By Queen Kunde
Former National President of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) Evelyn Onyilo, ), has been honoured with the Distinguished Service and Leadership Award in recognition of her trailblazing role in transforming the landscape of female journalism in Nigeria.
Presented by the National President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Alhassan Yahya, the award celebrates Onyilo’s visionary tenure from 2002 to 2004 an era marked by bold reforms that expanded NAWOJ’s national presence and amplified the voices of women in journalism.
Leading at a time when systemic barriers such as gender bias, marginalisation, and limited training opportunities held many women back, Onyilo charted a new course with integrity, innovation, and inclusion.
Her administration introduced nationwide capacity-building programmes tailored for women journalists, forged strategic alliances with policy-makers, and championed the rights and safety of women in and beyond the newsroom.
Among her landmark legacies was the legal institutionalisation of NAWOJ, a move that formalised the association’s operations and opened new doors for advocacy and professional recognition. She also positioned NAWOJ as a formidable force in both local and international media spaces, securing Nigerian women journalists a seat at the global table.
Post-NAWOJ, Onyilo continued her advocacy through the establishment of the Initiative for Women’s Accelerated Development in Africa (INWOAD) in 2015, a nonprofit dedicated to mobilising women for national development and fighting gender-based discrimination.
The recognition, according to INWOAD National Coordinator Lydia Samson, is a fitting tribute to “a leader whose work continues to uplift, inspire, and empower generations of women.” She praised the NUJ leadership for honouring a woman whose legacy remains a cornerstone of institutional growth, professionalism, and gender equity in the media.
The award ceremony served as a reminder of the enduring value of service-driven leadership, and the importance of celebrating women who have laid the groundwork for meaningful transformation in Nigerian journalism. Evelyn Onyilo’s legacy lives on, not just in the accolades she receives, but in the thriving community of women journalists she helped build.