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By Chinenye Anuforo
Two Nigerian journalists have emerged among the winners of the 2026 Open the Knowledge Journalism Awards organised by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) in partnership with the Wikimedia Foundation, earning global recognition for stories that amplify African voices and help bridge knowledge gaps on the world’s largest online encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
Freelance journalist Rakiya Muhammad clinched the top prize for her report, West Africa’s Borderless Women: Inside the Yoruba Sisterhood Linking Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire, while Abiodun Adewale, sports reporter with The Punch, secured second place for his feature on Nigeria’s U-19 women’s cricket team.
The awards recognise outstanding journalism that contributes credible, well-researched source material for volunteer editors to expand Wikipedia’s coverage of Africa and underrepresented communities.
A Kenyan journalist, Angeline Ochieng of Nation Media Group, received a special mention for her report on how former traditional midwives are helping reduce maternal deaths by promoting hospital deliveries in rural Kenya.
The organisers said the awards celebrate journalism that documents stories often overlooked in mainstream global narratives while strengthening access to reliable information online.
Muhammad’s winning story, published in RM Times, chronicles the long-standing migration of Yoruba women from Ejigbo in Osun State to Côte d’Ivoire, where they have built thriving businesses in Abidjan’s markets and fostered enduring cultural and economic ties between the two countries. According to the report, as much as 80 per cent of Ejigbo’s economic support comes from its diaspora community in Côte d’Ivoire.
Reacting to the recognition, Muhammad described the award as a renewed motivation to continue telling impactful African stories.
“Receiving this honour renews my passion for telling stories that place African women at the heart of the narrative as active agents of development, leadership and social change,” she said.
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“The recognition rekindles my commitment to documenting positive stories about Africa with authenticity and depth, while shedding light on the gendered dimensions often overlooked in broader discussions.”
Adewale’s award-winning story, Breaking Boundaries: How Nigeria’s U-19 Women Are Rewriting Cricket History, highlighted the journey of Nigeria’s Junior Female Yellow Greens as they prepared for and competed at the 2025 International Youth Cricket World Cup, bringing attention to the growing popularity of cricket in Nigeria.
Speaking on the awards, ICFJ President Sharon Moshavi emphasised the complementary relationship between journalism and Wikipedia.
“Journalism and Wikipedia need each other. Wikipedia’s volunteer editors rely on independent reporting to build a more complete knowledge resource, and journalists benefit from the global and multilingual reach that Wikipedia provides. These awards recognise that relationship and the African journalists who are making our digital information ecosystems stronger,” she said.
Chief Communications Officer of the Wikimedia Foundation, Anusha Alikhan, said greater representation of African stories is essential to making Wikipedia more reflective of global experiences.
“Wikipedia is the largest encyclopedia ever assembled, but it is far from complete. Having stories written by Africans about the issues they care about is vital to ensuring the encyclopedia is representative of many experiences and perspectives,” she said.
President of Wikimedia Nigeria and member of the awards selection committee, Olaniyan Ishola Oulushola, described the quality of entries as impressive, noting that they provide valuable resources for improving Africa-related content on Wikipedia.
“The articles document important aspects of African history, culture, women and sports, bringing us closer to closing the knowledge gaps we work on every day,” he said.
Earlier this year, journalists across Africa were invited to submit published works focusing on women, youth, arts, culture, heritage and sports. The organisers received 320 entries from 40 African countries.
Wikipedia, which marked its 25th anniversary in January 2026, now hosts more than 65 million articles in over 300 languages and attracts nearly 15 billion page views monthly. However, only about 3.7 per cent of articles on the English-language Wikipedia focus on Africa, underscoring the need for more quality reporting on the continent.
The organisers said this year’s winners were selected by a panel comprising African academics, civil society leaders, Wikimedia volunteers, and representatives of ICFJ and the Wikimedia Foundation.
