Still the Best! Multi-Award-Winning OLUWAKEMI DAUDA Bags Another Laurel in Maritime Excellence

By Aminat Damilola, Assistant Editor

OLUWAKEMI DAUDA of The Nation Newspaper has shown class again by winning another award at the 21st edition of the TransQuest Symposium and Award Ceremony held today, Saturday, July 25, 2026.

According to the organisers and presenter of the Award, Elder Asu Beks, Dauda has demonstrated his deep knowledge, profound understanding, and undisputed maritime industry leadership by winning the EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING MEDIA PRACTITIONER – MARITIME at a prestigious event held at Shoregate Hotel, Ikeja, GRA, Lagos.

Dauda, he said, “is a serial-award-winning journalist, is known for his outstanding feats in the field of journalism.

He is a recipient of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award (NMMA). In 2006, Dauda won the NMMA’s Agriculture Reporter of the Year in Ilorin, Kwara State, as well as Lagos State’s Agriculture Reporter of the Year in Ikeja, for conducting serious and unbiased investigations.

In 2014, he also won the NMMA Maritime Journalist of the Year award at an elaborate event in Owerri, Imo State.

Also, in 2022, Oluwakemi Dauda, the senior maritime, business, agriculture, industry, and transport correspondent for The Nation newspaper, won the “Business Reporter of the Year Award” at the 30th Nigerian Media Merit Awards (NMMA).

He was named the winner of the Sony Odogwu Prize for Business Reporter of the Year.

He has also been recognised as a top journalist in the maritime, agriculture, business and environmental sectors by major institutions in Nigeria.

According to the organisers of the TransQuest Symposium and Award Ceremony, the Excellence Award for Outstanding Media Practitioner was given to honour Dauda for being a journalist driven by deep professional integrity, factual accuracy, and ethical rigor; he is distinguished by his unwavering commitment to the public interest, consistent high-quality output, and a proven ability to leverage platforms like The Nation Newspaper for meaningful social impact.

His core qualities and professional benchmarks as the recipient of this Award include Uncompromising Integrity and Objectivity (consistently delivering fair, balanced, and unbiased reporting even under pressure and in the face of adversity.

Dauda has, over the years, demonstrated superior storytelling abilities, in-depth research, and an engaging communication style.

He is known for his strict adherence to professional guidelines, rigorous source verification, and unwavering respect for public trust

Dauda has built a reliable track record of professional achievement and longevity in the media space.

Dauda has also been recognised as a top journalist in the maritime, business, agriculture, and environmental sectors by major institutions in Nigeria and abroad

Other awardees are the Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr Abubakar Dantsoho; Controllers and  Deputy Comptrollers of the Nigeria Customs Service (NSC); Dele Aderibigbe of the Maritime First Newspaper, Akomolafe Adebayo of the New Telegraph, Moses Ebosele of the City Business News and Yusuf Babalola of the Leadership Newspaper among others.