David Hundeyin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

David Hundeyin
NationalityNigerian
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • Author
Websitedavidhundeyin.com

David Hundeyin is a Nigerian journalist and author.[1][2] He founded the West Africa Weekly, a Substack newsletter.[3]

Early life[edit]

Hundeyin initially studied mass communications at Igbinedion University before going overseas to study creative writing at the University of Hull and graduating in 2011. After working several jobs including a contract position at KPMG, he returned home to Nigeria in 2013.[4]

Career[edit]

Hundeyin is an investigative journalist. His reporting style, at times open-sourced, has won him multiple awards but also earned him criticism.[1] Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the writer, has called him a "brilliant" investigative journalist.[5]

NewswireNGR[edit]

In 2020, he wrote an article for NewswireNGR about Globacom and the work conditions and treatment of their Indian expatriate workers.[1] After the story was published, the workers received their owed pay.[6] India Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote Hundeyin a letter of appreciation for his journalism.[1]

He also wrote an investigative report about the potential human rights violations coming out of a proposed infectious diseases bill in Nigeria's house of representative addressing the COVID-19 lockdown. This article won Hundeyin a People Journalism Prize for Africa.[6][7]

In 2021, Hundeyin wrote about the rape and death of a 26-year-old woman. The article and several Tweets by Hundeyin alleged that the suspect used a hotel owned by the wife of Nigerian politician Godswill Akpabio. Akpabio demanded a retraction from Hundeyin because he believed the publication gave the impression that the couple was complicit in the crime and threatened a lawsuit.[2][8]

West Africa Weekly[edit]

Hundeyin received a grant from Substack Local to start the newsletter, West Africa Weekly, on its platform in 2021.[9] He attributed this publishing change to the creative and editorial freedom it afforded him. He accused Globacom, a telecom company, of throttling access to the NewswireNGR site after his report came out and said that the website would always get cyberattacks after he writes a story. His newsletter would be delivered to his subscribers directly through email instead.[10]

In 2022, Hundeyin published investigative articles on Nigerian presidential candidate Bola Tinubu, tech start-up Flutterwave, and the BBC’s West Africa operations. The reports initiated intense social media conversations between Hundeyin and the subjects of his articles or their supporters.[9] Hundeyin is a supporter of Peter Obi, who ran against Tinubu in the 2023 presidential race.[11]

In April 2023, Hundeyin published Nigeria president-elect Tinubu's Guinean passport on Twitter which questioned his eligibility to become president. Hundeyin's Twitter account was locked for violating Twitter's policy on personal identifying information.[12][13]

James Currey Fellowship[edit]

In 2022, Hundeyin was announced as The Distinguished James Currey Fellow for 2023 as an academic visitor to the Centre of African Studies at The University of Cambridge after signing a publishing deal with the founder of the program, Onyeka Nwelue.[14][15] In March 2023, Hundeyin was dismissed from Cambridge after an investigation into his conduct with Nwelue during his book launch at Oxford University.[16][17] While Nwelue was accused of misrepresenting himself as an Oxford University professor even though he was an unpaid Academic Visitor,[18] Hundeyin was accused by attendees of the event of making misogynistic and sexist comments.[17] On Twitter, he presented his fellowship as being awarded by Cambridge University even though he was just an academic visitor under Nwelue's now discredited fellowship scheme.[19] Hundeyin later accused Oxford professor Miles Larmer and Kaduna state Governor Nasir el-Rufai, an advisor to Oxford's African Studies Centre, of being behind the accusations and development, but provided no evidence in support of his allegations.[20][21]

Personal life[edit]

After participating in the #EndSARS protest, he left Nigeria in 2020 when multiple threats were made against him.[4][22] He was granted asylum and refugee status in Ghana in 2022.[22]

Awards and recognition[edit]

• Royal Commonwealth Society "Write Around The World", Class B (14-15 years old) 3rd Prize, 2006[23][24]

• People Journalism Prize for Africa, 2020[25]

• GRC & Anti-Financial Crime Reporter of the Year, 2021[26][27]

