Valdez Onanina, CFI trainer and “baobab thinker”
At just 33, Cameroonian Valdez Onanina is editor-in-chief of Africa Check's French-language office in Senegal and a specialist in disinformation on the continent. He owes much of his success to his humility, curiosity and wisdom. Portrait.
The two brothers and "best friends" have practically the same voice. Kevin, the youngest, speaks fondly of his elder brother: "As a child, Valdez asked a lot of questions, until he got a satisfactory answer”. “Valdez Onanina was naturally attracted to journalism from an early age: "I was a fan of Ibrahim Chérif and Anne Marthe Mvoto, two brilliant and eloquent journalists at CRTV (Cameroon Radio Television)”. He then became an "absolute fan" of the writings of Béchir Ben Yahmed and Georges Dougueli in “Jeune Afrique”.
A brilliant student, his own writing is beginning to work wonders... "His nickname at school was “baobab thinker”, because he wrote poetry. When I wanted to woo a girl, I'd explain to her how I felt so that she'd put the words down on paper for me," Kevin recalls with amusement. Very respectful of his teachers, the young Valdez also does "personal research on the Internet on the history of Cameroon to go beyond what we were taught at school".
After his baccalaureate, “baobab thinker” put down roots and pan-Africanised his knowledge. He went to Benin to study for four years at the Cotonou African journalist training and development centre, before going on to Senegal to complete a master's degree in media and communication, an executive MBA (political communication and influencing strategies) and a management development programme. But Valdez Onanina also developed his vocation through practice: "At APS (Senegalese Press Agency), I learnt to keep my distance from the news and to sign my articles with just my initials “V.O”. My bosses called me 'the kid' and would never validate my work if I wasn't sure of my source".”B.K”, Boubacar Kanté, remembers his early days: "Talented, receptive and humble, Valdez was determined to improve. I wrote a poem to him at the time: “You are the only brother that real life has given me. You'll be the only brotherhood that even death can't take away from me. You are the symbol of what we should hope for in the world".
podcast
"Rigorous and delicate work”
Coached by some fine minds and convinced of the importance "of building democracies, shedding light on and holding politicians accountable to the public", Valdez Onanina took off as a fact-checker when Assane Diagne, former editor-in-chief of APS, opened the Africa Check office in Dakar. His boss also threw him into a training pool. A trainer for several CFI projects, including Vérifox Afrique and Désinfox, and head of an African network of French-speaking fact-checkers, Valdez seems to be flourishing: "CFI does an enormous amount of work to promote fact-checking. Today, I'm fuelled by this desire to pass on my knowledge, even if I remain a perpetual learner." This humility is much appreciated by his own students, such as Ndeye Fatou Diery Diagne, who won a prize for an article she wrote for Désinfox: "Valdez instilled in us a certain rigour in our research, especially the fact that we should always have very reliable sources that we could quote”.
Editor-in-chief of Africa Check's French-language bureau in Senegal since 2022, Valdez Onanina seems to be just as popular with the daily newspaper. "We do our best to ensure that people have as little as possible to complain about when we check political statements. It's a rigorous and delicate job. Thanks to Valdez, I'm limited to factual information," says Azil Momar Lô, one of his colleagues. A columnist for RFI and a teacher of fact-checking at a number of Dakar universities, “baobab thinker” likes to get away from the whirlwind of daily disinformation. At the end of 2023, he co-authored a major article on the origins and consequences of disinformation in Africa. "In his analyses, Valdez is able to put the field data into a wider context and thus see the blind spots in the disinformation", says Guillaume Soto-Mayor, one of the researchers who co-authored this article. All of this is based on facts, without any intellectual contortions. "Straight to the goal", like Olympique de Marseille, his favourite team...
In 10 years' time...
"In ten years' time, Valdez would like to get fact-checking into many different media and countries. I can see him heading Africa Check or another company specialising in Africa", predicts Ndeye Fatou Diery Diagne, one of his students. Azil Momar Lô, one of his colleagues at Africa Check, sees two options: "Perhaps he will have launched his own fact-checking media or will be a researcher on disinformation." Guillaume Soto-Mayor would like nothing better than to continue working with Valdez Onanina on these issues: "In ten years' time, I very much hope that he will be a specialist teacher. He has the ability to create a laboratory in which he can train researchers and political decision-makers". “BK”, Boubacar Kanté, one of his former mentors at APS, wishes him the same fate: "I can see him in media research. I also see him as a manager or consultant. Why not work with or in entities like CFI?”
Will Valdez spread his wings even further internationally? His younger brother Kevin opts instead for a return to his “baobab thinker” roots: "A pioneer on the continent when it comes to verifying information, in 10 years' time Valdez will have a great deal of expertise that deserves to be for the service of Cameroon. With figures like him, our country could clean up the press environment”. Interested in research to "produce documentary resources to better understand misinformation", Valdez Onanina does not rule out "setting up a quality media outlet on Africa, a kind of legacy to be passed on". But his little brother was right: In particular, Valdez sees it as "my duty to pass on my work and to commit myself to my country, Cameroon".
Portrait by Emmanuel de Solère Stintzy (https://www.journalistesmediateurs.com/).
