By Ladi Gbegi
Young Nigerian creatives have pledged to use art, music and storytelling to promote whistleblowing, integrity and accountability across the country.
They made the commitment after emerging as winners of the 2026 World Whistleblower Day Art and Media Competition, organised by Step Up Nigeria in collaboration with the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa.
The competition attracted 172 submissions from participants across 31 states, with winners emerging in five categories. Each winner received a cash prize of ₦500,000.
The winners are Gilbert Owan (Skit), Akinfolarin Jeremiah Damilola (Music), Anita Wokoji (Poetry and Spoken Word), Moses Idowu Sodipo (Visual Arts) and Oguche Gabriel (Writing).
Speaking after winning the Poetry and Spoken Word category, Anita Wokoji said artists have a responsibility to use their craft to address societal challenges and inspire positive change.
“My assignment as an artist is not just to create art but to inspire the next generation of leaders,” she said.
Wokoji described storytelling as a powerful tool for civic engagement, noting that art can help ordinary Nigerians better understand issues such as whistleblowing and accountability.
“When something is happening in your community or environment and you witness wrongdoing, you should speak out. Corruption is corruption, irrespective of where it occurs,” she said.
She added that lasting social change often begins with consistent and deliberate conversations.
“Words are powerful. They are like seeds. As long as you make people feel and think, one day they will act and make the right choice,” she said.
Music category winner Jeremiah Akinfolarin said he intends to use music and film to influence young people and promote positive values.
“Moving forward, I plan to create more content that highlights important values, addresses wrongdoing and exposes practices that are harmful to society,” he said.
Reflecting on his journey into filmmaking, Akinfolarin recounted how a church drama production contributed to the reconciliation of a separated couple.
“I realised that I had been able to use my craft to help save someone’s marriage,” he said.
He stressed the importance of courage in reporting wrongdoing.
“We will build a better Nigeria if only we have the courage to speak up and take action,” he added.
The Programme Manager of Step Up Nigeria, Feranmi Iyanda, said the competition demonstrated growing youth interest in whistleblowing and accountability.
“We received over 172 entries from 31 states across Nigeria. Young people are interested in discussing whistleblowing, and that is truly remarkable,” she said.
Iyanda announced that the winners would form the inaugural cohort of World Whistleblower Day Fellows, a network expected to mentor future participants and sustain advocacy efforts.
She also renewed calls for the enactment of a whistleblower protection law in Nigeria.
“A whistleblower policy was introduced in 2016 by the Federal Ministry of Finance, but Nigeria still does not have a whistleblower protection law,” she said.
According to her, whistleblowing extends beyond anti-corruption efforts and includes reporting issues relating to public safety, security, environmental concerns and other matters affecting the public interest.
Representing the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Suleiman Achebe highlighted the commission’s efforts to promote integrity among young Nigerians through Student Anti-Corruption Clubs in secondary schools and Student Anti-Corruption Vanguard programmes in tertiary institutions.
“Part of the broader definition of integrity is doing the right thing even when nobody is watching,” he said.
The Communications Manager of Step Up Nigeria, Dr Shekwogaza Kure, said the competition was designed to amplify young voices and encourage conversations around whistleblowing, accountability, transparency and stronger legal protections for whistleblowers.
“The competition gave young Nigerians an opportunity to use creativity as a tool for advocacy,” he said.
Kure added that Step Up Nigeria would release two podcast episodes as part of activities marking World Whistleblower Day, featuring experts and winners of the competition.
