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By Ramatu Ada Ochekliye
(For Long-Winded Writers and Readers Like Me)
Shades of Us was proud to be a media partner of the inaugural Solutions Journalism Africa Summit, which happened in Abuja on November 14 and 15, 2025.
When we saw the call for partnership, it was clear from the moment we opened the email that we were going to partner with them. This is because the goals of the Summit are tied directly to the work we do at Shades of Us. We believe that reframing our narratives—fittingly the theme of this Summit—is essential to transforming how we see ourselves, our nation, and our continent. This shift in perspective also influences how others perceive and engage with us.
Journalists, editors, development partners, creators, students, and storytellers from across the continent filled the space with curiosity, expectation, and anticipation: not uncommon for inaugural events. What would happen? How would the conversations be framed? What lessons and insights will be gleaned? And how would these insights be applied in our collective work of storytelling? I found myself thinking about my own journey, how (without meaning to), when we started, we had developed a solutions storytelling model for Shades of Us. As we grew and expanded in the 12 years of our existence, this model had shaped me, challenged me, stretched me, and sometimes broken me open to new understandings, and a strengthening desire for a solutions-focused storytelling for perspective change.
The Summit was a two-day event, with Day One focused on the Why, and Day Two on the How.
The Why
The day started with the Welcome Address from Vivianne Ihekweazu, Managing Director, Nigeria Health Watch.
Her central question was powerful: “What if journalism could show not only what is wrong, but also what is being done to fix it?”
She spoke of stories of crisis, failure, decay, insecurity, and tragedy. These were true, yes, but incomplete. Vivianne painted a picture of a continent where innovation quietly grows in corners ignored by the news cycle. Communities solving problems without recognition. Young creators building platforms. Health workers are improvising solutions in resource-limited settings. Citizens building bridges — sometimes literally, sometimes figuratively.
Solutions journalism, she said, is not fluffy optimism. It is rigorous, evidence-based reporting that asks:
What is working?
How is it working?
Who is driving it?
What can others learn?
And where are its limitations?
Ms. Vivianne walks the talk. Since 2017, when I first saw her speak at a conference, she has done the work to encourage and promote the ideas that journalism can be solutions-driven without seeming like we are building utopias. So again, “What if journalism could show not only what is wrong, but also what is being done to fix it?” This is not new to many people, but we should be reminded that we can do a lot more with the power in our pens (or more accurately, keyboards).
One Goodwill Message that resonated with the room was from Dr. Mohammed Bulama, Director General, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), who was represented by Mrs. Henrietta Ibrahim.
Mrs. Henrietta spoke with the steady conviction of someone who understands the moral influence of the media. She reminded us that Africa’s stories have long been framed through the lens of crisis. Yet within every crisis, he insisted, are ordinary people showing extraordinary resilience.
She reaffirmed FRCN’s responsibility as the nation’s largest broadcaster: “Our duty is not merely to inform, but to inspire.” She also spoke about amplifying voices of progress and about the partnership between FRCN and Nigeria Health Watch, a partnership anchored in the belief that constructive storytelling is a public good.
Similarly, Nina Fasciaux, Director of Partnerships and Fellowships, Solutions Journalism Network, took us on a journey across countries where solutions journalism has taken root: Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, Senegal, Cameroon, Tunisia, Egypt, and beyond. She spoke of thousands trained — students, educators, editors, mentors — all part of a growing global shift in how news can serve its audiences.
I loved that she emphasized impact, not just activity. She mentioned universities integrating solutions journalism into their curricula, media networks collaborating, and stories influencing policy shifts.
It was no surprise that they were partners for this Summit.
The keynote presentation was done by Fatimah Alkali, Senior Communications Officer, Gates Foundation Nigeria. She described the global context of declining development funding, shrinking fiscal space, and competing crises, yet insisted that opportunities exist to build stronger systems.
She challenged us to rethink how we measure impact:
from outputs to long-term outcomes
from top-down design to community co-creation
from passive reporting to proactive, evidence-based communication
She emphasized that journalists (and storytellers) are not bystanders to development: we are central to how societies imagine solutions.
Prudence Enema, Social Media Assistant at Nigeria Health Watch, closed out these sessions of remarks with a spoken poem. “The pen is us,” she said. “The pen is who tells the truth.” And in popular culture parlance, I know that's right!
What Is Working
I loved the showcase on How to Make People Care by Anita Eboigbe, Chief Operating Officer, Big Cabal Media. She tells stories so relatably. I have followed Zikoko Magazine, a subsidiary of Big Cabal Media, almost since its inception in 2015. I watched it grow from funny BuzzFeed-like polls that were very Nigerian to their first set of films on YouTube. And for the first time, we were getting insider tips for why their model was working.
