Communiqué 02: The cost of good journalism in Nigeria

Good journalism in Nigeria requires a healthy business model that most media houses do not have. It also requires a dedication to truth-telling that could cost you your life.

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In the twilight of Dele Olojede’s publication, NEXT, a workforce that had grown to over 190 was down to roughly 20 people, many of them owed salaries. While Dele admits he and the management team made several bad business moves, the publication’s demise was also partly caused by the strength and audacity of its reporting.

Dele Olojede says that if he knew everything he knows about Nigeria now, he would not have started NEXT. He founded the publication to provide Nigerians with the information they needed to make better decisions and to get leaders to “think twice before acting”. Within 5 years, NEXT introduced a brand of journalism that was unlike the status quo.

Here’s an excerpt that highlights just how committed the publication was to doing great journalism:

“NEXT went to places that other news outlets simply would not. The team exposed the fact that Nigerian legisla…