#YNaijaMedia100: Toolz, Fisayo Soyombo, Luvvie Ajayi Jones, Abdulbaki Jari | See the 100 most influential culture curators

What do you see happening in the world when you look through your window?

Let’s assume you see what we see too – floating and targeted information, changes, sometimes forced changes, other times necessary changes and you crave to be a part of it. 

We’ve therefore chosen today to celebrate those who do the job of leading others on, sometimes without request.  We call them the Media 100 -culture curators.

They are the ones who shape cultures, and when you join conversations and become passionate about it, you later realise that someone had set the agenda for you to follow It is a subconscious somethingWe call these people the indispensables because you can’t do away with them like some bread with molds.

We present you the Media 100 2020 list:  

Journalists 

Fisayo Soyombo

Fisayo’s writing craft has won him three national writing contests and has earned him more than 15 youth journalism-related awards. He is a freelance investigative journalist and, among others, did the police cell/prison investigative story in 2019 that reportedly caused ripples in the Nigerian Correctional Service and an attempted arresta story that won him the People Journalism Prize for Africa (PJPA) 2019 by the Gatefield Foundation, a sub-Saharan Africa public strategy firm. He wrote another article early in 2020 detailing his experience at the Yaba Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria. Fisayo also did a story on the cover-up of the death of an Offa son in Kwara, with pointers to COVID-19. He once said in an interview, “I see journalism as a calling. This is all I’ve EVER wanted to do with my career, so I won’t accept being chased away by the dangers.”  

 

Wana Udobong

Wana is a storyteller and artist working at the intersection of writing, poetry, performance and film. She is a freelance Writer at Guardian, Aljazeera, Index on Censorship, African Report, Vice. She has received the International Reporting Project (IRP) Fellowship, IWMF Great Lakes Reporting Fellowship, and the Gabriel Garcia Marquez Fellowship in Cultural Journalism. 

 

David Hundeyin

David is a correspondent at The Africa Report. Among other things, he wrote the article in 2019What went wrong at ‘Africa’s First Unicorn’? That caused a stir in the tech community. His bylines span a number of Nigerian and international platforms including Channels Television, Vanguard Nigeria, CNN Africa, Business Day, The Scoop, CCN Markets and Yahoo Finance. He was nominated by the U.S. State Department to take part in the 2019 Edward R. Murrow Program for journalists under the International Visitors Leadership Program. 

 

Mercy Abang

Mercy is an award-winning journalistwho has worked from the United Nations in New Yorkshe’s reported from the Bundestag, the German Parliament; writes and produces for Aljazeera English; has worked with the Economic Communities of West African States; volunteered with the African Union media, observed elections with the International Republican Institute (IRI) and is a volunteer with the African Union (Digit-trends Team)She’s a widely read international journalist who focuses her reports on under-reported communities. 

 

Didi Akinyelure

Didi is an accomplished multimedia journalist with extensive experience working in television, radio, text and digital for the BBC, CNBC and Reuters News Agency. She has presented, produced and edited television, radio and digital content for the BBC News at 10, BBC World News, BBC Focus on Africa, BBC’s Business Daily, BBC’s Newsday, and the BBC World Service.  

 

Adeola Fayehun

Adeola is a Broadcast Journalist, Producer, and the Host of “Keeping It Real With AdeolaShe specializes in discussing current geopolitical, social and economic issues that affect the daily lives of Africans living on the continent. Fayehun uses satire and comedy to explain news events in self-produced videos. She also works as a foreign correspondent for The Nation. She founded the online resource, African Spotlight. 

 

Ahmad Salkida

Ahmad is the Editor in Chief, HumAngle; founded alongside Obiora Chukwumba. HumAngle is an African Daily Newspaper focused on insecurity and humanitarian values. The reporting is delivered for public and special access in digital print and visual broadcast editions, featuring breaking news, analysis and factual commentary across the Sahel and Lake Chad; the Gulf of Guinea; Niger Delta and the sub-Saharan territories. Ahmad is known on Twitter for sharing information on insurgency-prone areas and for analysing same.  

 

Oluwatoyosi Ogunseye

Oluwatoyosi is Nigerian editor, journalist and serves as the head of language services (West Africa) for BBC World Service. She was nominated for Her Network Woman of the Year Awards in Media Award 2019. Oluwatoyosi has 10 years’ experience as an investigative journalist on beats such as politics, crime, business, health and environment. In 2019, she elected to serve as the Vice President of the World Editors Forum at the WAN-IFRA conference in Scotland. She said in an interview, “I wanted to be a surgeon and a writer. Hence my writing led me to journalism,” and she shown to be a journalist of note.  

