Jake Okechukwu Effoduh

Okechukwu Jake Emmanuel Effoduh (born 12 December 1987)[2] is a Nigerian radio personality, human rights activist and lawyer. He anchored the community radio show Flava on BBC Media Action and is hosting the Talk Your Own: Make Naija Better programme, the latter of which has broadcast on over a hundred stations and has reached millions of listeners in Nigeria. He has been involved with several human rights organisations and projects, and is working as a research assistant with the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies in Abuja.[3]

Jake Okechukwu Effoduh
Born
Okechukwu Jake Emmanuel Effoduh[1]

(1987-12-12) 12 December 1987[2]
Lagos, Nigeria[3]
EducationUniversity of Abuja, Nigerian Law School
OccupationRadio personality, human rights activist, lawyer
Years active2006–present
Known forRadio presenter with BBC Media Action

Early life and education

Effoduh was born in Lagos on 12 December 1987.[3] In 1992, his family moved to Abuja where he attended primary school. For secondary school, he attended Federal Government College in Minna, Niger. At University of Abuja, he studied civil law and was involved as a president of several student organisations including the student magazine, human rights club, Red Cross Society, and International Humanitarian Law Advocates.[4] He got his Diploma of Law in 2006.[5] He received his LL.B in public and international law in 2010,[5] and became a founding partner of the school's "pro bono" office, which participated in several national and international law competitions, including one from Network of University Legal Aid Institution (NULAI). He went on to attend Nigerian Law School and was admitted to the Nigerian Bar Association in February 2012.[5]

Radio

Effoduh was a fan of BBC Media Action (BBC World Service Trust); when he heard that they were auditioning for a male presenter for a new show called Flava, he tried out and was eventually selected from 62 candidates.[3] He originally freelanced as a radio presenter for the programme to help finance his university education, but it had also increased his desires to help the community.[2][3][6] From 2006 to 2013, he anchored Flava,[5] a youth lifestyle and sexual reproductive health magazine programme where he addressed issues on HIV/AIDS among others. Effoduh has noted that Flava grew to broadcast on 103 radio stations in Nigeria,[5] and is one of the most popular radio programmes in the West Africa region.[2] It also gave him an opportunity to travel to all 36 states of Nigeria,[2] as well as 214 local government areas.[3] In November 2012, Effoduh was recognised as the Best Community Show Presenter at the 2012 Nigeria Radio Awards.[7][8]

In January 2013, Effoduh began hosting a new programme, Talk Your Own: Make Naija Better (Talk Your Own Make Nigeria Better)[3] a 30-minute show covering governance issues in Nigeria.[2][3][5] It has aired on over a hundred stations, with the aim of a more inclusive and wider listener base.[5] He also noted that BBC Media Action wanted to train radio presenters to produce and host more localised shows.[5]

For his National Youth Service Corps primary assignment[note 1] In 2013, he became a research assistant with the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies.[3]

Activism

In August 2011, Effoduh spent three weeks in the quarters of the sex worker community in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of Nigeria, where he researched the human rights abuses faced by that population. He presented "Legal Protection of Sex Workers: a need to achieving effective HIV/AIDS intervention in the sex worker population of Nigeria" as a poster exhibition at the XIX International AIDS Conference held in Washington, DC in July 2012.[9] He also presented his information at the TEDxAbuja conference in October.[10]

In June 2012, he was invited by the United States Department of State to be the Nigerian representative and one of 20 journalists from 20 countries for a global reporting tour. The objective was to give journalists firsthand experience on key LGBT and other human rights issues in America, and it included a tour of the offices of the US Foreign Press Center.[2][11]> He has published a series of articles of his experience there.[12]

Effoduh has been involved with the Sickle Cell Aid Foundation (SCAF), established in 2010 as a non-governmental organisation (NGO) for the aid and support of indigent persons diagnosed with sickle cell anaemia in Nigeria.[5][13] SCAF has set up sickle cell clubs in many secondary schools; in 2011 they donated drugs to local hospitals in the FCT and campaigned for better educating the public on sickle cell anaemia. In 2012, he introduced the Know Your Genotype campaign, which provides free genotype testing for one million Nigerians. He serves as the organisation's vice-president. He was nominated for The Future Awards Africa for his advocacy work in 2013.[3][14][15]

In 2017, Effoduh moderated a panel at Oxford University's OAC Breaking the Frame[works] conference at the Blavatnik School of Government, discussing the changing state of the African continent, on the topics of media transformation and technology. He was part of the initialing of monumental heirloom the Philosopher's Legacy.[16]

Personal life

Effoduh's family is Catholic, but he has mentioned that his childhood friends were Muslims from the north, so he enjoyed the food and culture there.[3] Effoduh currently lives in Abuja, Nigeria. In a September 2012 interview where he is asked his relationship status, he replied, "I am in a relationship and I don't think it is distracting. It actually lowers my gaze and keeps me responsible."[2] In a January 2014 interview, he mentioned he was single and does not have a ring on his finger.

Notes
  1. Effoduh's assignment for the National Youth Service Corps took place from November 2011 to November 2012.

References
  1. "Sickle Cell Aid Foundation | Presidents". SCAF. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  2. Nwelue, Onyeka (15 September 2012). "In Conversations: Onyeka Nwelue talks to Jake Okechukwu Effoduh". WeRunThings. Archived from the original on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  3. "Jake Okechukwu Effoduh; The Radio Presenter". Zimuzo. 14 January 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  4. "About Jake Okechukwu Effoduh - InfoHub". infohub.projecttopics.org. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  5. Egbeyinka, Olusegun (11 January 2014). "Jake Okechukwu Effoduh: A Radio Presenter". Young Naija Entrepreneurs. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  6. "Media Action".
  7. "THE FIRST NIGERIA RADIO AWARDS | Richykuzee's Blog". Richykuzee.wordpress.com. 26 November 2012. Archived from the original on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  8. "Nigeria Radio Awards". Archived from the original on 1 January 2013.
  9. Effoduh, Okechukwu (2012). "AIDS 2012 Abstract – Human rights and legal protection of sex workers: a necessity to achieving effective HIV/AIDS intervention amongst the sex work population of Nigeria". XIX International AIDS Conference. Archived from the original on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  10. "Speakers". TEDxAbuja. 2012. Archived from the original on 1 April 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  11. McQuade, Aaron (8 June 2012). "State Department Brings Overseas Journalists to GLAAD". GLAAD. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  12. Articles by Effoduh during visit to US:
  13. "Sickle Cell Aid Foundation | About Us". SCAF. Archived from the original on 21 June 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  14. "The Class of 2013: The full profile of nominees of The Future Awards Africa |". Ynaija.com. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  15. "Sickle Cell Aid Foundation | About Sickle Cell". SCAF. Archived from the original on 21 June 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  16. "Leaders endorse "Phylosophers' Legacy", a monumental piece". Talk Media Africa. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
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