In our FOCUS Report, Blessing Osemobor writes of the Female Reporters Leadership Programme (FRLP) by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism ( WSCIJ) which has enhanced the career and leadership potentials of participants.
Having earlier applied twice and not selected for the Female Reporters Leadership Programme (FRLP) by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism ( WSCIJ), Features and Opinion Writer with Hope Newspaper, Akure, Mary Agidi was reluctant to apply for the 2025 edition when she got the email call for participants and a message about it on Whatsapp from a male colleague.
She expressed her concern about her previous failed attempts with the male colleague who insisted that she should, noting that her articles and opinions should qualify her for selection this time.
Agidi heeded the advice, and to her surprise, she was selected along with eleven other female journalists for the 6th edition of the prestigious programme, which usually attracts applications from across the country and beyond.
“This is a significant push in my journey that will help me acquire new skills and knowledge to build my capacity for newsroom leadership as a female journalist,” she wrote in her LinkedIn post.
Others chosen from a competitive pool of 160 applicants include:
Melony Ishola – Head of Programmes, Video Unit, PUNCH
Aisha Gambo – Senior Correspondent, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
Jemilat Nasiru – Staff Writer, TheCable
Juliet Buna – Reporter and Editor, Crest 91.1FM
Bilkis Lawal – Reporter and Editor, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (Bond FM)
Rasheedat Iliyas – Manager, News and Current Affairs, Radio Nigeria Harmony FM
Temitope Obayendo – Online Editor, Pharmanews
Dana Zagi – Gender Lead, Media Trust Group
Chigozie Victor – Senior Editor, Zikoko Citizen, Big Cabal Media
Christiana Alabi-Akande – Managing Editor, Development Reporting Service
Gloria Attah – News Anchor and Reporter, Clearview Television
Like Agidi, her other colleagues are excited about their selection and are looking forward to the immense learning and networking opportunity the programme will offer them.
“Looking forward with enthusiasm to the commencement of the Fellowship, where we shall be learning and pushing the boundaries of possibilities in women’s leadership in newsrooms and news in Nigeria,” Online Editor, Pharmanews, Obayendo also wrote on her LinkedIn page.
If the 12 new participants complete the six-month training, they would join 86 fellows who have been inducted over five cohorts since the introduction of the programme in 2017 designed to equip female journalists with leadership and investigative skills while encouraging greater gender diversity in newsroom leadership positions.
Participants in the programme undergo intensive training and mentorship sessions that will equip them with the skills to lead gender-focused projects in their organisations and promote women’s voices in the media.
The four key focuses of the fellowship include:
Leadership Development: Building the capacity of female journalists to take on leadership roles within their organisations.
Investigative Reporting: Strengthening skills in producing in-depth, gender-sensitive investigative stories.
Mentorship and Networking: Providing one-on-one mentorship and encouraging peer learning.
Institutional Engagement: Supporting fellows to initiate gender-focused leadership projects within their newsrooms.
How Participants Are Selected
Selection for the FRLP is based on a rigorous process that evaluates candidates’ leadership potential, experience in investigative journalism, and commitment to promoting gender equality.
Advancing Women’s Role in Journalism
The fellowship, which is part of the broader Report Women! The news and Newsroom Engagement project is aimed at strengthening women’s leadership in the media and promoting gender-focused investigative journalism in Nigeria.
The FRLP is a continuation of WSCIJ’s decade-long effort to improve women’s representation in newsrooms and media reports. Since launching the Report Women! Initiative in 2014, WSCIJ trained 537 journalists across Nigeria and Ghana, supported 136 investigative stories, and initiated 138 leadership projects. The Centre has also produced six documentaries, published six research reports on women’s representation in the media, and launched a female experts’ source guide.
At graduation ceremony for participants who are declared fellows, the best three Investigative reports and Leadership projects are rewarded with cash prizes and gadgets.
Impact
Many fellows of the programme have attested to the impact of the training and mentoring they received on their careers.
Publisher of BONews, Blessing Oladunjoye, who participated in the 2023 cohort, described the fellowship as a turning point in her journalism career.
“The FRLP is a prestigious fellowship that has helped to advance my career as a journalist. The training sessions were intensive, and the mentorship was one-on-one and in-depth, which helped to shape my work as an investigative journalist. Being inducted as a fellow and joining the community of the Female Reporters Network is the height of it, as you get support from sisters across the country to help you do your work,” she said.
Head of South-South Bureau of The Guardian who is a fellow of the programme said “My career journey has been tremendously impacted by this programme. I have enjoyed countless opportunities both national and international after my encounter with this network. A place where values are created, mindset shifted, where the potentials in you are ignited and fired up.”
Before participating in the 2021 FRLP) Osaruonamen Ibizugbe, formerly of ITV Abuja did not see herself playing a leadership role in the media despite having been a journalist for seven years. During that time, Ibizugbe worked on a popular youth-focused television program “YOUTHS CAN” on ITV and interviewed many prominent persons.
Ibizugbe however, now actively takes responsibility for training her colleagues and is now the Project Officer Media in Gender at the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID).
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