The fight for transparency requires more than exposing wrongdoing. It also requires creating the space for people, especially young people, to speak up, ask questions and demand better.
This was at the heart of Step Up Nigeria’s participation at the Abuja launch of Dirty Deeds: An Investigative Report on How Top Nigerian Officials Bought a Piece of America, produced by the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF) with the Anti-Corruption Data Collective.
As a partner to PPLAAF, Step Up Nigeria used the occasion to present the winners’ anthology of the 2026 World Whistleblower Day Art and Media Competition, bringing the voices of young Nigerians into a conversation that is often dominated by investigative reports, statistics and institutional responses.
The anthology captures the creativity and perspectives of young Nigerians who used writing, poetry and spoken word, art, music and skits to explore whistleblowing, transparency and the need to protect those who speak up against wrongdoing.
The competition received more than 170 original entries from 31 states, demonstrating that young Nigerians have much to say about corruption and accountability when given the platform to express themselves.
Delivering the presentation, Step Up Nigeria’s Director of Programmes, Feranmi Iyanda, reflected on the significance of creating platforms where young people can engage with complex issues and communicate them in ways that everyday Nigerians can understand and connect with.
The impact of the competition also went beyond creative expression. Feranmi highlighted an 85% level of willingness and confidence to blow the whistle after the competition, compared with 43% before it began, a shift that underscores the importance of giving young people the knowledge, platforms and confidence to speak up.
The presentation of the anthology at the launch of Dirty Deeds was therefore deliberate.
The investigative report documents 284 properties in the United States worth nearly USD 271 million, linked to 61 current and former high-level Nigerian officials, their families, associates and companies. Its findings provide another reminder of the scale and complexity of corruption and the importance of mechanisms that enable wrongdoing to be exposed.
But alongside the evidence are the voices of a generation that is beginning to ask what accountability should look like. Investigative journalism can expose the problem. Young people can help keep the conversation alive. Strong institutions and legal protections can give those who speak up the confidence to act.
For Step Up Nigeria, these pieces are connected. Our work with PPLAAF through the World Whistleblower Day Art and Media Competition demonstrates what can happen when young people are given the opportunity to engage with issues of transparency and express their perspectives creatively.
The next step is ensuring that the courage to speak is matched with protection. Step Up Nigeria continues to advocate for a statutory whistleblower protection law that reflects the willingness and confidence already demonstrated by young Nigerians. Because when we engage young people early, give them the tools to question wrongdoing and protect those who speak up, we are not simply creating informed citizens. We are helping to raise a generation of leaders who understand that integrity is not just something to talk about, it is something to live, defend and demand.