Anita spoke directly and boldly. She enthused that young audiences do not want lectures. They want clarity, humanity, and context. They want to understand, not to be overwhelmed.
She pushed us to ask: How do we make people care about what we write? Her insight was that the bridge between complexity and understanding is built with strong storytelling, emotional connection, and honest framing.
From this showcase, we moved to the first panel session, whose theme – Complicating the Narrative: Finding Solutions Stories in Times of Conflict and Crisis – made me do a double-take. How was complicating the narrative a way to find solutions? Turns out, this was a wordplay on not complicating the narrative when addressing crises and conflicts.
The session was moderated by Chibuike Alagboso, Director of Programmes, Nigeria Health Watch, and had Dina Aboughazala (Founder and CEO, Egab, Egypt), Nathaniel Bivan (Freelance Journalist, Author, Editor), Dayo Aiyetan (Executive Director, International Centre for Investigative Reporting – ICIR), and Patrick Gathara (Senior Editor for Inclusive Storytelling, The New Humanitarian) on the panel.
Dina transported us into conflict zones — Sudan, Gaza — where solutions journalism still thrives. She explained that even in the harshest environments, people innovate to survive. She told us to ask two questions:
How are they surviving?
Who is filling the gap?
With these, we can always tell the stories that matter in a way that is solutions-focused.
Nathaniel shared a powerful account of peacebuilding efforts in Plateau State: how young people once trapped in violence found healing through community activities like sports and rehabilitation. His reporting shone a light on initiatives transforming lives quietly but powerfully.
Dayo debunked the myth that investigative journalism and solutions journalism are opposites. “Solutions journalism is investigative,” he insisted. “It examines structures that make things work.”
He spoke about stories uncovering effective public systems, and the courage required to report them — even within institutions resistant to introspection.
Patrick asked us to consider what we owe the communities we report on. He challenged the ways the media often strips humanity from people in crisis, reducing them to victims. He said, “People do not stop living in crisis. They still hope, work, love, marry, trade, and dream.”
His call was simple: tell the full human story.
We shared more insights from the session across our social media platforms.
During the Lightning Talk: Solutions That Surprised You, several journalists offered powerful reflections on unexpected solutions emerging from the communities they cover.
Ogar Monday, Freelance Solutions Journalist, opened the session by telling the story of forests that sit at the heart of poor communities, where survival depends on daily interaction with the land. Using the Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove as his case study, he explained that the forest has remained untouched for more than four centuries, not because of formal conservation laws, but because faith and cultural belief systems have protected it. This revelation surprised him and pushed him to explore how traditional spirituality can succeed where institutional governance is weak. In the panel session, he shared that he became interested in this angle after years of seeing communities struggle with conservation rules they did not understand. The Osun Osogbo forest showed him that a long-standing cultural solution could offer deeper insight than any immediate policy response. For him, a good solution story must be grounded in history, longevity, and sustained impact.
Aisha Gambo, a journalist with the News Agency of Nigeria, shifted the room into the world of child protection, trauma, and fear. Her story began with cases of missing children and the rising dread of child trafficking. But what surprised her was the community’s own response: traditional leaders working hand in hand with the police, community heads sheltering rescued children, and a grassroots network that relied on a WhatsApp group to circulate photos, announce missing children, and celebrate reunifications. She described playing the dual role of source and reporter as she navigated this delicate terrain. During the panel session, she shared that she had not expected traditional rulers to be so central in ensuring child safety. She also emphasised that solutions reporting has a limitations pillar because community-led responses, while powerful, are never flawless. When covering sensitive issues like gender-based violence or trafficking, she encouraged journalists to rely on trusted intermediaries rather than going directly to deeply traumatised victims.
Abiodun Jamiu, Journalist, DW, brought attention to the quiet but radical shifts happening in Sokoto. In a deeply traditional society where women are expected to stay home and raise families, a workshop is training women to become mechanics. Fifty women have already passed through the programme. The sight of women fixing cars continues to challenge long-standing norms, and the ripple effects have become visible: older women are now returning to school because of the inspiration they draw from these female mechanics. He described the assignment as an extraordinary moment in his career, one that reshaped the kinds of stories his newsroom now prioritises.
