3 Take-Aways From The #AirtelChangeYourStory Digital Journalism Training

The hands of the clock on the wall inside The Hub, venue of the #AirtelChangeYourStory training gradually creeps toward 5pm on Wednesday evening.
25 young professionals, banded into seven uneven groups, hurriedly put the finishing touches to group projects with Dan Mason, facilitator of the training, scurrying from one table to another, always ready to offer an helping hand.
Taiwo Obe, fondly called T.O, founder of the Journalism Clinic and Pelu Awofeso, travel author and T.O’s right hand man also move around trying to allay the apprehension of the trainees.
It is a convivial atmosphere, friendships forged in less than three days of interaction borne of mutual respect and recognition of the unique abilities of each trainee.
So, after three days, what are the takeaways that will linger in the memory after the clock would have reached the 5pm destination and we bid each other goodbye?
- Dan Mason Is Simply Amazing — The first thing that strikes you about Dan is his easy-going nature, nothing like the lecturers and facilitators you have come to know in the many trainings and seminars that dot a journalist’s professional life.

Dan’s energy, passion, attention to detail and his incredible sense of humour makes every message that passes through his mouth to become the proverbial palm oil which eases the journey of the yam down the throat towards the abdomen.
We’ll surely miss Dan. We can only hope he stays in touch so that we can continue to tap from his deep knowledge of his craft.
2. Nigeria is full of talented people eager to tell their stories: Over the past three days, if this were to be a 100m race, you will be hard-pressed to pick any of the 25 trainees as a clear winner.

Each person has demonstrated commitment, passion and a willingness to learn. I’m not sure Dan Mason or even The Journalism Clinic would see a better disciplined, more focused set than this.
To paraphrase T.O, this group has done excellently well. That is the story that must be told because inside every story is another story waiting to be told.
3. Big things come in small packages: It is confounding that one can learn as much as we did in just three days! Wow.
The defining moment, for me, was when I panicked during the video session that we didn’t have a microphone to do a proper recording of our video.

Voila, magic-man Dan Mason suggested an alternative which, though simple, was more effective than a conventional microphone would have been. The corpus of knowledge, wisdom nuggets and lessons in patience and attention to detail which we take away from the Journalism Clinic is mind-blowing.
What matters, as they say, is not the dog in a fight but the fight in the dog.
Now, the hand of the clock finally crawls like a snake on its chest past the 5pm closing time but today, unlike on other days, T.O is reluctant to call time on proceedings.
I guess he’ll miss this group. If it’s any comfort, we’ll all miss you too, uncle T.O.