REPORTER'S DIARY: Meet Mr. Ojo Joel, the commercial driver who returned my lost phone after 11 days

Within and outside Nigeria, there is documented evidence of exceptional Nigerians exhibiting high integrity and moral standards of an uncommon nature in diverse areas. Many of these Nigerians have consistently shown that upholding values and high moral standards are matters of personal choice and decision.

11 days ago, while returning from a journey that took me to Ikeji Arakeji in Osun State, I lost my phone. That Wednesday morning, I got in a car coming from Akure en route to Osogbo. I sat alone in the front seat beside the driver until a plus-size lady joined me, making it very uncomfortable for both of us.

Every minute of the journey was painful. The seat was small; it couldn't contain the lady alone conveniently, going by her size, let alone both of us.

The journey wasn't a long journey, but the 1 hour and some minutes spent in the car was torturous and painful. My back, knees, and legs ache beyond words. By the time I finally alighted from the vehicle at Ilesa garage, it took me more than five minutes to regain my strength to move my legs.

When my legs finally regained strength to walk, I noticed that one of my two phones was missing. I tried to figure out how it happened. I then realised that due to space constraints in the vehicle, my left pocket was very close to the gear, and every time the driver tried to change the gear, his hands kept coming in contact with my pocket where the phone was kept. 

At that point, I was convinced the phone dropped in the vehicle. I dipped my hands into my other pocket and reached out for the second phone. I began to call. I called for more than 15 times, hoping the driver or the plus-size lady would pick it up, but that never happened.

I was frustrated that the phone was just ringing. I knew that I had put the phone on vibration and that might make it difficult for people to hear it ringing. 

20 minutes later, I picked up the phone again to call, and there was a response.

"Are you the owner of this phone?" he spoke calmly.

"I am the owner," I responded quickly.

"The phone dropped from my pocket."

He then replied, "I am about to return to Akure, but I will help you to keep it, and whenever I come to Osogbo, you will get it back from me," he said.

Four days after, he came to Osogbo. He called me to come around for the phone, but I couldn't go because of some circumstances that warranted it. Seeing I couldn't meet him, he promised to let me know whenever he was in town again.

For the number of days that he was with the phone, he called me about 5 times, assuring me that I will get my phone back.

Last Friday, Mr. Ojo Joel handed over my phone to me. While trying to compensate him with a token, the network was bad and the transfer wasn't going through.

He insisted that I should not bother myself because the network was bad at that time. 

However, I eventually transferred a token to him as a way to appreciate him for his exemplary 'omoluabi' values.

As I put this piece together, my shout-out goes to Mr. Ojo Joel, a true Nigerian worthy of commendation. He chose to return my phone when he could have easily converted it to his own.

WHY INTERNS SHOULD BUILD CAPACITY

 

A few years ago, some female students came for their SIWES in our organisation. Four were from the same school—a federal polytechnic in one of the southwest states—while the remaining two were from a private polytechnic.

Days after their resumption, I engaged them in a conversation with a view to knowing their interest in their chosen profession and how we could help them to learn and understand the practical aspect of journalism and radio broadcasting.

After the conversation, I assigned them a beat to cover. It was to report a story on Nigeria's democracy that was about three weeks away then. I told them to trace the history of our democracy and to leverage materials online to prepare their report.

For the three months or so that they spent with us, they never submitted the report. 

It was from one excuse to another. At a point, I was fed up with them, and I stopped asking for the report. 

Other staff also complained about their poor attitude to work. Some staff complained about them not being able to carry out specific tasks assigned to them.

They couldn't write any story. They couldn't handle any gadget for radio or TV production. 

They couldn't do any vox pop even in their own indigenous language. It was that bad for them.

All they came to do was to sit down and mark attendance. When they aren't pressing phones to chat, they're secretly doing TikTok videos or discussing their boyfriends.

Since they never showed interest in learning, despite forcing them, they ended up leaving without acquiring the basic practical knowledge that could complement what they've learnt in school.

For the other two students from a private polytechnic, both of them (a lady and a guy) were very inquisitive and always ready to learn. 

After they completed the three months, they both came back for another one-year industrial training and were accepted.

Just last week, one of them got an offer as a studio assistant. Why? He has proven himself that he has built capacity and that he could become a team player in the organisation. That is how opportunity comes the way of some people.

For young undergraduate students here, don't joke with your internship; that could be a platform for you to start and build your professional career.

Be diligent and build capacity; you never can tell who is watching you.

Have a wonderful week ahead.

WHAT CONFIDENCE DO YOU HAVE IN GOD?

Confidence in God is a feeling of trust or assurance that the creator has the ability or the quality to respond to our situation with a view to turning around the situation for good. It involves having a high level of trust and certainty in the supreme God.

In recent months, I have had to pray over many things that are dear to me and to people around me. Sometimes, the prayers look so simple (like that of a child) and the communication very short because the heart aches. But one thing that keeps me going is the confidence that I have in God that he is able to do all things and to remedy all situations no matter how bad or ugly they may look.

