Meet  2025 AMDF Journalist Of the Year (Radio Category) DESTINY ONYEMIHIA

Citation: Destiny Onyemihia is the Assistant Chief Producer and Head of the Current Affairs Unit, English Service, Voice of Nigeria. He holds a B.Sc. in Political Science from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
A content creator involved in research, events coverage, interviews, and scriptwriting, he is committed to being part of a growth-oriented organisation where he can offer his skills and experience toward achieving organisational goals and aspirations.
Throughout his journalistic journey, Onyemihia has won many laurels including the Pan-African Reinsurance Journalism Award for Best African Journalist (Broadcast Category), Overall Winner of the Continental Journalism Award on the African Union Charter, and the ZIMEO Excellence Award for Best African Journalist on Maritime Economy Reports.
What makes Destiny Onyemihia recognised today is his feature story titled “Nigeria’s Blue Economy and Maritime Security,” against the backdrop of Africa Agenda 2063, which identifies the blue ocean economy as Africa’s future.
Blessed with untapped blue-economy potential, Nigeria has focused on accelerated economic growth by prioritising areas such as renewable energy, maritime resources, port operations, and marine transport.
Eighty per cent of the country’s import and export activities depend on the sector, and Nigeria targets ₦2 trillion in annual revenue by 2027.
However, criminal activities on waterways—including ship hijacking, piracy, smuggling, and kidnapping of seafarers—make the realisation of this target a mirage.
During his six-month investigation, the reporter spoke with experts and government officials who suggested a strong synergy among service providers to strengthen security at regional and sub-regional levels, as well as reinforcing the 2013 Yaoundé Pact, which articulated strategies to address these challenges.
The investigation covered all key players in the maritime sector, including the Navy, and strongly argued that for Nigeria to realise its economic goals, it must tackle criminal activities in its maritime domain.
Destiny Onyemihia, with your well-packaged feature story and detailed interviews with nearly all key players—despite certain hazards in the process—you have demonstrated best practices in journalism and are hereby declared the 2025 AMDF Journalist of the Year, Radio Category. Congratulations.