A STORY funded by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (The ICIR) under its Open Contracting Reporting Project, (OCRP) has won the 2024 Investigative category of the Next Gen Alfred Opubor Awards for campus journalists in Nigeria.
The report, ‘Niger communities suffer as Auna Dam project remains uncompleted despite 38 years of investments’ by Abubakar Abdulrasheed, a journalist who freelanced with The ICIR and participated in its 2023 OCRP, was adjudged the best investigative report by a campus journalist out of the pool of entries submitted for the award.
The award, presented by Netherlands Ambassador, Bengt van Loosdrecht, and the deputy director, Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) Busola Ajibola, was announced on Wednesday, November 27, during the closeout dinner of the CJID’s Media Development Conference 2024.
The award, along with two others in the Environment and Health category, earned him the award of Campus Journalist of the Year, bringing Abdulrasheed’s total to four awards.
For each of the three award categories, Abubakar received a plaque and a cash prize of N150,000 while also receiving N200,000 for winning the Campus Journalist of the Year.
According to the organiser, (the CJID), the Next Gen Alfred Opubor Awards for campus journalists in Nigeria by the Centre’s Next Gen/Campus Reporter project, recognised excellence across various categories.
The awards also celebrated exceptional campus journalists who have demonstrated a strong commitment to promoting accountability, transparency, and integrity in their reporting.
Meanwhile, the award-winning story revealed how over 20 communities around Auna River in Niger State have endured nearly four decades of unfulfilled promises since giving up their lands for the Auna Dam project.
Despite over N20 billion in government funding and repeated contract revisions since the project began in 1985, The ICIR reported that the dam remains incomplete, leaving residents without potable water, electricity, or irrigation for farming.
The project, initially awarded to S.C.C (Nigeria) Limited for N27 million, has seen its cost revised upward multiple times, reaching N40.2 billion by 2017. Despite claims of 61 per cent completion by the government, Fiscal Responsibility Commission records show actual progress at only 52 per cent.
Mismanagement, poor planning, and multiple abandonments have plagued the project, with hydropower features excluded and irrigation targets scaled back.
A proud moment for Abubakar
Abubakar, a Mathematics graduate from the Federal University of Technology, Minna, FUTMINNA, expressed profound fulfilment after winning the award for an investigative category.
According to him, the story, which he said was a product of five months of meticulous research and guidance from his OCRP mentor, was important as he revealed the ordeal of the residents in Niger State.
He stressed that the investigation was conducted using skills gained from OCR project training, which emphasised in-depth research, impactful data, and advanced journalistic tools.
The journalist credited these methods for the story’s success, which has also earned a nomination for the Youth Digest Journalism Award, set to take place next month.
“Winning the award made me feel fulfilled by the work I’ve done over time. The most exciting moment was when my ICIR-supported story was presented as the best investigative story. It was a five-month investigation under the guidance of my excellent mentor, Mr. Dayo, who often pushed me to dive deep into uncovering the truth about the subject. The story turned out to be one of my best stories and I’m very proud of. It was also nominated for the Youth Digest Journalism Award coming up next month,” Abubakar said.
He added “I’m happy to tell people’s stories, and I’m grateful that my efforts are being recognised. The efforts weren’t in vain and I’m proud of myself, and I know this is just the beginning.”
Another ICIR-funded story shine at the event
Similarly, Taiwo Falola became the first runner-up in the Best Budgetary Procurement category for a story he authored on “how Osun government awarded N1.3bn projects to non-existent companies.
The report shows that projects worth N1.3 billion were awarded to non-existent companies between 2019 and 2021 during the tenure of former Governor Gboyega Oyetola.
It noted how the government failed to fulfill its promises of promoting healthy competition, efficiency, equal opportunities, the laws and standards.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M