Muhammad Ibrahim, a journalist from Gombe State and a Change Reporting 2.0 fellow of ImpactHouse Centre for Development Communications, has emerged as second runner-up in the online category of the 2025 African Media Development Foundation (AMDF) Journalist of the Year Awards.
Development Diaries reports that his award-winning story, ‘Schooling Made Easy but Not for Visually-impaired Boys in Gombe’, was produced under the Change Reporting 2.0 Media Fellowship on Gender-Responsive Education Sector Planning (GRESP), an initiative of ImpactHouse Centre for Development Communication in partnership with System Strategy and Policy Lab (SSPL).
The story sheds light on the challenges faced by students with disabilities in accessing inclusive and quality education in the state.
The Change Reporting fellowship, relaunched in 2024 after ten years, supported 26 journalists across nine Nigerian states with training, mentorship, and resources to track and report on state governments’ gender responsiveness in education sector planning.
The two-day workshop at the beginning of the fellowship offered participants a comprehensive curriculum, including sessions on gender-sensitive education planning, advocacy and investigative journalism, multimedia reporting, and tracking girls’ education outcomes.
For Auwal, the fellowship provided the framework and support to produce reporting that not only exposed gaps in the system but also called attention to the needs of marginalised communities.
Chairman of the AMDF awards panel, Joseph Edegbo, described Auwal’s work as both stellar and rigorous. He noted, ‘What makes Muhammad Auwal Ibrahim stand tall today is his story titled ‘Schooling Made Easy but Not for Visually-impaired Boys in Gombe’.
‘The story not only exposes government negligence but also serves as a wake-up call’.
At the awards ceremony in Kaduna, Auwal dedicated his recognition to the Gombe Special Education School students and the wider community of persons with disabilities, while also thanking ImpactHouse and SSPL for funding the story.
Speaking to journalists, he said the award was a reminder of the role journalists play in holding power to account and contributing to national development.
This recognition illustrates how targeted support for journalists, like the Change Reporting fellowship, can translate into stories that influence policy discussions and drive social impact, highlighting the critical role of media in advancing education and inclusion in Nigeria.
