Motunrayo Alaka

Motunrayo Alaka has worked in journalism, media innovation, communications, investigative reporting, civil society engagements, and social entrepreneurship for almost two decades.

In her home country, Nigeria, she is currently serving as the Executive Director/CEO of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) where she provides strategic leadership for the WSCIJ and its programmes and manages relationships with the organisation’s stakeholders. She has been instrumental in leading capacity-building programmes for over 7000 reporters, the implementation of over 1000 stories, and mentoring aspiring journalists.

Alaka spearheads several collaborations, including the Collaborative Media Engagement for Development, Inclusion and Accountability (CMEDIA) project with 26 partner organisations, and initiated the Report Women programme which champions the cause of women as leaders in newsrooms and the news.

Championing social change by initiating investigative reports on education, oil and gas, and women’s rights, Motunrayo Alaka has become a prominent figure in Nigeria’s media landscape. She became a Stanford University Draper Hills fellow in 2018 and is also a John S. Knight Journalism fellow class of 2020.