As MTN Nigeria launches its Media Innovation Programme to help Nigerian journalists stay relevant in an ever-changing media profession, here are 10 Nigerians who are upskilling and mastering more formats of storytelling to become global screen stars, but we expect the list to rise with the Media Innovation Programme which plans to train 20 Nigerian journalists.
Didi Akinyelure
Although she started her professional career in the financial sector, Didi Akinyelure made a career switch to journalism in 2012 and started as anchor and producer of CNBC Africa’s morning show, ‘Open Exchange West Africa’.
In 2016, she won the BBC World News Komla Dumor Award, identifying her as a future star of African Journalism. In a decade of her career, she has worked with the BBC, CNBC, and Reuters News Agency, telling African stories in different formats.
Akinyelure has built an outstanding career as a moderator and multimedia journalist and has been recognised by Forbes as one of the world’s most influential business journalists.
Tomi Oladipo
Before joining German broadcast station – Deutsche Welle (DW) as a news anchor, Tomi Oladipo worked as a correspondent with the BBC (on radio, TV and digital platforms) in Kenya and Nigeria, reporting on some of the biggest stories in Africa.
In a career spanning over a decade, Tomi has reported on a wide range of events across Africa, interviewed world leaders and prominent personalities and carved a niche as a leading African screen star.
Aisha Salaudeen
Aisha Salaudeen is one of Nigeria’s most innovative multimedia journalists, using digital skills to tell important African stories. Her first shot at fame came in 2019 after an investigative report on how single Nigerian women struggle to rent property in Nigeria went viral.
She started her career in 2013 as a radio presenter at the University of Bradford Radio Station in the UK. She later joined CNN, where she currently works as a digital feature producer.
Some of her notable works include The Woman risking her life to photograph the forgotten victims of war, and This 9-year old has built more than 30 mobile games. In December 2020, Aisha was named the winner of The Future Awards Africa Prize for journalism.
Stephanie Busari
In the wake of Bring Back Our Girls advocacy for the abducted Chibok schoolgirls in 2014, Stephanie Busari obtained a ‘proof of life’ video, which led to negotiation with Boko Haram that resulted in the release of over 100 of the kidnapped schoolgirls.
Stephanie started her career at the now-defunct News Nation, a London-based newspaper, and later moved to Daily Mirror. After her brief stint with BBC News as a freelance Journalist, Stephanie joined CNN in 2008 and relocated to Lagos. She presently heads the CNN’s Nigeria Bureau, and in 2016, she led CNN’s launch of its first digital and multiplatform bureau.
Toke Makinwa
Makinwa rose to national prominence from hosting ‘The Morning Drive’ on Rhythm 93.7 FM and has become more popular for her YouTube vlog series – ‘Toke Moments’, which has made her the centrepiece of attention on social media.
With a career spanning over a decade, the English and Literature graduate from the University of Lagos (UNILAG) carved her path as a TV host beginning in 2010 when she anchored the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria beauty pageant. She also co-hosted Flytime TV’s 3 Live Chicks with the late Tosyn Bucknor and Oreka Godis. Her Youtube channel, Toke Moments, which she started in 2012, has hosted several guests across all walks of life. In 2015, she co-hosted the Moments talk show on EbonyLife Television with Michelle Dede and Bolanle Olukanni.
Amarachi Ubani
A graduate of History and International Affairs from Abia State University, Amarachi joined Channels Television in 2007 as a presenter/reporter. In over a decade, she has covered the US Elections, the African Union Summit, the political situation in Cote D’Ivoire and other International events.
Amarachi presently heads the Foreign Desk at Channels Television.
Tolulope Adeleru-Balogun
Currently Head of Programmes at News Central TV, Tolulope Adeleru-Balogun has over 12 years of experience in the media space.
A CNN Journalism fellow, Tolulope has worked as a news anchor and producer at NN24. When she left NN24 in 2011, she joined Nigeria Info FM as a radio talk show host.
For nearly seven years, Tolulope has used her multimedia experience to coach young people seeking to start their career in journalism, teaching them broadcast journalism, radio presentation, news presentation, and new media tools for journalism, among others.
Grace Ekpu
Grace Ekpu, a documentary photographer and broadcast journalist, is a passionate visual storyteller with a keen interest in covering everyday life and addressing social issues.
Through her multimedia skills, Ekpu constantly tells the African story from the African perspective to a global audience.
With a Master of Science degree in Media Management from The University of Glasgow, the United Kingdom and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication from Babcock University, Nigeria, she has worked with TVC Nigeria, the BBC as a Senior Journalist covering West Africa and presently works with the Associated Press (AP) as an investigative reporter.
Nosmot Gbadamosi
Nosmot Gbadamosi, a Pulitzer Center grantee, is a multimedia journalist with an interest in human rights, the environment, and sustainable development from across Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Her works have appeared on Al Jazeera, CNN, Foreign Policy, TIME, The Times of London, The Guardian, The Independent, The New Humanitarian, South China Morning Post, and VICE News, among others.
A holder of a master’s degree in journalism as a former Hearst Magazines scholarship recipient, she is one of the innovative Nigerian journalists using multimedia skills to redefine storytelling.
Chika Oduah
A multimedia journalist for close to two decades, Chika Oduah works have been featured in The New York Times, Voice of America, The Guardian, The BBC, Al Jazeera, CNN, The Associated Press, UK Channel 4, France 24, National Geographic, National Public Radio, The Atlantic, The Huffington Post, Foreign Policy, The Daily Beast, MSNBC and other outlets.
Oduah who presently works for VICE News, writes and films stories that explore culture, human rights, conflict, history, spirituality and development in Africa.
She is the inaugural recipient of International Center for Journalists (ICFJ’s) Young Reporter for a Sustainable Future award. She also won the Trust Women “Journalist of The Year Award” from the Thomson Reuters Foundation in 2014 and the 2015 African Story Challenge award by the African Media Initiative and the ICFJ.
