Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center (CISLAC) and Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) have announced the names of the six successful journalists in the second round of the Tobacco Control Investigative Journalism Fellowship which is funded by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK).
The Fellowship is to build the capacity of the Nigerian media to report tobacco control from an informed perspective and stimulate policies and actions to reduce tobacco use and its deadly toll.
It is also targeted at building and improving the public’s awareness on tobacco control and its related issues.In a statement issued jointly in Lagos, ERA/FoEN and CISLAC said that like the previous exercise, entries from the successful journalists in the second round were picked after a rigorous screening process by a panel of veteran journalists.
The six journalists are: Franklin Alli of Vanguard Newspaper, Nkoli Omohudu of Africa Independent Television, Ndubuisi Ozilo of Metro FM Lagos, Chinyere Joy Opia of Hot FM Abuja, Chizoba Nwobu of Newswatch Magazine and Dayo Aiyetan of International Center for Investigative Reporting.
“The naming of recipients of the second round of the fellowship is an indication of our resolve to continue engaging the media in exposing the antics of the tobacco industry.
“We congratulate the successful journalists and repeat again that this initiative is a turning point in investigative journalism in Nigeria,“ said ERA/FoEN Director, Corporate Accountability & Administration, Akinbode Oluwafemi.
Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Rafsanjani also said: “Like the first round, we applaud this feat by journalists who have expressed their determination to go beyond the surface activities of the tobacco corporations to digging out what they have consistently hidden from the public. This is indeed commendable”
Published entries in the first round include Emma Ogala’s How multibillion naira illicit tobacco thrives in Nigeria, putting millions at risk published in Premium Times, Smoking –Good reasons to quit by Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha of The Nation, and Godwin Haruna of ThisDay’s The Burden of Tobacco on Health.
The second round of the CTFK-funded fellowship was announced on December 5, 2013, calling on practising journalists working with national print, electronic or online media organisations to send in story ideas revolving around the following issues/themes: Tobacco Farming, Tobacco & Health, Marketing of tobacco to minors, Tobacco Smuggling, Taxation, Tobacco Industry Corporate Social Responsibility, Tobacco Prevalence and National Tobacco Control Bill legislative Process.
The journalists will receive a grant to carry out their investigative pieces.
The entries that won the second round are:
Franklin Alli’s Smoking prevalence and the National Tobacco Control Bill, Nkoli Omohudu’s Delayed Passage of the National Tobacco Control Bill and Its Impact on the Health of Nigerians, Ndubuisi Ozoilo’s Public Perception and the National Tobacco Control Bill and Dayo Aiyetan’s Tobacco Companies Targeting of Minors and Its Implications on Tobacco Control Legislation in Nigeria. Others are Chinyere Opia’s Tobacco Content and the Impact of Smoking on Health, and Chizoba Nwobu’s Health Impact of Tobacco Consumption.PROFILE OF FELLOWS