Team Lead, Platforms Africa headlines webinar titled; ‘Experience sharing by experts in the natural resource sector,’ a part of an ongoing intervention by IDEP to help African journalists better report the extractive sector
Team Lead Platforms Africa, Adeola Yusuf, has shared Investigative Journalism Experience with journalists across Africa at the United Nations African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP) Event.
Yusuf, a multiple award-winning journalist, spoke as a panelist at a webinar titled; ‘Experience sharing by experts in the natural resource sector,’ a part of an ongoing intervention by IDEP to help African journalists better report the extractive sector.
Stating that the extractive sector is a highly technical industry with multi-billion dollars investments, Yusuf who once edited the energy pages of some national dailies in Nigeria including Daily Independent and New Telegraph, maintained that reporting the sector requires experience, meticulousness and investigative journalism tendencies.
READ ALSO: 128 print newspapers shut down, fire thousands of journalists in 24 hours
NURSING FATHER: Nigeria Begins Paternity Leave For Civil Servants
Best Journalists In Nigeria: List of Who Won What at 2022 NMMA
FAPEF Names Adeola Yusuf Panelist for Africa Economic, Financial Forum
Platforms Africa Team Lead, Adeola Yusuf, Delivers Federal Poly Ilaro AMACOS Lecture
“Firstly, the general comment that there is lack of data in extractive industry is not entirely true. We all need to know that the data is available, even though it may not be off-the-shelf; some data are in technical terms, some dolled out at various sessions or panels of local and international conferences, some are domiciled on the websites of some agencies while some are actually in the briefing notes or AGM documents of firms. In some cases you, as a journalist, has to check to check the appropriate sources.
He declared that Investigative journalism and Interpretative Journalism are key ingredients for successful coverage of the Natural Resource sector.
Sharing experience of over two decades in journalism, Yusuf who, on March 3, 2022,
published the exclusive story on NNPC’s cancellation of ExxonMobil’s sale of $1.6 billion asset to Seplat, which later went viral, noted that keeping and nourishing relationship with sources are key ingredients for successfully reporting the extractive sector.
Reacting to a question on perceived people’s apathy towards journalists, Yusuf stated that the people actually need someone trust worthy to divulge key information to. Their apathy may be a result of lack of trust.
“Journalism ethics reiterate that you must protect your sources and any journalist who betrays a trust has not only destroys another opportunity but also created a big trust deficit for colleagues in the ye of the sources,” he said.
Letters earlier sent by IDEP program officers, Charles H. Bara and Kemi Busari, to Yusuf, said that the Team Lead of Platforms Africa “will be on a panel session with three other journalists from West Africa to share your experience in reporting or helping journalists report the natural resource sector. Key question areas will include the following: What’s your experience reporting or helping journalists to report the extractive sector?
“What’s your most significant story? Also, share the process of doing the story. What are the challenges you face in reporting the sector?
“What areas do you consider not well covered and would want journalists to focus more on? It’s generally perceived that there’s a dearth of data in the sector; what strategies do you deploy in getting data?”
An investigative journalist of repute, Adeola Yusuf has, at the global stage and within Nigeria, won many journalism awards, fellowships, bursaries and recognitions.
He is a winner of the African Investigative Journalism Conference (AIJC) Bursary Award, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2016. He was in Nairobi, Kenya in 2017 as a winner of the Tax Justice Network Africa (TJN-A’s) Bursary on Tax evasion and illicit finance reporting in Africa.
Yusuf is also a two-time winner, Thomson Reuters Foundation Scheme on Illicit Trade and Finance Reporting in Africa held in Kampala, Uganda, 2015 and 2016.
He won the 2021 Best Story category of the Chevron/Pan-Atlantic University AWARES Alumni Award.
He has, in line of duty as a journalist, travelled to some of the major cities of the World for conferences, seminars and Workshop. He was in London, United Kingdom (UK) for Gulf of Guinea (GoG) conference (2011). He has, on many occasions travelled to Houston, Texas, the acclaimed oil and gas capital of the World for Offshore Technology Conference (OTC). He also attended a conference of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), among others.
His media experience spanned the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), the Ogun State Television (OGTV), The Monitor Newspaper, TheWEEK magazine, DAILYSUN Newspaper, Daily Independent, New Telegraph among others.
He is a sought-after financial and energy (oil, gas, power, renewables) policy analyst who is a regular face on News Central TV, Television Continental (TVC), Channels Television, Lagos Television, NTA, Ogun State Television (OGTV), Radio One, Women Radio, Mainland FM as well as Radio Lagos.
