By Bello Hamza, Abuja
African institute of waste management and environmental studies has awarded ibrahima yakubu senior correspondent of German international radio (Deutsche welle) Hausa with an honor for the outstanding sacrifice towards reportage relating to science, climate change,tropical disease , environmental degradation and the efforts to protection marine species against going extinction due to human irrational activities of dumping all sort of trash and garbage into the river.
According to the registrar of the institute Dr Ahmed lateef Tayo the institute deems it fit to honored the recipient for daily reportage on issues related science and environment
The One Day Science conference which draw journalist, climatologists,geologist and environmentalist from various universities , states and tertiary institutes has gotten large number of attendance.
Ibrahima won the Science and environmental Journalist of the year award for writing series of reportage and news items category with the story titled “saving the lives of millions aquatic marine against massive
tons of hazardous plastic waste pollution in ocean ”
The register note that Excellence in media reportage on science, climate change and environmental degradation attracted the institute attention to award him with such an honor
Stressing that Ibrahima is awarded for the outstanding science and environmental reporting and this is the first time the institute is recognizing the activities of an exceptional journalist with an outstanding performance in african countries
He said solutions journalism is a reporting that focuses on possible responses to societal problems, evaluating how well they work and what others can learn from them.
Addressing participants during the awards ceremony at Gusau institute in kaduna state north western Nigeria , the director African climate reporters Mr Nurudden bello stressed the need for the importance of science journalism amids of pandemic era bedevilling peace stability among mankind.
He appealed to all African journalist to embrace the fundamentals of development journalism and eschew misinformation at all time.while encouraged them to be focusing on climate journalism like their counterparts in developed countries.
Adding that the world is changing, so also news diseases are spreading such as zoonocies and other tropical diseases that is affecting human, animal and other living organism in the environment.
Ibrahima yakubu who is the recipient of the award says (My job every day is to learn something new in science)
Science Journalism continues play an important role in bringing science to a wider audience in a way that may be more accessible and understandable
He called on all the journalists to embrace solutions journalism
Adding that The Solutions Journalism Network is leading a systems-level change in journalism so that all people have access to news that helps them envision and build a more equitable and sustainable world. And no issue is more in need of solutions reporting than climate.
He said, Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time. So how can journalists incorporate solutions into their reporting – and is this even the right thing to do
He said, Solutions journalism is an approach to news reporting that focuses on the responses to social issues as well as the problems themselves. Solutions stories, anchored in credible evidence, explain how and why responses are working, or not working.
While appealing to all African journalists to embrace Constructive and creative Journalism and writing
“science journalists across the globe plays an important role to our work in global development and sustainability.”