Women Radio Grooms 21st Century Female Investigative Reporters 

Participants were exposed to the rudiments of undercover reporting   and were well equipped to tell impactful, women-centred stories .

There were in-depth presentations on investigative tools ,data journalism,  facts checking  and safety of female  investigative reporters

Other aspects treated at the training included: Principles of writing for journalism and how to advance from telling telling the story to showing it .

Another highlight of the programme was the opportunity given to some ex graduates of the centre to share their experiences , exploits and major breakthroughs.

One of them ,simply identified as Ramatu spoke of a breathtaking exploits which eventually led to unraveling of a notorious  act of  a quack in Jo’s ,who indulged in serial abortions for the minors.

One of the facilitators and publisher of Premium Times,Dapo Olorunyomi, described the participants as a “unique class”.

According to him,  due to the challenges and barriers faced by women, it was expedient that an institution like WRC was developed to focus on these problems.He urged the participants to help the society understand the problems that confront women by telling compelling and impactful stories.

“Increasingly, the society is witnessing greater odds, barriers and hedges against the progress of women. The truth is that the portrayal of women and their issues are not getting better in the media,” he said.

“For that reason, there is a need to have an institution that will give attention to these kinds of problems. And it so happens that the Women Radio Centre is uniquely placed. And I know no other organisation of its type in the country that is available for this kind of mission. And again, you see that the challenge meets its full match in WFM.

“Help us resolve these huge problems of these women by making us understand it. Help free women. This class is a very unique class. Very smart people. I see their pitches too, and they have the best coaches as well.”

The Chief executive officer (CEO) WRC , Toun Okewale-Sonaiya, who  expressed delight over the success of the training said it was important to train women journalists to better tell the stories that affect their gender.

Sonaiya explained that of the 388 applicants, only 20 were selected, adding that the centre would have loved to see all applicants trained but could not due to financial constraints.

“It’s very important for women to tell the story of other women. If we do not empower and build the capacity of female journalists to do their work well, our stories will not be reported properly.

“We think women in the profession need to be skilled to perform and compete with men. We are not saying men cannot tell our story, we are only saying that men can tell our story but a woman would tell it better.

“My charge for all of them is to look out for those stories that are not reported — whether positive or negative. There are a lot of stories of women doing impactful things in their communities. Look for them, tell their stories.

“Let them serve as inspiration so that we can find more women to do the things they are doing, and where there are issues, whether it is our leaders in the private or public sectors mismanaging funds or not doing what they are supposed to do, please hold them responsible.”

“As of today, we have trained 63 journalists. That’s the capacity we have. Over the three-year period, we’ve had over 3,000 applicants. We would really love to keep training.

“There are so many unreported stories of women. And we found out that when we build the capacity of the female journalists in their communities across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria, they will be able to tell the stories from their angles.”

Sonaiya who noted that the facilitators were all carefully selected urged the participants to make the centre proud by churning out compelling stories that would lead to policy changes in the country.

“We have also carefully selected the trainers. They are practising journalists, lecturers from Bayero University Kano (BUK)… to help them conduct proper investigative journalism,” she said.

Professor Suleiman Yar’ dua from Bayero University, Kano also expressed delight about the huge interest of female journalists in investigative reporting .

Some participants who spoke after the programme  said the testing had broadened their horizons .They promised to give back in appreciation gender centred stories  by promoting enterprise journalism.