New winners for Nigerian Young Journalist of the Year award

Nike Ashogbon and Tosin Makinde have emerged as joint winners of the 2009 Nigerian Young Journalists of the Year award.

The entries of Ashogbon and Makinde, who worked as interns for The Nation newspaper, a daily newspaper, with head office in Lagos, Nigeria, were adjudged as the best out of the entries that were entered by the 11 entrants who entered for the awards. The award, which is in its 4th edition, is targeted at encouraging young journalists, for their various efforts in journalism. The runners-up were Ifeoma Osaka, from Voice of Nigeria, and Ishaya Ibrahim, from Newswatch magazine. It is the first time there would be a joint winner in the award.

For this year’s award, a new category was included – the Student Campus Journalist of the Year category, which focused on showcasing campus journalists, using the power of the pen to influence their immediate community (their university campuses), as well as the society at large. In this category, Olufisayo Soyombo, from the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, emerged winner. He becomes the first winner in the new category. His runners-up were Vincent Nzemeke, from Delta State University, Delta State, and Hannah Ojo, from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.

The panel of judges, included Mrs Betty Abah, a 2006 Alfred Friendly Press Fellow, and Project Manager, Environmental Rights Agenda; Dr. Tola Sunday, a lecturer at the department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos, Lagos State, and Mr Segun Adeoye, Staff Writer, TELL magazine, and Member, International League of Young Journalists, based in Russia.

Speaking on behalf of the judges, Mr Adeoye said the entries for the two categories were of very high quality, giving the judges value for their time. “The entries for this year were of very high standard, and it presented a very stiffly competitive competition,” he said.

Mr Lekan Otufodunrin, chief executive officer of the Media Career Services, organizers of the awards, said, “The future of any profession is in the younger generation, just as the future of any nation is in its youth, and that is why we are targeting young journalists, so that they will see the doors of opportunities, which journalism can open for them.”

The winner of the 2008 edition, was Miss Ademilola Bilewomo, a Staff Writer with TELL magazine. Mr Adeoye, who is also a member of the judging panel, was the winner of the 2007 edition. Adeshina Oyetayo, a former staff of TELL magazine won the maiden edition in 2005, and later became a runner-up in a category of the 2006 CNN African Journalists Awards.

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