by Khadija Kareem and Abdulrasheed Hammad
The Interactive Initiative for Social Impact and Dataphyte have concluded the 2-day training on “Driving Subnational Accountability in Nigeria with Data”. The training, which is the first of a series of trainings that will go across all six geopolitical zones, is supported by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) and the MacArthur Foundation and designed to help journalists, civic society organisations and community based actors use data to demand for transparency and accountability at the subnational level through data-driven reporting and advocacy.
The training, which took place on the 20th and 21st of July 2022 in Abuja saw applications from over 350 applicants from the north-central zone of the country, out of which 20 were selected to be a part of the training. Seasoned facilitators walked the participants through the fiscal transparency and accountability value chain, data story ideation and data analysis.
The training also featured a hackathon, during which participants interacted with fiscal transparency data from the north central zone and pitched story ideas from the data they interacted with. Post training, participants will be supported with mini-grants to track and report projects across the North Central zone.
Mr. Charles Mbah, the Program Manager, explained the need for civic actors to leverage all the data in the fiscal transparency and accountability value chain to hold the government accountable and drive positive social change. According to him, this need and the evidence of its effectiveness in delivering development outcomes to the citizens as Dataphyte has experienced in its work is why Dataphyte with support from its partners in providing this training for civic actors.
“It is important that the conversation about transparency and accountability not just remain at the centre. So our hope is that as journalists and other civic actors especially community-based organisations at subnational levels learn about data and use what they learn, there will be improved service delivery to the citizens from the grassroots up”
Oche Akor, a Freelance Investigative Journalist from Benue State said the training met the target it set out to accomplish, noting that the facilitators were professional in their delivery of each module and had a sound knowledge of the subject matter.
“Their teaching approach is student-friendly and the class was lively. I enjoyed every bit of the learning process. Everyone carried everyone along to ensure each participant attained full understanding.
“It will be nice if more participants can be added next time. Networking for me and the debate on Gender Equality were my most enjoyable moments,” he asserted.
Chioma Iruke, from Mercury Newspaper Abuja, said the Dataphyte training was very interesting as it opened her eyes on how to use data to tell stories, telling stories from different angles and look at how it affects the people. She added that she learnt people are not interested in numbers but are interested in how those numbers affect them.
“This training helped me to know that we can tell one story from a different angle. The two stories might sound the same but not necessarily the same. I learnt that when you are holding the government accountable and you have evidence, they will respond. This training helped me to network and meet journalists who are doing something more than just going to events,” she noted.
Mahmud Ibrahim, a community-based actor with Transparency and Accountability in Totality (TinT) Initiative- Follow Taxes explained that he enjoyed all the sessions and did not want the training to end in a short period. He further stated that the facilitators really tutored him on what he has been missing in his journey in project tracking and data collection.
He said further, “I enjoyed the knowledge sharing, the networking, and the passion they have for imparting knowledge. I would suggest that for a training of this magnitude 2 days isn’t enough.”
Rajab Haruna, a community-based actor with Connecting Village Initiative expressed his gladness for being among the participants in the just concluded training adding that the training was awesome, educative, and entertaining.
He stated that the facilitators shared the tools to use in analysing data to demand transparency and accountability,
“One of the enjoyable moments for me at the event was the networking session and the introduction aspect where all participants shared their reasons for participating and their expectations at the end. Hearing peoples’ views on what they do, how far they have gone, and their plans for the coming days, is one unique thing that I enjoyed”.
Awaal Gata, a journalist who took part in the training said the training had opened a new frontier for his journalism career, as he can now optimally source, analyse and interpret data. He said he belonged to the old order of journalistic practice in Nigeria but the training has launched him into the new order.
Victoria Ajibade commended the facilitators on how interactive the training was, she further explained that the facilitators had a good mastery of the topics and that the training has enlightened her on employing data in storytelling and the importance of the “so what” of storytelling.
Olawuni Omolola, another participant, described how impactful the training was and how the value chain of fiscal transparency and accountability stood out the most for her during the training.
The Interactive and Dataphyte will carry this training to other geopolitical zones of the country to expand the practice of data-powered journalism for driving subnational transparency and accountability.