I can recollect vividly that on many occasions of those moments of prayers, I would struggle to find the right words and expression to convey thoughts the way I wanted them.

Sometimes, I will have to switch between speaking in the Holy Ghost and singing in the spirit. Other times, I will run on a frequency of the Yoruba language, mixing it with the English language recurrently just to draw the attention of God to issues pressing to my heart and why He should show mercy.

In all of those moments, I was confident (just as I am now) in the ability of the supreme God to answer every bit of the prayers. God has never failed, and He would not provided we have confidence in Him and do not seek alternative solutions elsewhere.

If there's anything you are trusting God for, whether in business, family, career, or academics, you've got to have confidence in Him. You've got to believe Him and surrender everything to Him so that He can step into your situation and grant you your heart's desires.

My prayer for you now is that God will give you rest from that struggle. He will extend His hand of mercy to you and will answer those secret prayers that are in need of an answer.

God bless you.

5 Things Young Journalists Should Know

The journalism profession is constantly evolving, and there's a need for young journalists who are just stepping into the profession to brace up for the challenges in the field.

For undergraduates and fresh graduates, it's no longer just about waiting for a newsroom job or carrying a press card—it’s about taking initiative and developing a strategy to survive in the heavily populated profession.

Here are five essential principles every young journalist should hold close:

1. Start Writing and Building Your Online Presence

As a young journalist, don’t wait for a platform—create yours. Start a blog; post micro-articles on Facebook, X and Medium. Ensure that you publish consistently. As you do this, you are building a digital online presence. Your digital footprint is your modern-day portfolio. All you need to do is to build it with impactful stories. The more you write, the better you become at what you do. The more visible your work is, the easier it becomes for people – editors, recruiters, and collaborators – to find you and read about your work. Don't be intimidated by others; write your truth and publish it.

2. Embrace Truth as Your Armour

With the emergence of technology, misinformation and fake news are on the increase. For young journalists, truth is not just a journalistic ideal—it is your armour. It protects your credibility, your audience’s trust, and the integrity of the stories you tell. You must always verify your sources and check your facts. If in doubt, don’t post. Don't be in a rush to break any news; what use is breaking news filled with half-truths or misinformation? The more you commit to reportage of truth, the better it is.

3. Be unique in your writing and storytelling approach.

Develop a style that’s yours. Let your style be your identity. Create a style in your approach to opening a story, the flow pattern or the tone, and let it reflect your personality and perspective. The best journalists are not just reporters—they are storytellers whose works resonate with their audience.

4. Protect Your Integrity

There will be pressure—pressure to twist facts, pressure to receive a brown envelope, pressure to suppress truth and pressure to trade objectivity for mediocrity. Always remember that journalism is a calling rooted in public service. Once you lose your credibility, it’s hard to reclaim.

5. Master the Tools of the Trade

Finally, good journalism today demands versatility. As a young journalist, give yourself to learning. Learn how to shoot and edit videos. Learn how to write across formats. Learn how to post strategically on digital platforms and learn how to use tools like Canva, CapCut, QuillBot, and InShot.

Being able to use the tools makes you valuable and gives you control over how you tell your stories.

Facebook murder: Religion, ritualists, and the rest of us

 

Few weeks after one Timileyin Ajayi, a 32-year-old gospel singer, was apprehended for killing his 24-year-old girlfriend, Salome Eleojo Adaidu, over accusations of cheating, there's yet another case at hand similar to that of Ajayi. But this time, it isn't about a gospel singer; it's about an Islamic teacher, AbdulRahman Bello Mohammed, who was apprehended by law enforcement agents in Ilorin for luring a Facebook friend.

The suspect, a 29-year-old man, allegedly invited the victim, Miss Yetunde Hafsoh Lawal, through a phone call on Monday, February 10, 2025, and subsequently killed her the following day and dismembered her at a location in the Olunlade area on the outskirts of Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

This recent killing has generated a lot of reactions among Nigerians, particularly among Islamic scholars and leaders in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital. Ilorin is predominantly a Muslim state where values and tenets of Islamic teachings hold sway. But this killing of Yetunde Hafsoh Lawal by an Islamic teacher has left many bewildered. 

Most netizens on the social media space have  questioned the motive behind the murder of Yetunde Hafsoh to have been murdered and dismembered by a religious teacher -an Alfa. What has human body parts to do with an Islamic teacher? What does an Islamic teacher want to do with human blood? These and many questions are begging for answer.

 

The suspect, during interrogation by police, confessed to killing the victim with the intent to do "Oshole/Ajoo owó (money rituals)"

Looking at the similarity in the case of Timileyin Ajayi, a gospel singer and AbdulRahman Bello Mohammed, the Islamic teacher who has just been apprehended, there is a question that comes to ones mind and the question is this: What is the relationship between religion and ritual killing?

Emmanuel Kelechi(2018) "defines religion as a system of beliefs and practices that admits a binding relation to a supernatural Being or beings." Hence, religion involves the relationship between humankind and a deity or divinity. 

