Admin l Thursday, June 22, 2023
LAGOS – Nigerian journalist, Philip Obaji, on Wednesday night was awarded the 2023 One World Media International Journalist of the Year prize in a ceremony that took place in London, becoming the first Nigerian to receive the honour.
The One World Media International Journalist of the Year award recognizes a filmmaker or journalist working in any medium who has made the most outstanding contribution to international journalism during the past year.
The 37-year-old correspondent for The Daily Beast – known for his investigations into the activities of the Russian Wagner Private Military Company – won the prestigious award ahead of The Independent international correspondent, Bel Trew, and the Financial Times Africa editor, David Pilling, both of whom were shortlisted along with Obaji for the award last month.
In awarding the prize to Obaji, One World Media noted that his reports last year on Russian involvement in conflict across Africa “helped change the way the world understood the Wagner Group” and his two and a half year investigation into Facebook’s use as a marketplace for underaged girls uncovered the carelessness of the social media giant.
Obaji’s younger brother, Bryan, received the award on behalf of the journalist, who had traveled to Pamplona, Spain, to accept the Jaime Brunet International Prize for the promotion of human rights, an award that had previously been won by Pope Francis and the Dalai Lama.
The International Journalist of the Year award is one of 15 categories of the One World Media Awards, which celebrate the media’s best coverage of the global south, spotlighting underreported stories that break stereotypes, change the narrative and connect people across cultures.
