The Journalist's Corner

Ogba, Lagos By Ubamara Ezenobi Postgraduate students of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ) have been seen in clusters reading for the upcoming first semester examinations. The Nigerian Institute of Journalism commences their first semester examinations on 22nd February, 2021. Three weeks to the date, and the students seem ready for the game. I spoke to a postgraduate student, Akeh, and in his words, this might turn out to be one of the best examinations NIJ has ever had. -end-

February 1, 2021 Lagos By Ubamara Ezenobi Transport field workers are those people at motor parks that try to woo you into traveling with their transport company; in an interview with one such person, Ubamara discovers why their jobs may soon be unnecessary. Kunle (not real name) and I hung out on Saturday. He had come with a mosquito repellent net for me in fulfilment of a promise he had made when we met at Ojota. I expressed my thanks and we got talking. Kunle works at Efex, a transport company located in Ojota, Lagos. His daily routine includes coming all the way from Iyanipaja to Ojota, where he gets to his duty of convincing travellers to travel with Efex. However, he knows things are about to change. Efex now has a digital platform where intending travellers can simply log on, book a journey and chill. According to Kunle, more and more people are beginning to book their tickets online, such that there are less and less people who travel with Efex through him. That mea...

Rivers State 08:00am By Ubamara Ezenobi Indigenes of Omoku town in Onelga local government, Rivers State, are lamenting the sudden disappearance of huge amounts of money from their bank accounts. The joy of every mother is that she enjoys the fruits of her labour in her children. So when Mrs Diobi received a credit alert from her son on the first day of January, 2021, she was no doubt elated. Her elation turned to shock, however, when she received a debit alert of forty thousand naira (N40,000) almost as soon as the initial alert of fifty thousand naira came in. Mrs Diobi's story is not unique. I interviewed four other individuals who had similar experiences. According to them, the customer care personnel at the bank advised them to check within their households for people who might have used their debit card, such as their children. If they had no children, they were asked to check back after five working days. If they checked back after five working days, they were asked to check...