Nigerian Journalist Wins 2017 BBC Komla Dumor Award

Photo Courtesy: Daily Post
Photo Courtesy: Daily Post

Amina Yuguda, a journalist from north-eastern Nigeria has won this year’s BBC World News Komla Dumor Award.

Miss Yuguda is a news presenter on the local Gotel Television and has reported on high-profile news stories, chief among them, the Boko Haram insurgency.

This is the third in a series of an awards programme instituted by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to honor Ghanaian-born Komla Dumor, who started off his journalism career with Accra-based Joy FM, and moved on to be a renowned presenter for BBC World News.

Komla Dumor died in 2014, aged 41 after which the BBC set up the awards scheme to honor the hardworking journalist.

Speaking to the press, Miss Yuguda, who described her award as a “huge honor”, said African journalists are stepping up to the wheel in recent times.

Photo Courtesy: Ghanaweb
Photo Courtesy: Ghanaweb

“Storytellers have always had an important role in Africa… this is what defines us. Today journalists are taking on that responsibility”, she said. She added that “with little or no formal education, my countrymen can hold their own in a variety of topics, including the Trump presidency in America, North Korea’s defiance, Russia’s foreign relations under Putin, and more.”

The panel chose her among a group of other contestants primarily due to her ability to translate complex ideas into relatable stories which resonates with a wide audience.

She will start a three-month placement programme with the BBC in London starting this month.

BBC World Service Group Director Francesca Unsworth hailed Miss Yuguda’s win.

“To find someone who possesses many of Komla’s qualities is something for us to celebrate, and we are very excited about working with Amina.”

Previous winners of the Komla Dumor Award were Ugandan news anchor Nancy Kacungira and Nigerian business journalist Didi Akinyelure.

 

 

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