Journalist and publisher of BONews, Blessing Oladujoye, who emerged as the winner of the Most Active User category of the FOI Act in the Goodluck Jonathan Freedom of Information (FOI) Awards, organised by the Media Rights Agenda, explains her motivation, experiences and challenges.
What informed your use of FOI as much as you have?
The first time I submitted an FOI request was in 2020, even though I had been trained long before then about the importance of FOI and how to make the request.
But I never used it because people consider you a troublemaker if you make an FOI request. However, I needed to get information for a story I was working on, and I thought I should make a request. I made the request, no response, I followed up, and there was still no response. I was disappointed, but that didn’t deter me from making requests subsequent times.
What has been your experience using the FOI Act?
You won’t always get responses, but you won’t know until you make the request. I have seen instances where the requests were not even collected at all; some would refer you to another MDA because they don’t want ‘wahala. Some others would even acknowledge your request and not specifically respond to it.
What has really worked for you?
I have made requests in different parts of the country, and we know that not all public institutions are familiar with emails. This means I need to deliver physical copies. So, working with colleagues across different parts of the country has been helpful to deliver these requests.
What have been your challenges?
Non- response is the major challenge, but that’s also a story to write about. If an FOI request isn’t responded to, it means there’s something off somewhere; dig deeper.
Advice for journalists who want to get better at using the FOI Act
1. You need to get started. Don’t procrastinate.
2. You don’t have to be bothered about whether it would be responded to, just make the request.
3. There are media rights groups, like Media Rights Agenda, that can support you with drafting requests, following up and litigation.
