SYMPATHETIC GBOYEGA ALAKA

Winner, CHILD FRIENDLY REPORTING, AT THE 24TH DAME

There is a lot in Gboyega Alaka’s winning report, WILD, WILD WORLD OF DOGS that should make one sad. This is a story of poor dog handling, weak regulation, and clueless policing that nearly led to the death of four year old Abraham Omonigho.

Two dogs belonging to a neighbour had feasted on the scalp of the young boy with neighbours and policemen unable to rescue the boy until his mother’s maternal instincts emboldened her to challenge the beasts and chase them away. It is the story of poor awareness on the part of dog owners and complicit health authorities on how to protect the public from unvaccinated dogs.

It is the story of poor policing for even after the dogs have tasted human blood, the police were still dawdling on what fate that should befall the dogs.

Alaka, a graduate of English from Obafemi Awolowo University of Ile Ife, started out as a field researcher and facilitator in 1998. He came into journalism in September 2001 when he joined the National Interest newspapers. A year later, he crossed over to Hallmark Newspaper, (now National Mirror) and after another year, he joined Genevieve Magazine in 2003. He later worked with Fone & Tech Magazine as a publisher, before joining the Nation in 2013, where he is currently the Chief Correspondent Sunday Desk and the Head of Features desk.