IT was different 16 years ago. Very different. At that time, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, was relatively new and walking where angels feared to tread. That was unusual for a government institution, especially a law enforcement agency.
Githongo was right. Corruption in Kenya fought him back so furiously that it exiled him to the UK. You can read the rest of the story in Michela Wrong’s It’s Our Turn to Eat. To help Ribadu deal with his own misery back home, the press pitched in big time. It took it as its own war to the point where the commission was often accused of media trial.
That’s one of the reasons why promoting my new book, Writing for Media and Monetising It, has been different.
The change we’re living through is relentless, a point poignantly made by Dr. Reuben Abati, who reviewed the book, and the cross-generational panel of discussants chaired by Professor Abiodun Adeniyi. There is a shortage of resources, especially for young journalists, writers, and content creators, who must adapt well to the changing seasons. This book tries to fill the gap.
The unique quality of the book is that it combines the seasons that fostered my career, to borrow from Sonala Olumhense’s blurb, with a narrative of how younger writers can take advantage and be rewarded by evolving trends in the media.