ACDJ Remembers Founder, Rotimi Sankore, a Year After

The African Centre for Development Journalism (ACDJ), a media nonprofit focused on promoting development journalism, remembers the passing of its Executive Director/Editor-in-Chief, Rotimi Sankore, who passed on a year ago on April 12, 2024.

A press statement by ACDJ described Sankore as someone who fiercely advocated for democratic accountability, human rights, gender equality, and public health across the African continent and whose “legacy stands tall in every newsroom he touched, every policy space where he demanded better for the marginalised, and in every mind he inspired with his fearless commitment to evidence-based reporting.”

“At the ACDJ, we were privileged to have been led by Rotimi on numerous projects that sought to elevate the quality and impact of development journalism in Africa. His leadership was instrumental in shaping narratives that moved beyond headlines to the heart of the issues that matter, from maternal health and migration to freedom of expression and the rights of vulnerable communities,” the statement said.

The ACDJ statement noted that Sankore believed in journalism as a force for good and carried this belief with integrity, passion, and an unwavering resolve that earned him admiration across sectors and borders.

“As we reflect on his life, we are reminded of his principles and drive to entrench an equal society. In his memory, we reaffirm our commitment to the values he lived by, which include speaking truth to power, holding institutions accountable, and telling the stories that too often go unheard,” the statement noted.

ACDJ believes Sankore’s legacy lives on in the countless lives he touched directly and indirectly through the media, and through the evolution of Development Reporting as a journalism niche gap he championed, which is now being filled in Nigeria and Africa.