A few weeks ago, I attended a major media sustainability conference organised by the Media Development Investment Fund and the Daily Trust Foundation. While the event focused on the future of journalism in Nigeria, it also served as the close-out event for NAMIP’s three-year work in the country.

There are so many good things one could say about NAMIP and its impact on Nigeria’s media sector. But what struck me most was a logo sitting quietly in the corner of all the media materials at the event — the MacArthur Foundation’s logo.

If you scan through all the major journalism innovations and interventions in Nigeria over the last 10 years, that logo is always there. And that is exactly what this article is about: nine years of aggressive media and journalism support in Nigeria.

Nine years after MacArthur launched its On Nigeria initiative, investigative journalism in the country stands stronger, more resilient, and better equipped to serve democracy. But new risks and funding questions remain.

In 2015, Nigeria’s journalism landscape stood at a crossroads. The country had long boasted a vibrant press tradition — fiercely independent newspapers, brave reporters, and a history of holding power to account. Yet beneath that surface, investigative journalism was fragile: scattered efforts, few dedicated investigative desks, limited funding, and reporters often working at great personal risk without institutional protection or legal support.

In a country where corruption, opacity, and abuse of power remained persistent threats to governance, something more systemic was needed — not just courageous individual journalists, but strong institutions capable of sustaining investigative reporting as a pillar of democratic accountability.

It was against this backdrop that the MacArthur Foundation launched its On Nigeria initiative — a bold, multi-year,