2007 Gatekeepers Visit Nigeria at a Crucial Moment
Twelve senior U.S. editors spent 10 days in Nigeria to learn about a variety of key issues facing Africa’s most populous country in the run-up to critical elections that could determine the fate of civilian rule.
The editors came to Nigeria on a trip organized by the International Reporting Project (IRP) at The Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Each year, the IRP organizes a trip to an important country overseas designed to give U.S. “Gatekeeper Editors” an opportunity to understand the issues so they can help improve coverage of that country. All costs of the trips are paid entirely by the IRP, which is an independent organization of journalists. The IRP has a policy of not accepting any government support, whether it be from the United States or any other country.
In Nigeria, the editors interviewed President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is scheduled to leave office this spring after two four-year terms as president of the country of 140 million people. The editors also interviewed Vice President Atiku Abubakar, a candidate to succeed Obasanjo. The two men are involved in a bitter political feud and each accuses the other of corruption, as they did in their interviews with the Gatekeepers. The editors interviewed another presidential candidate, Professor Pat Utomi. The editors also requested interviews with two other leading presidential candidates – Governor Umaru Yar’Adua of Katsina state and General Muhammadu Buhari – but both men were unavailable to meet with the group.
The editors traveled to Abuja, Lagos and Kano. Because of security concerns in the oil-rich Niger Delta, where local militias have kidnapped foreign oil workers – the editors did not travel to that region. However, they met with several Nigerian and foreign residents of the region – including a high-ranking executive of a large multi-national oil company – who traveled to Abuja to meet with the editors.
In addition to examining the prospects for the upcoming April 2007 elections and the future of the conflict-ridden Delta, the editors met with Islamic leaders in Kano – including the Emir of Kano – in the center of Nigeria’s mostly-Muslim northern area. They also interviewed the Governor of Kano and several of his top aides to learn about the needs of the north.
The Gatekeepers spent several days in the teeming city of Lagos, home to many of the country’s largest business houses and media conglomerates. Editors met with the representatives of leading manufacturers and with the representative of one of the country’s largest telecommunications firms. Editors also visited Ajegunle, a community of about five million persons that is sometimes called Africa’s largest slum, as well as the poor riverine communities in the lagoons of Lagos. Seeking to get a taste of Nigeria’s vibrant cultural life, the editors also met with musicians, poets and writers.
In Abuja, the group interviewed Nuhu Ribadu, the head of Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which has been credited by some as taking major steps to combat corruption but criticized by some as being overly politicized in its choices of cases to prosecute.
The editors also met with students at all levels, from elementary schools to colleges, with diplomats, doctors and health officials, scholars and political scientists, editors and reporters, the heads of women’s organizations, lawyers and judges and human rights activists.
“It was incredibly rewarding to get the chance to get out and experience a country where news is happening NOW,” said Karin Howard, an assistant foreign editor at the Los Angeles Times, one of the participants on the trip. She said the trip “can only help in my paper’s coverage of the upcoming elections” and other stories from Nigeria.
Meghan Sullivan, deputy editor of WashingtonPost.com, said: “The trip was extremely valuable. There is nothing that can compare to experiencing something first-hand. The knowledge about the issues Nigeria faces that I have gained from this trip will be helpful in determining the significance of news coming out of the country and the region – especially during the upcoming presidential elections and in reference to issues related to the Niger Delta.”
Organizations and individuals who participated in the trip were:
Gail Bensinger, foreign editor, San Francisco Chronicle
William Duryea, national editor, St. Petersburg Times
Ronald Dzwonkowski, editorial page editor, Detroit Free Press
Stephanie Giry, senior editor, Foreign Affairs
Roy M. Greene, deputy foreign editor, Boston Globe
Carol Hills, producer, “The World,” WGBH/BBC/PRI
Karin Howard, assistant foreign editor, Los Angeles Times
Rebecca Roberts, nation/world editor, Journal-Star (Lincoln, NE)
Didrik Schanche, foreign desk editor, National Public Radio
David C. Scott, international news editor, Christian Science Monitor
Meghan Collins Sullivan, deputy editor, WashingtonPost.com
June Thomas, foreign editor, Slate
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