Emiene Erameh, Managing Editor, All Women Media, confronted the reality of Nigeria’s plastic pollution crisis, where only twelve percent of plastic is recycled. She set out to tell the story of the women who pick plastic bottles around Abuja, only to meet walls of hostility and silence. She later learned that many of them were underpaid and felt exploited, making them distrustful of journalists. She spent days searching the city, encountering the same resistance everywhere, until she finally found a woman willing to talk. She had to humble herself, listen to the woman’s pace, and accept that solutions journalism sometimes stretches the reporting process longer than expected. Her reporting later led her to a larger story about Chanja Datti, the recycling company that processes the plastic collected by these women. When asked how journalists can protect their story ideas, she advised that pitches should be documented in writing and submitted through channels that leave evidence of authorship. She discouraged pitching in environments with known ethical concerns.
I especially loved how this session unfolded because it told often-unheard or overlooked stories in ways that encouraged storytellers to embrace both the darkness and the light, because even in loss, there is life, and in life, there is always more to uncover.
The session ended with a brief Q&A, leaving the audience reflecting on how deeply communities themselves shape solutions, often in ways that outsiders least expect.
The first day was interspersed with interactive sessions that made the room break out in a happy dance led by Coach Rex, competitive games, an inspiring Video from One, and the reminder that though Solutions Journalism is serious work, it is also fun, engaging, and…human.
The How
The second day came with a bigger promise.
One of the most significant learning sessions was on How We Tell Stories Matters – The Cost of Africa’s Framing, a session led by Chude Jideonwo, Host of the syndicated talk show #WithChude and Chair, Fourthmainland Creator Fund.
Chude Jideonwo delivered a reflection on the way African stories are framed and the cost that framing carries. He began with a simple but demanding truth: to make a meaningful impact, a journalist must refuse to compromise. A strong point of view, he argued, is often the only tool that can pierce through noise and move audiences. Independence is therefore essential. For him, an independent journalist does not reject funding, but one whose voice, mind, and story cannot be altered by money or influence.
He warned that journalism is suffering a major crisis of disconnection from its audience. If the people consuming the news do not believe it speaks to them or reflects their realities, journalism loses its essence. For this reason, he insisted that the industry must build financial models that are rooted directly in the audience. Money itself is not the enemy; the problem lies in how funding frames stories. Capitalism and democracy both compel creators to listen to the consumer, and in journalism, the consumer is the audience. If foreign funding disappears and the entire structure collapses, he said, that is not a funding problem but an identity problem. All money carries a point of view, and independence requires resisting any attempt to shift one’s integrity, whether the money is local or foreign.
He urged journalists to focus on understanding why people act the way they do, rather than rushing to condemn. Independence remains the anchor of solutions journalism because it gives reporters the clarity and courage required to tell the full truth.
In response to some questions he got, he shared four poignant responses.
Funding From The Private Sector
When asked how journalists can use their platforms to attract private sector funding, Chude shared that he recently launched a $500,000 fund for young content creators. His own platform is low-income, but he has built a model that sustains his work after twenty-five years in the industry. He explained that the goal is to support what he calls the “Avengers of Journalism,” a generation of storytellers who can build profitable and sustainable models without diluting their truth.Concerns About Funders’ Intentions
Responding to a question about ensuring that funding remains altruistic, he emphasised that funders always have clear objectives, and it is unethical for them to hide these intentions. The responsibility of the journalist is to use early funding to build sustainable structures: tell compelling stories, grow a loyal audience, and then convert that audience into a stable revenue stream. In his view, endless talk changes nothing; building working models is the only path forward.How The Fourth Mainland Hub Contributes To Social Change
He highlighted young creators like Jude Bella, who blend history and politics into content that is deeply relatable for Nigerians. These fresh voices are challenging the monotony of common narratives and building trust with audiences by telling stories rooted in local experience.Tips On Drawing Emotion From Stories
Chude closed by sharing that he entered podcasting with a mission. He had experienced depression and wanted to create work that would help others. Because he has lived through the emotional terrain his guests often describe, he can connect deeply with them. For him, powerful storytelling is not just a skill; it is a purpose. His role is not merely to interview, but to draw out the truth with empathy and intention.
A doctor in the audience underscored the urgency of responsible storytelling, using anecdotes and live experience from her journey as a medical practitioner to ask journalists to emphasize all sides of any given story.
The SoJo Lab: Turning Barriers into Breakthroughs
The session brought journalists, editors, and trainers into a lively, problem-solving space facilitated across four thematic areas. The facilitators included Dara Ajala Damisa (MDIF), Seun Durojaiye (Founder, Social Voices), Innocent Eteng (Managing Director, Prime Progress), Rasheed Adebiyi (Media Educator, Fountain University), and Kehinde Ogunyale (Data Journalist, Dataphyte). Here are some insights from the session.
