Nigeria’s Amina Yuguda wins BBC World News Komla Dumor award

A journalist from north-eastern Nigeria has won the third BBC World News Komla Dumor Award.

Amina Yuguda is a news presenter on local network Gotel Television, where she has reported on high-profile news stories, including the Boko Haram insurgency.

She will start a three-month placement at the BBC in London in September.

The award was created to honour Komla Dumor, a presenter for BBC World News, who died suddenly aged 41 in 2014.

Ms Yuguda said her win was a “huge honour”.

“I was overwhelmed with joy. Storytellers have always had an important role in Africa… this is what defines us. Today journalists are taking on that responsibility.”

She impressed the panel with her story-telling and her ability to convey complex ideas in a way that resonates with a wide audience.

She is excited to work at the BBC, given her understanding of the corporation’s impact among pastoralists in her hometown, saying in her application:

“With little or no formal education, my countrymen can hold their own in a variety of topics, including the Trump presidency in America, North Korea’s defiance, Russia’s foreign relations under Putin, and more.”

BBC World Service Group Director Francesca Unsworth said Ms Yuguda was a worthy winner:

“To find someone who possesses many of Komla’s qualities is something for us to celebrate, and we are very excited about working with Amina.”

Previous winners of the Komla Dumor Award were Ugandan news anchor Nancy Kacungira and Nigerian business journalist Didi Akinyelure.

Source: BBC