Naija in lights

Democratic governance Environment Young people

The photojournalists, whether freelance or working for a media organisation, first took part in a workshop devoted to the technical and ethical aspects of photography, and then worked on their individual projects.

The project, launched on the initiative of Sophie Bouillon, RFI’s Hausa language editor and co-founder of StoryMi Academy, has continued thanks to the mobilisation of two experts to advise and provide technical support to the photojournalists, as well as the payment of an allowance to cover their reporting costs.

The result lived up to expectations. The photojournalists have shown incredible talent and imagination in telling the story of their country, following the lives of first-time voting students and election volunteers. They also investigated the problems of electricity or access to water in rural communities abandoned by politicians, and some paid tribute to the first inhabitants of Abuja, the Gbagyi community dispossessed of their land but nonetheless attached to their civil rights.

The photo essays were first exhibited at the Alliance française in Lagos, in partnership with the African Artists’ Foundation (AAF), and then at the headquarters of France Médias Monde (FMM) in Paris in early 2024. It’s a wonderful opportunity to shine a light on these projects, which bear witness to Nigerian history.

“The2023 presidential election was a very significant event for Nigeria. Despite all the difficulties they encountered, the participants of Naija in Lights set themselves the task of documenting this decisive episode in their country’s history, capturing in their photographs the difficulties, hopes, pain and disillusionment that this election brought. They all said they wanted to help “archive memories and the national memory”, which is all too often erased in this giant country of 220 million inhabitants”.
Sophie Bouillon, journalist, director of RFI’s Hausa language newsroom and co-founder of StoryMi Academy