Funding and Sustainability
The financial realities facing solutions-focused reporting are a reality anyone can relate to. Global funding shifts have created visible blocks, yet every journalist has the potential to find strong solutions stories. Collaboration remains one of the most powerful ways to unlock resources. Building community structures that support reporting can also shift how African issues are framed. Journalists must understand the risk profiles behind the solutions they pursue and align their stories with opportunities that can sustain their work.
Editorial Support
Solutions journalism is not defined by catchy headlines but by rigorous editorial processes. A strong solutions story must reflect the four pillars: the response, evidence of impact, limitations, and insights. Cultural and economic contexts must also be examined.
Barriers include a lack of confidence, newsroom resistance, misconceptions that solutions stories are not investigative, and editors who lack the knowledge to edit these stories. Recommendations included pitching to more receptive newsrooms, training editors, updating stylebooks, introducing solutions journalism into media curricula, and building collaborative journalist networks.
Staying Objective
Objectivity begins with intention. Journalists must hold themselves accountable before holding others to account. Reports should be approached with calm, avoid unnecessary emotional framing, and prioritise dialogue in cases of conflict. Other clarifications include:
Objectivity is a framework, not truth itself.
Solutions journalism naturally supports balance by requiring context, evidence, limitations, and multiple perspectives.
A failed solution can still be a solutions journalism story.
When a conflict of interest arises, objectivity can fail; journalists must recognise such moments.
Funding, he added, must never dictate how a story is written.
Lack of Adequate Training
There are widespread training gaps. Many journalists lack exposure to solutions journalism, and training programmes rarely have sufficient funding or follow-up support. Structural issues persist:
Traditional newsroom habits focus heavily on problems.
Infodemics make rigorous training essential.
People with disabilities are often excluded from training, weakening representation.
Young journalists lack practical experience, and lecturers themselves need capacity building.
There is a need to encourage integrating solutions journalism across university curricula, improving newsroom–academia collaboration, and using social media challenges to engage younger reporters. A central resource hub available in multiple languages would also bridge many access barriers.
Limited Access to Quality Evidence
The misconception that data and solutions journalism do not mix is just that: a misconception. Journalists often miss key insights because they begin stories with conclusions instead of evidence.
There is a need to:
Localise data to the community’s reality.
Look beyond initiators and focus on beneficiaries.
Understand that the same data can yield different stories depending on context.
Avoid creating or forcing “victims” just to fit a narrative.
Explore policy gaps that hint at future problems.
Write stories in layers, recognising that some solutions evolve.
Continuity, context, and community-focused interpretation of data are what make solutions stories resonate.
I (and other members of the Shades of Us team) were in these labs, and our takeaway has stayed with us. Yes, there are systemic challenges. But…there are also innovative solutions. And we can make things work if we do try.
The unveiling of SoJo QuickInsights by Nigeria Health Watch's Chinwendu Iroegbu (Media Programme Officer) and Ebenezer Olla (IT and Innovations Manager) felt like watching the future appear in real time. SoJo QuickInsights is an AI-powered platform with over 15,000 solutions stories. It is a tool built for journalists, researchers, policymakers, students, and enthusiasts.
During the research insights dissemination, Anwuli Nwankwo, the Knowledge Management Lead at Nigeria Health Watch, walked us through a comprehensive mixed-methods study assessing the uptake of Solutions Journalism across Nigeria. She explained how her team combined qualitative and quantitative data with social listening across twenty social media platforms. Their findings were striking: awareness of Solutions Journalism is extremely low. About 80 percent of respondents do not understand what SoJo means, 71 percent have no knowledge of it at all, and 70 percent are unsure of the sources of the stories they consume. Many Nigerians feel overwhelmed or hopeless when confronted with problem-focused reporting, but an encouraging 77 percent said they would feel more hopeful if the news included solutions-focused narratives. With distrust in the media still evident, Anwuli emphasised that a solutions approach could help rebuild confidence. She recommended stronger institutional adoption, increased public awareness, intentional use of social media, and more funding and capacity building.
From there, Caroline Karobia, the Africa Initiative Manager at the Solutions Journalism Network, shared insights from a cross-country study that explored what is working in Nigeria and Kenya. Her team used interviews, focus groups, and a WhatsApp reflection activity involving 200 Nigerian journalists. Caroline highlighted that solutions stories tend to be more popular and remain relevant longer than traditional news pieces. They inspire community agency, spark replication of ideas, and often prompt faster government follow-up. However, she pointed out key challenges. Many reporters avoid labeling their work as Solutions Journalism to prevent resistance from editors, and the approach is frequently mistaken for public relations. Most newsrooms also lack internal budgets for solutions reporting, forcing journalists to depend on external grants.
