An online publication, HumAngle Media Ltd, is set to launch in Abuja to focus on investigating and reporting how violent conflicts affect the common man and find solutions to insecurity across the country and Africa at large.
The organisation, which provides critical and unique narratives to support vulnerable populations and drive public awareness, was co-founded by distinguished journalists and conflict and terrorism reporters Obiora Chukwumba and Ahmad Salkida. In a press statement issued on Monday, it explained that its emergence was triggered by increasing instability faced on the continent which “calls for a publication that responds to this challenge while illustrating the impacts of insecurity on everyday people.”
“We want to create strong narratives about the meaning of humanity and journalism in Africa. There is a huge gap in our media. No publication is addressing insecurity with the seriousness it deserves. There is no digital and print space that is operating ahead of the terrorists which leaves everyone else helpless. The gap is huge, and this gap has global resonance because insecurity in Africa affects the entire world,” the statement said.
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According to the cofounders, it is of extreme importance that insecurity on the continent is studied and reported not only with expertise but by Africans themselves.
“Insecurity in Africa has many dimensions that an external voice cannot recognise and tell,” says Chukwumba, who has over thirty years of investigative reporting experience and is a recent News Agency of Nigerian (NAN) veteran.
Salkida, a prominent conflict and terrorism reporter who has worked with several local and international organizations, noted that HumAngle is about hearing the news directly from the actors and those most affected by conflict. The aim of the ground-breaking media house is to escalate awareness on the multiple conflict situations in the region to the world.
“HumAngle will provide solutions from experts while defining what makes a place insecure. We are the experts of our experience and our aim is to invest in narratives that are both informational and humanising,” he said. “The news will be reported and understood from the angle of those closet to these stories.”