The Columnist is an online platform dedicated to publishing articles written by Nigerian columnists.

It was established in June 2018, by Yusuf Mohammed, a journalist based in Lagos, Nigeria.

One of the aims of The Columnist is to revive the reading culture in Nigeria, especially among youths. While it is common to see young Nigerians giving their views on entertainment stories, they are hardly capable of talking about the economy and political issues which directly and indirectly affect their lives.

In the past, young people read great columnists like Sam Amuka, Dele Giwa, Ray Ekpu, Dan Agbese, Alade Odunewu, Adamu Ciroma, Bisi Onabanjo and a host of others. It helped in broadening their horizons. Today,  it is obvious that many young Nigerians are no longer interested in reading columnists.

Thankfully, some prominent columnists have volunteered to support this platform by writing. One of them is Reuben Abati, former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Goodluck Jonathan. By sharing link of his stories via The Columnist, more people are getting to know it.

This has added more followers to our social media pages.

For now, we don’t have the capacity to pay writers. Hopefully, when we reach a wider audience in the nearest future and start getting adverts, we should be able to pay.

This platform should be encouraged by parents who know the value of reading the views of thinkers. It will not only shape their views, but improve their vocabulary.