It was weekend of celebrations for Nigerian journalists as they emerged the biggest winners at the 2015 CNN/Multichoice African Journalist of the Year Awards held in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.
However, though Nigerians recorded the highest number of winners in four categories, it was Burkina Faso – based Senegalese journalist, Hyacinthe Boowurosigue Sanou, who nicked the overall prize of 2015 Journalist of the Year Award.
The four Nigerians who excelled at the awards are Tribune’s Adewale Olugbenga Emosu, Premium TImes’ Ibanga Isine and Punch’s duo of Femi Joshua Asu and Arukaino Umukoro.
Nigerian Tribune’s Emosu bagged the Culture Award while Punch’s Asu and Punch’s Umokoro won the Ecobank Economics and Business Award and the Sport Reporting Award respectively, just as Premium Times’ Isine picked the Coca-Cola Company News Impact Award.
Full list of awards and winners
Culture Award – Adewale Olugbenga Emosu (Nigeria)
Dow Technology & Innovation Reporting Award – Sarah Wild (Mail & Guardian, South Africa)
Ecobank Economics & Business Award – Femi Joshua Asu (Nigeria)
Features Award – Julie Lauren & Jacqueline Jayamaha (South Africa)
Francophone General News Award (Print) – Hyacinthe Boowurosigue Sanou (Burkina Faso/Senegal)
Francophone General News Award (Electronic Media) – Ibrahim Diallo (Senegal)
GE Energy & Infrastructure Award – Herman Verwey (South Africa)
Mohamed Amin Photographic Award – Herman Verwey
MSD Health & Medical Award – Enoch Sikolia & Charles Kariuki (South Africa)
Portuguese Language General News Award (Print) – Carl Goncalves (Cape Verde)
Portuguese Language General News Award (Electronic Media) – Pedro Maxi Pereira Ndoma (Angola)
Sport Reporting Award – Arukaino Umukoro (Nigeria)
The African Development Bank & Environment Award – Thomas Naadi Bitlegma (Ghana)
The Coca-Cola Company News Impact Award – Ibanga Isine (Nigeria)
Press Freedom Award – Zacharie Flash Ndiomo (Cameroon)