Mercy Abang

Mercy Banku Abang is an award winning journalist from Nigeria. She is known for her self-funded journalism focused on vulnerable population. She is Nigeria's most syndicated storyteller.[1]

Mercy Abang Moderating an event at Yale University, November 2017.

Mercy is the 2017 United Nations (Dag Hammarksjold) Journalism Fellow.[2]

She has gone on several election observation missions on the West African sub-continent. She has an interview series, "Conversations with Abang Mercy", which has had guests such as Reno Omokri, Dele Momodu and Chude Jideonwo.[3]

In 2017, she was named the woman of the Year in Journalism.[4] In 2012, she was named as one of 10 Young Nigerian Women to Watch.[5]

She played an important role in reporting the Ghanaian elections, covering various polling stations all over the country and reporting about the role of Ghanaian bloggers during the recently concluded elections.[6] She has also reported extensively about the activities of fulani herdsmen in Northern Nigeria, visiting communities in Niger state - bringing attention of the Nigerian people to the under -reported stories in Gbagyi communities.[7]

She started her work on television – as a political correspondent with Independent Television and Radio, Abuja – at a very young age, saddled with the responsibility of covering the political parties and the electoral commission. She became knowledgeable in Nigeria's politics and election matters. At ITV Abuja, she worked as a non-linear editor, presentation director and producer. One of the programs produced was This Morning on ITV, a breakfast show.

In the past, she has worked with her fellow African youths and civil societies organisations in lobbying and advocacy, organisations like Oxfam GB Nigeria, West African Civil Society Forum, Heinrich Boell Foundation amongst others. She has also been a stringer for the Associated Press and a fixer for the Sunday Times of London, the BBC World Service Trust amongst others.

In the course of her work with Heinrich Boll Foundation, she has done articles and presentations on Nigeria's environmental situation and postulations for the future[8][9][10][11][12] in several Nigerian cities including Lagos, Abuja[13] and even internationally, in Berlin and London.[14][15][16]

At age 20, she represented Nigeria alongside other influential Africans lobbying against the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) with the European Union and the African and Caribbean Countries (ACP) in Senegal and the Gambia.

Mercy worked as a media assistant to then Cross River State Governor Donald Duke, during his presidential campaigns on the platform of the Donald Duke Campaign Organization.

In 2014, she was invited to the African Union's Third Annual High Level Dialogue on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance in Africa; Trends, Challenges and Prospects that held at Nairobi’s Safari Park - a meet with participants from over 40 African countries.[17][18] In March 2015, Mercy alongside international journalist, Kadaria Ahmed of the BBC, hosted Nigerians to a 2-hour live television town hall meeting with the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Attahiru Jega in Abuja. [19]

Also, in the run up to the 2015 elections in September 2014, Mercy anchored a Lagos meeting with young people where she interviewed Nigeria's Former Vice President and a presidential aspirant in the election, Atiku Abubakar. She contributes to other media like YNaija[20] and EcoJournalism.[21]