The recent announcement of the change of the name of the former Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ) to Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) did not come to us as a surprise.
Based on the various programmes implemented by the centre, not only in Nigeria but the West Africa region, for about eight years now, it was obvious that the foremost media Non-Governmental Organisation has expanded its scope of operations beyond its original mission.
From the initial goal of enhancing investigative reporting in the country, PTCIJ, established in 2014 has commendably been utilizing more thorough investigative journalism, open data and civic technology to advocate for fundamental human rights, good governance and accountability in West Africa.
The training by the organisation through its projects including DUBAWA, independent verification and fact-checking platform, UDEME, a platform for holding government accountable on developmental funds and spending, Natural Resources Extractive and Climate Change Program, Campus Reporters and others have impacted the media and various development sectors.
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Having been able to expand its scope of activity as a sub-regional organisation, and enlarged its mission beyond promoting investigative journalism to now serve as a think tank for innovation and development within the West African media ecosystem, we agree that the change of name to Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) and the transition is long overdue.
As the CJID Chief Executive Officer, Dapo Olorunyomi stated, “The next decade calls for an expanded purpose in the fulfilment of a noble mission to improve governance, promote a community of harmony, and entrench democratic accountability in the West African sub-region.”
Nigeria and indeed the region need a vibrant organization with a track record like the new CJID to promote good governance through empowered journalists with necessary new tools and skills.
The media like other sectors is going through so many rapid changes and there is a need for constant innovation to cope with the digital disruption that CJID is committed to.
CIJD should review and enhance its existing programmes as it seeks to expand its reach. It should take on only programmes it has the capacity and support to implement and not spread itself too thin to be effective as it has been in past years.