 

Stephanie Busari 

Stephanie is a Nigerian journalist notable for exclusively obtaining the ‘proof of life’ video for the missing Chibok schoolgirls in the wake of the Bring Back Our Girls advocacy which led to negotiations with Boko Haram that resulted in the release of over 100 of the kidnapped schoolgirls. Stephanie is the Lead, CNN international, Multiplatform Nigeria/W. Africa bureau, Editor, CNN Africa, where she oversees CNN Africa’s digital’s editorial and operational strategy. She is passionate about crafting a new narrative for African storytelling and telling stories about Africa’s change-makers and innovators. 

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Eromo Egbejule

Eromo is a writer and journalist, and currently edits OZY – media and entertainment company tailor-made for the Change GenerationEromo has covered arts & culture, conflict, land rights, human identity and more for The Guardian, Reuters, Africa Check and The Africa Report. He has reported from conflict zones including Ebola-hit Liberia and Boko Haram-ravaged North-East Nigeriafrom Peru, Djibouti, Guinea, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Benin and Niger. 

 

Ben Bassey

Ben is the EditorinChief, Pulse Nigeria. He is a certified Digital Marketer, Digital Strategist, Content Marketer, Journalist, and Storyteller. As Editor-in-Chief of Pulse Nigeria, Ben oversees the content production process – ideation to execution – of the editorial, video and social media teams, with the end goal of monetisation. Ben has helped several brands create campaign strategies that effectively push their brand/product message to their target audience, thereby boosting brand engagement and conversions. 

 

Yemisi Akinbobola

Yemisi is the founder of African Women in the Media. She is an award-winning journalist, media entrepreneur and academic with robust experience in communication management for charitable organisationsShe holds a PhD in Media and Cultural Studies from Birmingham City University where she is the Course Director for MA Global Media Management, and the International Research Partnership Coordinator. Yemisi is passionate about making a difference and helping women in media reach their full potential. She is also the founder of Stringers Africa, a media organisation focusing on bridging the existing gap of freelance journalists in Africa media industry. 

 

China Acheru

For the past twenty-five years, China has been the voice of Sports from Rivers and across Nigeria. He runs football blog, www.naijafootball247.com and is currently the Chairman of Nigerian Professional League Clubs Media Managers Association. China has embraced social media, digitalising his message through Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to reach an ever-growing information-hungry audience. 

 

Saleh Shehu Ahmed

Saleh is a radio and online journalist, a VOA journalist. Adopting ‘new journalism,’ Saleh uses social media to break news and comment on issues across all sectors. He has continued to draw followers through his punchy analysis and news commentaries.  

 

Joey Akan

Joey is a writer, broadcaster, host, public relations consultant and commentator on current affairs, including African music, Urban pop culture, politics, sport, race, gender and sexuality. He is the Head of Music, Senior Music Editor, Ringier Africa Digital Publishing. He has written on a variety of topics for the music industry, including investigations into the music distribution business, Africa, its sounds, and the culture of music. His works have appeared in Pulse, Guardian, Quartz, OkayAfrica, Genius, CNN, New Yorker and many more publications. 

 

Abdulbaki Jari

Abdulbaki works with BBC Hausa and writes opinion pieces in Nigerian newspapers. He is a journalist and is the founder #RanarHausa – A day set aside to celebrate the Hausa language. He is the former head of Hausa Naij news media and former deputy editor of Nishadi TV.   

 

Nasidi Adamu Yahaya

Nasidi is a senior digital journalist, BBC Africa, working closely with BBC News Igbo, BBC News Pidgin and BBC News Yoruba, where he is responsible for the development and implementation of the social media strategy as agreed by the Language Services’ Editors. 

 

Nicholas Ibekwe

Nicholas is the Head of Investigations at Premium Times. He has won the Wole Soyinka Prize for Investigative Journalism, two-time finalist and FAIR (Forum for African Investigative Reporters) Award. Nicholas is passionate about investigative reporting and revealing the excesses of government officials, organisations and individuals. He is also an all-rounded reporter who had worked as a court reporter, written sports stories and an excellent reviewer and feature writer. Among other stories, Ibekwe wrote the investigative story on the founder of Arik Air, Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide, that revealed how Joseph was amassing wealth while Arik Air was running into debts.  

