Deji is a media development and innovation expert and trainer who has worked extensively in the West African media ecosystem. He has helped build the capacity of hundreds of journalists in accountability journalism, data journalism and fact-checking journalism, as well as empowering civil society organisations to carry out evidence-based advocacy. Before joining MDIF, Deji was the Director of Innovation, Verification and Media Literacy at The CJID, a leading West African media development think-tank. During his time there, he led various programmatic efforts in various capacities. He helped build the Campus Reporter Program, a project which helped create a new generation of newsroom reporters and leaders across Nigeria. He also led the Centre’s innovation practice, data-driven projects and ‘Dubawa’. Through this West African fact-checking programme, he built its Information Disorder Analysis Centre (IDAC), a regional research response to the problem of information disorder.
Deji is an avid advocate for open data and transparency in governance and policy. He is passionate about driving good and efficient governance by human capital investment and media enabled public participation as the basis for overall national growth.