Naija in Lights draws to a close in Lagos!

There's more to being a photojournalist than just setting out on reporting assignments or knowing how to take good photos. You also have to sell those photos to editors, promote them, know what they are worth and how to talk about your work, and establish a network. This was the thrust of part of the training provided through Naija in Lights, a coaching programme for 10 young Nigerian photojournalists that was launched by CFI in September 2022 at the initiative of Sophie Bouillon, a French journalist based in Nigeria who founded StoryMi Academy.

In early December, these 10 mentees attended an initial workshop in Kano (northern Nigeria), which focused on the technical and ethical aspects of photography, particularly during elections. After also being given a general understanding of photojournalism's origins, they then received remote guidance from Andrew Esiebo and Fati Abubakar to help them with a personal documentary project concerning the election campaign.

Photojournalists at the centre of the election campaign

The two rounds of presidential elections were held on 25 February and 11 March this year, followed by elections for local governors and members of state legislatures on 18 March. Marred by considerable social and ethnic unrest as well as fuel and currency shortages, the elections made it challenging and stressful for journalists to work. CFI assisted the young photojournalists by having two experts on hand to offer guidance and technical support and by providing an allowance to cover reporting costs.

And the results are clear to see! They have all shown incredible talent and great imagination in covering this significant moment in Nigeria's political history by following the life of a student voting for the first time and volunteer election scrutineers, for example, investigating power or water access problems in rural communities abandoned by the politicians, and paying tribute to the first people to settle in Abuja—the Gbagyi community—who have been clinging onto their civil rights despite being stripped of their land.

Understanding press agency expectations

The second workshop, which was held from 26 May to 3 June in Lagos (in southern Nigeria) and focused on the business side of photography, gave the young mentees the opportunity to present their work and gather feedback from their mentors and invited guest speakers. The purpose of this second workshop was to prepare these mostly self-taught and independent photojournalists to enter the jobs market and understand what press agencies and prospective clients expect of them: writing a CV and bio, presenting a portfolio, meetings with editors (such as Marco Longari at AFP), festival directors (Jean-François Leroy, Director of the Visa pour l’image photojournalism festival) and also media professionals in Africa looking for new sources of photography revenue (Wole Lawal, The Republic, Ndu Okoh, BIRD), to name just a few examples.

The work over the last two days focused on preparing a final exhibition—featuring the reports—at the magnificent premises of the Alliance Française in Lagos, in partnership with the African Artists' Foundation (AAF). Given that creativity is the main force driving on the young photographers, the exhibition on June was preceded by a show orchestrated by Florence Martin Kessler, the founder of Live Magazine, which delighted the 150 or so guests invited to take their places in the auditorium. Le travail des deux derniers jours a porté sur la préparation d’une exposition finale des reportages dans les prestigieux locaux de l’A, en partenariat avec l’African Artists’ Foundation . La créativité étant le principal moteur de ces jeunes photographes, le vernissage du 4 juin a été précédé d’un show orchestré par Florence Martin Kessler, fondatrice de , un journal vivant et sur scène, qui a ravi les quelques 150 personnes invitées à prendre place dans l’amphithéâtre.

See all the photographs: link to PDF portfolio.