• James Currey Fellowship, 2023[28][29]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Babalola, Ayoola (29 January 2022). "India Prime Minister Modi commends Nigerian reporter David Hundeyin for exposing fraud, injustice at Globacom". Peoples Gazette. Archived from the original on 20 February 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b Anthony, Bassey (14 May 2021). "Iniuobong Umoren: Don't threaten me with lawsuit, David Hundeyin replies Akpabio". The Nation. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  3. ^ Onukwue, Alexander (13 April 2022). "Flutterwave's CEO is under scrutiny over allegations of financial misconduct". Quartz. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  4. ^ a b Ibe-Anyanwu, Immanuel James. "INTERVIEW: Life in exile for David Hundeyin, journalist unmasking Pantami's, Nigeria's dangerous secrets". NigeriaAbroad.com. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  5. ^ Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi (15 September 2023). "Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: 'García Márquez taught me the exquisite power of stories'". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Indian PM, Modi, commends Journalist David Hundeyin". NewsWireNGR. 28 January 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  7. ^ Nigeria, News Agency of (22 February 2021). "Hundeyin, Chin'ono, FemCo win Gatefield journalism awards". Peoples Gazette. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  8. ^ Anthony, Bassey (15 May 2021). "How I killed job seeker Iniubong Umoren, by suspect". The Nation. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  9. ^ a b Oluka, Benon Herbert (3 January 2023). "Africa's crusading journalists veer away from the mainstream". Jamlab. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  10. ^ Udodiong, Inem (17 November 2021). "The Rise of Newsletters: Here's Why More Nigerian Journalists Are In Your Inbox". The Culture Custodian (Est. 2014.). Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  11. ^ Iniobong, Iwok (16 November 2022). "Why I am exposing Tinubu - Hundeyin". Businessday NG. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  12. ^ AKINTADE, ADEFEMOLA (17 April 2023). "Twitter locks David Hundeyin's account after exposing Bola Tinubu's Guinean citizenship". Peoples Gazette. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  13. ^ "Guinean Citizenship: Tinubu Lied Under Oath; He Should Be Jailed, Says David Hundeyin | Sahara Reporters". saharareporters.com. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  14. ^ "David Hundeyin named University of Cambridge Fellow | Sankaara Review". Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  15. ^ "Dismissed academic visitor ran unofficial "Oxbridge fellowship" scheme for financial associates". Cherwell. 15 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  16. ^ "Nigerian 'professor' sacked by Oxford University". The Nation. 4 March 2023. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  17. ^ a b "Fake professor dismissed from Oxford apologises for misogyny at fraudulent book launch". Cherwell. 2 March 2023. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  18. ^ Uchechukwu, Oghenekevwe (3 March 2023). "Controversy as Oxford terminates association with Onyeka Nwelue, David Hundeyin". The ICIR- Latest News, Politics, Governance, Elections, Investigation, Factcheck, Covid-19. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  19. ^ "Dismissed academic visitor ran unofficial "Oxbridge fellowship" scheme for financial associates". Cherwell. 15 March 2023. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  20. ^ Okafor, Chiamaka (3 March 2023). "Nigerian author dismissed from University of Oxford". Premium Times Nigeria. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  21. ^ Uchechukwu, Oghenekevwe (3 March 2023). "Controversy as Oxford terminates association with Onyeka Nwelue, David Hundeyin". The ICIR- Latest News, Politics, Governance, Elections, Investigation, Factcheck, Covid-19. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  22. ^ a b "Tinubu Regime Wants To Silence Me, Recently Attempted To Abduct Me From Ghana, Nigerian Investigative Journalist, Hundeyin Tells UN Council | Sahara Reporters". saharareporters.com. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  23. ^ "COMMONWEALTH CENTRE, GLOBAL VISION - The Royal ..." yumpu.com. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  24. ^ "To become a journalist, I broke a family code – David Hundeyin tells his story". Political Economist. 15 January 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  25. ^ "Gatefield's People Journalism Prize for Africa 2020 Winners". Gatefield. 19 February 2021. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  26. ^ Nosike, Moses (18 December 2021). "How winners emerge at GRC and FinCrime Prevention Awards 2021". Vanguard News. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  27. ^ "Winners emerge in maiden GRC and FinCrime Prevention awards". The Guardian Nigeria News. 18 December 2021. Archived from the original on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  28. ^ "Fake professor dismissed from Oxford apologises for misogyny at fraudulent book launch". 2 March 2023. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  29. ^ Kan, Toni (25 October 2022). "David Hundeyin named University of Cambridge Fellow". The Lagos Review. Archived from the original on 27 February 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_Hundeyin&oldid=1222383966"