Tag: NSJID

The Nigeria Sports Journalists in Diaspora at the weekend splashed N2m on the winners of the maiden edition of the Grassroots Award for deserving journalists in prints, radio, television and online as they try to encourage young and upcoming journalists in Nigeria.

Jacob Ajom of Vanguard Newspapers beat Abiodun Adewale and Olawale Olaniran to the print award, while Channels’ TV’s Cecelia Omorogbe was the winner in the television category.

Hassan Abdulsalam of Pulse Sports Nigeria emerged the winner in the Social/Online media category ahead of Samuel Ahmadu and Naifooty with Maxwell Lawrence the winner in Radio ahead of Dayo Amusan and Tony Bekederemo.

The organisers announced the winning prize of N500,000 to each winner while the national SWAN announced a token to support all the winners.

Speaking during the event that took place at the Media Hall of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria, Lagos State chapter, National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, the chairman of the occasion, former Secretary General of the Nigeria Football Federation, Dr. Bolaji Ojo-Oba, applauded the organisers for coming up with the award, describing the sport media as set of people that moulded him during his days as an administrator as he congratulated all the winners.

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Also at the occasion was the national president of SWAN, Benjamin Isaiah, who praised the people in the diaspora for giving back to the society especially those in the media.

One of the winners, Omorogbe of Channels TV said it was a big surprise for her especially emerging winner.

“I never expected the award, I really want to dedicate it to all the media personnel in the country and I really want to thank the organisers and also all the people that we were nominated together, we are all winners,” she said.

The chairman of the organizing committee of the award, Gboyega Okegbenro, said: “Putting this event together, I can tell you for free, has not been one of the easiest tasks because this is the very first edition of these awards, a lot of the things may not look as perfect as they should be, but we urge you to bear with us, to run with us, and together we will do better editions in the future.”

Eminent Sports personalities like Dr Rafiu Ladipo of the supporters Club and Mr. Godwin Kienka were also at the occasion.

After weeks of anticipation, countless nominations, and fierce competition, top sports journalists have emerged as nominees for the 2024 best grassroots reporting award.

The awards, which is the very first edition, is being organized by the Nigeria Sports Journalists in Diaspora.

Tomorrow,  March 7, the Nigerian Sports Journalists in Diaspora (NSJID) will unveil the winners of the inaugural Grassroots Sports Reporting Award, a ground-breaking initiative designed to unearth hidden sports news and propel Nigerian sports to unprecedented heights!

Will it be Abiodun Adewale, Olawale Olaniran, or Jacob Ajom who takes home the coveted prize in Print Journalism?  Or perhaps Dayo Amusan, Maxwell Lawrence, or Tony Bekederemo to reign supreme in Radio Broadcasting?

And it could be any of these broadcasters: Blessing Nwosu, Cecilia Omoregbe, and Boluwaji Ogunmola for the Television category.

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And in the Social/Online media category, Samuel Ahmadu, Naifooty, and Hassan Abdullahi are vying for the top spot.

Winner in each of the four categories will take home N500,000.

The award is a deliberate attempt by the NSJID to encourage Nigerian sports journalists to report more developmental stories in the country. 

The chairman of the Award Committee, Chief Gboyega Okegbenro, calls on sports lovers to “Join us this Friday as we celebrate the crème de la crème of grassroots sports reporting and award the four deserving winners a staggering half a million naira each.”

The NSJID is headed by Mr. Gbenga Bakare with Eyobong Ita as Vice Chairman and Deji Sodeinde as Secretary while the awards committee headed by Okegbenro also include Tony Ubani, Adekunle Salami, Blessing Nwosu, Raheem Olatunji, John Atale, Robinson Okosun, Sàni Zaria and Yemi Ojo.