In the words of Regnerus and A. Burdette (2006) they noted that "religion is a belief in and worship of a God and that religion vary in their cipher and beliefs but all depict their relationship with their deities. 

If people like Mohammed under the cloak of religion masquerade themselves as teachers of a religious group, then it is obvious that people like him are nothing but ritualist who hide under religion to perpetrate evil. 

Yetunde's death adds to the growing list of the number of ladies who have been allegedly killed by their boyfriends in recent times. Earlier this month, police authorities in Akwa Ibom started a probe over the gruesome murder of a makeup artist, Emrich Effanga. 

Ritual motivated killing have been linked to the belief that rituals done with a human part will enable an individual to become wealthy. This is the primary belief of ritualist and the driving force behind their evil acts. This erroneous belief of making money particularly among youths should be discouraged.

Religious leaders have a duty to counsel their followers on the dangers of engaging in ritualist acts. The society should also deemphasize the culture of preaching materialism at all cost by encouraging hardwork and dignity of labour among the youth. 

Following the widespread condemnation of the killing of Yetunde, the Emir of Ilorin and Chairman of the Kwara State Traditional Rulers Council, Dr Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, has  directed Imams across the state to use their Friday sermons to preach against ritual killings and other inhuman acts, emphasising the need to uphold morality and dignity in society. 

The Emir also urged clerics in the Ilorin Emirate and beyond to help sanitize the system by identifying and exposing individuals like Abdulrahman Bello to law enforcement agencies before they cause more harm. This is a welcome development but beyond the pronouncement, justice must also be served accordingly to serve as a deterrent to other people like AbdulRahman who may still be planning to engage in such a dastardly act.

Parents and guardians must also warn their daughters on the dangers of building relationship with strangers especially people whom they met on the social media space to avoid being a victim of ritualist.

Oyetunde Oni writes from Osogbo, Osun state.

World Radio Day: A Reflection on the Power of Radio as a Tool for Empowering Local Communities.

In 2011, UNESCO designated February 13th of every year as World Radio Day. This day is set aside to recognize the role of radio as a medium in informing, educating, and empowering people across the world. Radio is a powerful medium of communication that breaks the barrier of literacy and geography.

How important is radio?

A major benefit of radio is its ability to reach those in rural areas with low income. In many developing nations, Nigeria included, radio is the primary source of news and entertainment for local communities, as it breaks the barrier of language by giving the indigenous people a sense of belonging.

Radio empowers the local communities. 

In many local communities in Nigeria, community radio broadcasting programs are tailored to local dialects, ensuring that crucial information is accessible to empower the local people. For instance, at the Redeemer's FM 103.5 radio programs, like "Nje eti gbo" provide our audience with stories from the daily newspapers in Nigeria in the people's local dialect. The stories are disseminated in such a way that the people are informed and at the same time entertained. Similarly, another program tagged "Ebo ope" is a program that inspires people to express gratitude to their maker for the benefits of life as well as tangible and intangible resources.

Radio as a tool for civic education and political awareness 

Radio has been highly instrumental in advancing democracy and promoting political engagement at the grassroots in Nigeria. Many community radio stations now use radio as a tool for civic education and advocacy to inform the people about their rights, electoral processes, and government policies that affect them. Similarly, the listeners have the opportunity to express their opinions in the form of feedback through phone-in programs.

Bridging the gap between the literate and the illiterate

In many communities in Nigeria, educational radio programs teach people how to read and write in their own native language, thereby empowering them with basic literacy skills. Similarly, many non-governmental organisations and the government leverage the power of radio to speak to the people in their local language when it has become necessary to pass across crucial information that can save people from imminent threat or danger.

Finally, we must not forget the contributions of brilliant minds behind the MIC in all radio stations across Nigeria and globally for their insightful content, news, analysis, and program contents geared at informing the people of various communities.

As we celebrate World Radio Day today, the power of radio in shaping lives and communities cannot be downplayed. It remains a powerful medium for empowerment and inclusivity.

LESSONS FROM THE OLD YEAR

 

The year 2024 was a remarkable year of learning and growth for me. The year came with lots of challenges, but in the end, there are valuable lessons and experiences that shaped me as a person.

One of the lessons I learnt in 2024 was to take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way. Opportunities sometimes are embedded in challenges. Instead of complaining, our responsibility should be how to uncover the opportunities in the midst of challenges.

Again, I learnt that whether in business, a career, ministry, or in any other areas of life, we need to take networking seriously. Networking provides the opportunity to connect with others and foster new bonds and friendships that can provide mutual benefits.

I also learnt that being kindhearted and supportive to other colleagues or team members is important. Being compassionate to others can be an opportunity to win more friends that may foster unity and togetherness.

Finally, embracing teamwork spirit and commitment to supporting one another at work can help to overcome difficult moments at work. 

I am going to carry with me these lessons and some others into making 2025 more fruitful and meaningful.

Wishing you a happy new year filled with opportunities for growth and development.

#newyear #2025Ready