My Internship At WikkiTimes: A Story Worth Telling By Hafsah Muhammed Ibrahim
Sometime in May 2022, I became acquainted with Haruna Mohammed Salisu, the Publisher, WikkiTimes paper, an investigative and data journalism platform based in Bauchi state.
Mr Haruna, whom I met during a workshop, would later tell me that he was always captivated by young minds willing to dive into this daring field of journalism.
I was recruited alongside some other young minds as Interns for 6 months and looking back as a journalist, I can brag that WikkiTimes have done a lot in the space of 6 months to build my portfolio to an impressive height.
It is true that a mentor sees more talent and ability within you than you see in yourself and helps bring it out of you. When I started as an Intern, I was clueless about investigative journalism. But months of professional mentorship revealed to me a picturesque view of this adventurous aspect of journalism.
As interns, we weren’t just taught how to source stories and report them. We were taught the essence of accountability reporting, we were taught to advocate good governance by holding power to account. We were taught to be fearless, brave and most importantly, careful with facts, as we have subscribed to the realm of journalism that does not forgive the simplest of errors.
As an investigative platform, we were also privileged to carry out investigations that were fully funded. My undercover story that exposed how corrupt healthcare workers in Gombe issued fake genotype certificates and ruin lives in the process is the most impressive achievement in my journalism so far. The story generated heated debate in Gombe in addition to making an immediate impact.
Mentors, who saw us through those projects guided us to field discoveries that were eye openers to us. What would have appeared normal to the layman became newsworthy; it was like being in possession of a special eye, a journalistic eye.
This had gone a long way in building my self-esteem as a female reporter from the northeastern part of Nigeria, where culture and sentiments tend to frown upon the weaker gender in a profession as such.
Moreover, every journalist would concede to the fact that there is always joy in acquainting renowned media personnel and experts from whom you learn a lot. This newsroom, through consistent workshops, acquainted me with prominent journalists that were no doubt, wells of knowledge and experiences to fetch from.
One more thing that has made WikkiTimes stand out, is its tireless effort to catch up with the trend of digital journalism which allows reporters to work with digital tools for efficient reporting. The in-house workshops hosted by the medium have familiarised us with such.
WikkiTimes consistent mentoring in the newsroom has familiarised us with digital and collaborative tools that aid the work we do. From Workflowy to Canva; from spreadsheet to infogram, my internship at WikkiTimes has enabled me to learn and use digital tools to improve my journalistic work.
The internship period has also impacted my ability to think critically; thanks to my editor, Yakubu Mohammed and my mentor Victoria Bamas. The duos always ensure that the stories I submit are didn’t fall short of journalistic standards.
For this priceless opportunity that has moulded a proud, confident journalist, I am deeply indebted to everyone at WikkiTimes; a professional and compassionate team, that had made my journey an exciting one and a story worth telling; the Publisher, Haruna Mohammed Salisu, my Mentor, Miss Victoria Bamas, my Supervisor and Editors, Yakubu Mohammed, Kamal Ibrahim as well as colleagues and everyone else I have come across during my program.
Hafsah Muhammed Ibrahim writes from Bauchi. She can be reached at hafseemuhammad@gmail.com