The final presentation came from Daniel Otunge, the Deputy Executive Director of Science Africa, who discussed the uptake of Solutions Journalism in East Africa. Science Africa began promoting SoJo in the region in 2020, and Daniel shared findings from a study involving 389 survey respondents and 36 key informants drawn from editors, correspondents, reporters, and students. He noted that most media organisations in East Africa do not have dedicated SOJO desks. His team assessed audience engagement with solutions stories and observed instances where such stories influenced policy discussions. Daniel outlined the major barriers to adoption, including inadequate training, limited editorial support, low funding, and persistent audience demand for traditional reporting styles. He closed with recommendations focused on capacity building, financial and logistical support, institutional strengthening, public engagement, partnerships, and incentive systems that recognise SoJo excellence.
During the final panel session, Nina Fasciaux guided a reflective conversation that tied directly into the research findings shared earlier. She pushed the panelists to consider collaboration beyond the initiative, the surprises they had encountered in their Solutions Journalism journeys, the lessons they wished they had learned earlier, and their thinking around sustainability.
Caroline Karobia explained that one of the most encouraging discoveries has been the replicability of Solutions Journalism across regions. University-led Solutions Story Challenges in other parts of the world revealed possibilities for similar models in East and West Africa. What continues to surprise her is the sheer quality and impact of stories produced when journalists receive support to apply the solutions lens; she recalled a recent Rwanda cohort where every story earned an award. Yet she admitted that, in hindsight, they should have brought editors on board much earlier. Editors hold significant influence, and without early engagement, much momentum was delayed. With more funding, she said, they intend to correct this gap in the coming year.
Daniel Otunge reflected on the East African experience. Their biggest lesson came from working through media networks, recognising that journalists are naturally drawn to professional associations. This approach made it easier to scale Solutions Journalism. Daniel spoke passionately about the transformative power of a single well-reported solutions story — how it can shift the trajectory of entire communities or even influence national conversations. He noted that some communities had been overlooked until Solutions Journalism illuminated their challenges and potential. Looking back, he said he would have more deliberately engaged academic institutions from the beginning. The future of the field lies in universities, where students can be trained in Solutions Journalism before entering newsrooms. He underscored the need to work with schools, editors, and development organisations that shape policy and practice.
Finally, Chibuike Alagboso, Director of Media Programmes at Nigeria Health Watch, shared his journey. Although Nigeria Health Watch has long prioritised community stories, its formal Solutions Journalism work began in 2020. When he was asked to lead the Solutions Journalism Africa Initiative, he admitted he was afraid, but also proud of how much he was able to achieve, crediting his Managing Director, Vivienne, for trusting him with the role. Reflecting on lessons learned, Chibuike explained that the research insights revealed actions they should have taken from the start — most importantly, giving editors deeper context about audience needs and expectations. Looking forward, he emphasised sustainability: expanding partnerships with universities and lecturers, though this requires funding, and strengthening collaborations with government agencies under the Ministry of Information. The goal is to secure Solutions Journalism story funding as a formal budget line. He also noted the growing success of community reporting trips, where journalists are trained and then deployed to produce grounded, community-centred stories.
Carrying the Movement Forward
As Chibuike delivered the closing remarks, I felt full. Two days had gone by in what felt like a breath. Yet in that breath was a world of insight, courage, humility, and renewed responsibility.
I left knowing we are shaping how people see themselves, their communities, their country, and their continent.
Solutions journalism is rigorous.
It is necessary.
It is transformative.
And I am honoured to be part of this movement — one story at a time.
So what happens when journalists choose solutions? This work is important because stories shape identity, possibility, and progress. For too long, narratives about our communities have been dominated by challenges without the balance of resilience, innovation, and solutions already emerging from within. By intentionally highlighting what works, we empower citizens, inspire confidence, guide decision-makers, and help shift the public conversation from resignation to action. Solutions-focused storytelling becomes a way to report and a tool for development and collective transformation.
Our work is rooted in solutions-focused storytelling, and we recognize the need for more organizations championing this approach to help drive meaningful change in our country. Shades of Us is proud to collaborate with Nigeria Health Watch, an organization doing remarkable work in building the capacity of journalists and storytellers, and in sharing impactful stories that challenge us to view ourselves differently.
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