The Future Nigeria

Ogunseye Oluwatoyosi Esther, 25

Investigative journalist at The Punch Newspaper with a minimum of 4 news stories published weekly, her major report in 2009 was investigating the debtor companies published by the Central Bank of Nigeria to discover some of the companies were fictitious. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission took up the matter and conducted further investigations that revealed that some of the companies belonged to the sacked chiefs.  She was 1^st runner-up, Young Journalist Award (2008), Business and Social Responsibility Reporter of the Year, Peak Media Award (2008) and Judiciary Reporter of the Year, Dame Media Award 2009.

Chinedu Oluwayomi Iroche, 29

The entertainment editor of NEXT Newspapers, he has been responsible for the daily entertainment pages since the daily launched in August this year, and some of his major stories include his Michael Jackson @ 51 and Jay-Z @ 40 stories.

Agbroko Aruona Jennifer, 27

Investigative journalist at NEXT Newspaper on the Socio–Political desk.  She also wrote 7 articles on Bilharzia in Ogun State 5 articles on demolition in Port Harcourt, and her job involved writing 1 story per day, 30 stories a month. She was selected as a participant in the Chimamanda Adiche and British council writing workshops, is a fellow of Nigerian leadership initiative future leaders’ seminar (2009)

Aminat Alhassan, 30

Alhassan is a journalist at Daily Trust Newspaper with published stories from various sectors ranging from womanhood, investigative report, health issues e.t.c. One of her major stories reported in 2009 was on the series of impact NBG project – a woman interest story (investigation).  6-8 of her stories are published per edition. She has been awarded Reporter of the Month three times in Daily Trust.

Afolabi Oyekoya, 30

The entertainment editor of City People magazine has in the past year conducted exclusive interviews with several Nollywood stars including K1 (on his health), the NURTW boss, 2face women, Sumbo Ajaba, and Fathia Balogun  and a story on how young guys have gone into money ritual(yahoo plus). Oyekoya has been recognised in Ireland, and as the UK entertainment Journalist of the Year (Media Nite Out Awards). He was Outstanding Entertainment Journalist 2009 at the 4^th outstanding achievers award.

Segun Adeoye, 29

Adeoye is a Staff writer of TELL Magazine and also Special Correspondent for Broad Street Journal. He anchored the cover story on the “Dawn of a New Lagos”, which turned out to be a huge report on the transformation in Lagos. He was elected Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, TELL Chapel, was a recipient of 2009 Joel Belz International Media Fellowship, a 2009 alumnus of The Fund for American Studies, which sponsored him to the 1^st Nigerian on a week journalism training to the European Journalism Institute, in Prague, Czech and a member of the International League of Young Journalists group based in Russia. He was also a 2009 Nominee of the Nigeria Media Merit Award in the Environmental Reporting Category.

Rachel Ogbu, 25.

Ogbu is a Senior Staff Writer at Newswatch Magazine and News Extra columnist who perhaps predicted the death of Michael Jackson in a story; “Is this a Suicide Mission?” in March 2009.  She has also written cover reports on Michael Jackson and an exclusive interview with Mohammed Fawehinmi, son of the late Gani Fawehinmi. She reported on the economic crisis “On Death Row” and chased a government convoy in a salon car from Bayelsa to Imo to report the exclusive story of Forest Whittaker finding his ancestral roots in Imo State and Danny Glover. She is a 2009 MA Media Student at the University of Bedfordshire, UK and was in2008 nominated for this same award. In the same period, she also reported for the Bank PHB Inspired Magazine, CNN ireport and NEXT.

Funke Adetutu, 29

Winner of this award last year, she moved from assistant editor to editor of the Business Life desk at Business Day Newspapers in the one year period, making her the paper’s only female editor.   She was winner of a 2-month Fellowship from the Netherlands government to attend a course on Internet for Journalist at the Radio Netherlands Training Centre (RNTC). In 2009, major reports included ‘A generation of Female Potters’, ‘Once Upon a Generation of Oloola,’ ‘Shomolu’s Multimillion naira Printing Slum,’ ‘Shylock Landlords, Helpless Tenants,’ ‘Lagos Renewal Projects and the Plights of the Displaced’ among others. She also started the weekend column called Sstarters and interviews of people like Fela Durotoye, Ade Bantu, Kate Henshaw-Nuttal, Peace Anyim-Osigwe of AMAA, among others.