Ripples Nigeria wins DAME Award for Investigative Journalism

Ripples Nigeria on Sunday won an award at the 2023 edition of the Diamond Award for Media Excellence (DAME) held in Lagos.

The entry that earned Ripples the accolade titled: “How roadside foods endanger consumers’ life with trans fat in northern Nigeria,” was an investigative report undertaken by our correspondent, ADESOLA IKULAJOLU.

Ikulajolu traversed several cities in northern Nigeria, including Abuja, and two of the country’s most populous states – Kaduna and Kano, to examine the consumption of selected roadside foods and investigate their trans fat contents as it affects consumers’ health.

In the course of the work, he was able to uncover the effects of oil street vendors use in preparing fast foods like akara (bean cake), masa, ‘puff puff’, fried yam, suya, fried fish, and other short-term roadside snacks.

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According to the report, these ready-made foods, though not dangerous on their own, are high in trans fat content which exposes consumers to the risk of Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs).

It added that out of an estimated 854,000 deaths arising from CVDs in Nigeria, 3,229 were attributed to Trans Fatty Acids (TFA) traced to cardiovascular diseases due to consumption of these street foods.

The DAME was initiated in 1991 to promote and recognise professionalism in the media through awards to outstanding individuals and organisations, and has inducted over 560 names into its hall of fame in print journalism, broadcasting, and advertising.

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