A Staff Writer at The Liberalist, Usman Yakubu Usman, has been selected for the HumAngle Foundation’s Strengthening Community Journalism and Human Rights Advocacy in Northern Nigeria (SCOJA) Fellowship for 2025, to cover local communities in Nasarawa State.
The SCOJA Fellowship is a six-month program launched by the HumAngle Foundation to promote accountability for human rights violations in rural contexts and advance locally led solutions across Northern Nigeria. The fellowship targets community journalists and advocates from nine states, including Benue, Niger, Nasarawa, Plateau, Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Kaduna, and Kano.
Selected fellows would participate in an intensive three-day training in one of three focal states, Kaduna, Plateau, or Borno, followed by a six-month engagement period where they will produce investigative reports and implement advocacy initiatives. The fellowship provides comprehensive training in various areas, including human rights advocacy and accountability reporting, digital safety and physical security for journalists, conflict-sensitive reporting, and climate change advocacy, among others.
Over the next six months, Usman will be expected to produce at least three in-depth reports on community issues, develop and implement one significant advocacy initiative, participate in monthly surveys and virtual sessions, and conduct step-down training to share knowledge with his colleagues at The Liberalist.
“During the initial training, I felt well-equipped with practical skills to enter the nook and cranny of my local communities to tell the stories that are often overlooked. The sessions reminded me of my duty as a community journalist, I learnt the art of conflict mapping, the art of neutral storytelling in a polarised environment,” said Usman.
He continued: “The most interesting part of the training is the session on the art of accountability journalism, perhaps because I have a strong interest in accountability journalism. My long-term focus is on grassroots development, particularly for communities that have often been overlooked and deprived of basic amenities. I feel motivated to pursue this impactful reporting exercise with renewed vigour.”
