Six Nigerians Honoured at Wikimedia Nigeria’s 10th Anniversary Ceremony

Esther Oluku

Six nigerians across the country’s six geopolitical zones have received honorary awards from Wikimedia Foundation as Wikimedia Nigeria hosted the Nigeria Wikimedia Community Distinguished Awards (NWCDA) 2025 and 10th year anniversary in Lagos.

The event themed: “Naija Open Up: 10 Years of Sharing, 25 Years of Global Knowledge,” held on Friday, bringing together members of the public across academia, media, and banking amongst editors and contributors from Wikimedia Nigeria community.

The winners of the 2025 awards and their categories are; Adamu MC for Best New Contributor of the Year; Fulani 215 for Best Indigenous Language Contributor of the Year; Vanderwaalforces for Editor of the Year; Ismail Atiba for Community Builder of the Year; Tesleemah Abdulkareem for Torch Bearer of the Year ; Sani Maikatanga for Wilson Oluoha Media Contributor of the Year; and the Kaduna Network for the Best Active Network and Fan Club.

The 10th anniversary celebration, which also doubles as the 25th anniversary of the Wikimedia Foundation, marks a decade of Wikimedia Nigeria’s community-driven contributions to free knowledge and honoured outstanding editors whose work has strengthened Nigeria’s visibility on global Wikimedia platforms.

In her opening remarks, Chief Communications Officer at the Wikimedia Foundation, Anusha Alikhan, described the awards as a celebration of the resilience, passion and dedication of Nigerians who have continued to expand the nation’s digital footprint through edits, outreach, advocacy and community-led projects.

“Every edit, every project, every outreach effort contributes to building a Nigeria where free knowledge truly belongs to everyone,” she said, noting that the community’s efforts “do not go unnoticed.”

She praised the Nigerian community for its vibrant programs adding that African knowledge shared by Africans is crucial to shaping global understanding of its culture and society.

Alikhan also congratulated South African Bobby Shebangu on his election to the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees and reaffirmed the Foundation’s commitment to expanding African representation on Wikimedia projects.

In her remarks, the Executive Director, Wikimedia Nigeria User Group, Mrs Omolayo Olanrewaju Ogunsiji, explained that the awards highlight the crucial role that contributors and editors play in sustaining the medium and democratizing access to knowledge.

“Without them, there is no Wikipedia, there is no Wikimedia. The editors put in the effort. This is why you can always go to Wikipedia pages and see stories and pictures,” she said. ” The best we can do is to appreciate them in our own little way and that is why this award is being given to them.”

On her part, keynote speaker at the event, Prof. Rose Alani, shared that Wikimedia Nigeria has opened new pathways for the world to see Nigeria while urging institutions, schools and cultural organizations to embrace openness in knowledge sharing and digital literacy.

“Wikimedia has opened new pathways for the world to see us, our people, our languages, our institutions, our heritage and our aspirations,” she said.

Speaking with THISDAY, the recipient of the Editor of the Year Award, Vanderwaalforces, explained that what started for him as a gap in the digital documentation of Benin history has since blossomed into a passion to join other contributors to expand access to knowledge for users around the world.

Vanderwaalforces has contributed several featured articles to wikimedia with his latest achievement being the documentation of Nigeria’s independence history which is expected to go live on Wikipedia on October 1, 2026, coinciding with Nigeria’s Independence Day.

“If that happens, it means Nigeria will be publicized before over a billion monthly visitors,” he said.