Nigerian journalists have been enjoined to work harder to expose corrupt practices in the country.
Multiple award winning journalist Ibanga Isine gave the advice in his speech after winning the Investigative Journalist category of the 14th Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporters in Lagos.
The investigative journalist said Nigerian journalists stand among the best in the world going by the environment they operate in without modern gadgets to work with unlike their counterparts in the developed world.
Isine who works at the Next Edition Newspaper, Abuja was best among 13 finalists after emerging the investigative reporter of the year with a N50,000 cash price.
His work which was aimed at exposing systematic extortions and corruption of Nigerian security officials on Nigerian roads won him the award.
According to him the brunt of such corrupt practices are borne by Nigerians in form of high prices of food stuffs and high level of frustration in the country.
The investigative reporter had acted as an undercover reporter traveling with a trailer for three days from Adamawa to Lagos. On the journey according to him, he counted over 120 police check-points where money was extorted from the traders.
“We are the best journalists in the world going by the environment we operate in,” he said.
“I want to encourage our colleagues to do the needful, we should not allow things to rest; a lot of things are happening.
“Put your eyes on the ground, we are the best journalists in the world. If we have the right environment we can perform miracles. When people say Nigerian journalists collect brown envelopes, I laugh. We work with bare hands.
“Let us rise up to defend this profession and defend Nigeria because this country belongs to all of us,” he said while dedicating the award to his family.
“I dedicate this award to my child and my wife. They allow me to go for long following stories and I appreciate them,” he said.