 

Bilikisu Labaran

Bilkisu is an accomplished multimedia journalist who has edited, produced and presented high profile programmes across television, radio and online – including Newsday, Focus on Africa TV/Radio and BBC World. She is the Lead, Editorial operations of BBC Pidgin. With almost 25 years’ experience, Bilkisu has dedicated most of her working life to the promotion of quality journalism in Africa. Through her work, particularly as the first BBC Editor for Nigeria in Abuja, she has helped to train and mentor hundreds of African/Nigerian journalists – some of whom she had inspired to work in journalism. 

Aliyu Tanko

Aliyu is a multi-media journalist, worked with BBC Yoruba and Igbo, Over the last one year, has conducted training for BJ’s and SBJs in Nairobi, Abuja and London. He has worked and contributed content and analysis on African issues to different sections of the BBC such as Focus on Africa, World Have Your Say, BBC World TV and BBC News online. In October 2019, the BBC ‘appreciated’ his ‘valuable contribution’ towards the delivery of BBC News Igbo, Pidgin, Yoruba.  

 

Olutimehin Adegbeye

Olutimehin is a correspondent at The CorrespondentShe is a writer, speaker, and advocate whose work exists at the intersection of human rights, inclusion and social justice. She works as a keynote speaker, moderator, commentator, convener and facilitator, and is known for her insightful analyses of issues related to Feminism, Gender, Sexualities and Urbanisation. Her work has been translated into French, Japanese, Spanish, and Norwegian and other languages, with selected publications incorporated into academic curricula in various countries.

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Agba Jalingo

Agba is the Publisher of the online news outletCrossRiverWatchHis investigative pieces have drawn ire and his arrests made his work more visible – he became a household name tooHe is constantly on the radar of politicians and the Cross-River government for his dedication to investigative stories. In August 2019, he was charged with treasonable felony and disturbance of public peace after he was arrested a few days earlier in Lagos, and taken to Calabar where the media outlet is based. The two charges related to an article published on July 17, 2019, alleging the involvement of the Governor of Cross Rivers, Benedict Ayade in diverting funds allocated to the creation of a microfinance bank. Agba was also accused of terrorism for allegedly being involved in the #RevolutionNow movement. 

 

Obinna Don Norman

Obinna is the Editor in Chief, The Realm News, known for his sound criticism of elected officials with a focus on the Abia government. He is an investigative journalist who continues to impact the Nigerian landscape. He was arrested on March 1, 2019, during a live broadcast on radio station Flo FM in Umuahia, AbiaAccording to the MFWA, Obinna was accused of defaming and harassing an Abia Senator in February 2018 and was charged with cyberstalking under Nigeria’s 2015 Cybercrime Act as well as the anti-terrorism and kidnapping laws of Abia. 

 

Philip Obaji Jr.

Philip is currently a contributor to New Yorkbased news and culture website, The Daily Beast, and a blogger for Global Partnership for Education and A World at School. His articles have been published in numerous foreign and Nigerian newspapers and websites, including MSN UK, MSN South Africa, Al Jazeera, Yahoo, Foreign Policy Magazine, AllAfrica, Global Citizen, Sahara Reporters, The New Humanitarian, World Politics Review, P.M. News Nigeria, News Deeply, Equal Times, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Sundiata Post

 

Harry Itie

Harry currently works for RNW Media. He is a Nigerian Journalist, Social Commentator, Vlogger and Equality Advocate passionate about SOGI issues. He is a Mass Communication graduate from Covenant University and his work has been read not just in Nigeria but across Africa and in the UK. 

 

Bayo Olupohunda

Bayo is an award-winning digital media journalist, author and editor. His media experience cuts across both online and the print media. His writings have been published in major Nigerian newspapers and online platforms. He started his media career as an intern and later as a freelance features writer with The Guardian Nigeria. He was a Metro columnist with NEXT newspaper and later moved to Punch newspaper as Op-Ed columnist. His writings have earned him both local and international media awards and nominations. He was a CNN African Journalist of the Year Awards finalist in the Culture Category. He was a finalist at the West Africa Media Awards in Health Reporting and in Informed Commentary at the (DAME Awards) Diamond Awards for Media Excellence. In 2019, he was listed among 100 Most Influential People in Nigerian Politics by YNaija. He currently works as the editor-in-chief at Opera News Nigeria. 

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