Izunna Okafor Wins Best Investigative Journalist of the Year, Literary Advocate of the Year 2024

By Joseph Ugochukwu

Anambra journalist and writer, Izunna Okafor, has bagged double laurels as the Best Investigative Journalist of the Year 2024 and Literary Advocate of the Year 2024.

The awards, which were presented on Sunday and Monday arrived as Okafor's 39th and 40th awards respectively in the journalism and literary fields.

The 39th laurel was awarded at the Anambra First Media Awards 2024, which held in Awka, the state capital, and which also attracted media professionals, top government functionaries, and other members of the public from diverse backgrounds, who came from both within and outside the state.

Speaking at the event, the Convener, Mr. Daniel Ezeigwe, said the initiative was aimed at celebrating craft, art, and excellence of the media practitioners who have shown dedication, professionalism, and passion in the field. He further emphasized that the winners were nominated and chosen based on merit, including with the inputs of their audience.

While describing the Anambra First as one of the fastest growing media platforms in the state and elsewhere, he further reminded the media practitioners that the world observes them, while also calling them to sustain their good works and continue to portray the State's media landscape in a positive light.

In a keynote address at the event, the the MD/CEO of the Anambra State Signage and Advertisement Agency (ANSA), Mr. Tony Odili Ujubuoṅu, who lectured the participants on “Media Role in Reshaping Our Society and Advancing Our Collective Progress” affirmed the very role of the media as a social transformative tool. This, he said, aligned with the slogan of Zik's West African Pilot — “Show the Light, Let the People Find the Way Succinctly.”

While urging journalists in Anambra State to contribute their own part in the transformative works of Governor Chukwuma Soludo, he further urged them to learn to do things differently. According to him, while the era of verbatim reportorial journalism is over and becoming boring; appeasement journalism is also too trite to convert followership.

Mr. Odili, who called on the media practitioners to begin to think of other ways of rendering ‘newsier’ messages, also suggested embracing the art of ‘Show Don't Tell’ or blending the art of telling with that of showing.

“...When this is done, there is a greater chance that we excite our people more, educate them more; and most importantly, believability will be achieved and the hunger to retell will be triggered. When stories are retold they go viral. ...In the past news was a privileged item. But today it is different. We cannot use the old ways to solve the new problem. The audience has changed,” Mr. Ujubuoṅu stated.

Concluding, he asserted thus: “...If, with an intentional, factual, informative and entertaining messaging Zik and his colleagues brought about a change in their society using just the print media we have no reasons if we fail in our duty to bring about change as Media men. We have more than we need to bring that change.”

In his closing remarks, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Afam Obidike, whose Ministry was one of the partners in the event, congratulated the winners of the various categories of awards, while also reassuring his ministry's commitment to upholding and encouraging excellence.

Speaking shortly after receiving the award, journalist Okafor described it as a great source of motivation, while also appreciating the organizers for finding him and his journalistic efforts worthy of such recognition.

While noting that recently won his 38th award as The Outstanding Journalist of the Year 2024, Okafor, who was also nominated as the Journalist of the Year in the Anambra First Media Awards, assured to continue upholding the virtue of hard-work, passion, and professionalism in his practice.

Similarly, Okafor, on Monday, December 23, was awarded the Literary Advocate of the Year 2024 by the Leadership of the Prolific Fiction Writers Community (PROFWIC).

Conveying the award to the recipient (Okafor), a Founder of PROFWIC and award-winning author, Mr. Stanley Umezulike, said it was in recognition of his unwavering dedication to championing literary, promoting arts and advocating for the transformative power of literature in 2024.

Izunna Okafor, who hails from Ebenator, Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State is a writer and journalist, as well as the initiator of Chinua Achebe Literary Festival and Memorial Lecture. He writes for 247Ureports, and has also been published on other different news platforms.

It was gathered that some other media executives and journalists who were also recognized with different categories of awards at the Anambra First Media Awards, include Tony Odili Ujubuoṅu of the Anambra State Signage and Advertisement Agency; Dr. Uche Nworah of the Umunna TV; Mr. Gab Okpalaeze of the Signature News; Mr. David Eleke of The Razor News; Ngozi Obileri of the Insider News, among others.