reflect

Huzaifa Abubakar has spent years leading community dialogues on food security and malnutrition, working to support families whose lives have been shaped by conflict and neglect in northeastern Nigeria. Yet, despite his experience, he often felt unprepared for what awaited him in the field.

As Team Lead of the Scaling Up Nutrition Youth Network Nigeria in Borno State, Huzaifa said he regularly engages with individuals who have experienced deep trauma. But he lacked guidance on how to safely navigate conflict-affected areas or engage survivors in ways that honoured their experiences.

That changed after he spent three days at the capacity-building workshop for the inaugural cohort of the Strengthening Community Journalism and Human Rights Advocacy (SCOJA) Fellowship by HumAngle Foundation in Maiduguri, Borno State. 

“I am now equipped to interact with vulnerable people and survivors ethically and sensibly,” he said. “The session on trauma-sensitive reporting stood out for me; still, the whole training was an eye-opener.”

Huzaifa is one of 90 community journalists and local advocacy actors selected for the SCOJA Fellowship, held with support from the Embassy of the Netherlands in Nigeria. The fellows are drawn from nine states across three regions — North West (Kaduna and Kano), North Central (Benue, Niger, Plateau, Nasarawa), and North East (Borno, Adamawa, Yobe).

The six-month fellowship aims to equip participants with skills and knowledge that will improve how they engage, document, and support grassroots issues and initiatives. 

Abdussamad Ahmad, HumAngle’s Security and Policy Analyst, who has coordinated the workshops in the North East and North Central, reminded fellows that their work places them at the earliest point of contact with communities. 

“You remain society’s first responders; your proximity to ordinary people gives you both responsibility and a rare advantage, the ability to shape public understanding with clarity, empathy, and discipline,” he said.

He urged them to cultivate habits of verification, ethical judgment, and emotional awareness, especially when engaging people coping with displacement, loss, or trauma.

The training also featured role-playing exercises and report-writing activities, giving participants space to practise trauma-sensitive engagement, field reporting, and ethical storytelling in realistic scenarios. These hands-on sessions helped fellows translate the concepts learned into practical skills they can immediately apply in their work.

“It was an engaging and insightful session, and I admire how he shared his experiences for us to learn from,” said Mohammed Alamin from Borno Radio Television (BRTV), referring to a session on digital and field safety, which was facilitated by Abdulkareem Haruna, HumAngle’s former Editor for the Lake Chad. 

Abbas Usman, a reporter for PharmaSahel, a local platform reporting on health issues in Borno, said he now feels better prepared to identify and report misinformation, malinformation, disinformation, and fake news. 

Another SCOJA Fellow, Nathaniel Ishaya, a radio producer and presenter from SMK Radio in Maiduguri, added, “The HumAngle training is an eye-opener; it teaches us about many things we are only now discovering in journalism. Although I studied journalism, this is the first time I got this firsthand.”

The recently concluded workshops, held between Nov. 10 – 19 in Jos (Plateau State), Kaduna, and Maiduguri (Borno State), mark the first phase of the programme. The next stage will involve fieldwork, during which fellows are expected to implement community projects, document local issues, and work with their organisations to pursue practical solutions rooted in human dignity and accountability. They will also share their learnings with colleagues to broaden the fellowship’s impact.

During this period, HumAngle will continue to support the fellows with resources and mentorship to strengthen their work at the grassroots level.

Soundgarden, the seminal Seattle grunge rock group, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at a star-studded ceremony at the Peacock Theater on Saturday night. Before they accepted their awards from comedian Jim Carrey and ripped into “Black Hole Sun,” and “Rusty Cage,” the band reflected together backstage on their topsy turvy journey into the ranks of rock’s immortals and the lasting impact of their departed frontman Chris Cornell.

“I like the honor of it and I’m really happy for our fans,” bassist Ben Shepherd said. “I can’t wait to play.”

For guitarist Kim Thayil, there’s a measure of validation in their induction which he recalled from conversations with Cornell. “Chris would say, ‘Remember how you and I, and [bassist] Hiro [Yamamato] would sit around in a room and talk about the bands we really liked…and that influenced us to play together?” It’s like, ‘Well, that’s the kind of band we should be. The band that makes us want to get together and play music.’”

Soundgarden members (from left) Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron, Chris Cornell and Ben Shepherd in 2014.

(Jack Plunkett / Jack Plunkett/invision/ap)

The induction was a long-time coming for Soundgarden. They originally formed in 1984 and steadily moved to the forefront of underground indie rock scene on labels like Sub Pop and SST while touring the country in a red Chevy van. “It was almost like a camping trip with sleeping bags,” Cameron recalled. “I remember I brought this one blue blanket to sleep on.”

“I’d bring my own breakfast. I’d bring a cooler, and I’d put cereal and yogurt in there,” Yamamoto said. “These guys would go to Denny’s every day. I can’t do that!”

After moving to A&M Records, Soundgarden spent the 1990s crafting some of the most innovative, heavy and dynamic albums of their generation. Groundbreaking records like “Badmotorfinger,” “Superunknown” and “Down on the Upside.” Soundgarden disbanded in 1997 but got back together 13 years later in 2010 and resumed working on music and touring.

As rewarding as the Rock Hall honor is, the absence of Cornell –- who took his own life after a concert in Detroit in 2017 – carried a bit of somber note into the festivities. “It’s nice to hear the power of the music that we created, but it’s extremely bittersweet as well that we don’t have [Chris] with us,” drummer Matt Cameron said. “In the few instances where we have performed this music since his passing — it’s only been a few occasions — it’s empowering, but it’s also really, really bittersweet.”

In the meantime, Cornell’s bandmates are continuing to work on a collection of tunes they were recording with him just before his passing. “Once we were able to work on the music again, it all just kind of came back to just how powerful the music still is and how meaningful it still is to us,” Cameron said. “I think we’re going into it with just those types of intentions of trying to make it natural and real, which at this stage of the game, there’s a few things that sound amazing.”

The reunion with Yamamoto – who left Soundgarden around 1989 — for the Rock Hall show went a long way to livening the festivities. As soon as the band kicked into one of their early cuts, “Entering,” during rehearsals in Seattle, Shepherd recalled with a hint of awe that, “It instantly sounded like Soundgarden.”

“That was one of those things where I might have gone to YouTube and had somebody else teach me how to play it again,” Yamamoto said with a laugh. Nevertheless, Shepherd snapped a picture of the moment and gleefully sent it around to friends.

“We weren’t sure how it would work, but Hiro’s so adaptable and he’s such an amazing musician that it sounded great from the get-go,” Cameron said. “A lot of low end, but the band has always had a pretty sizable bass presence in our sound. It was just nice.”

Inductee Kim Thayil of Soundgarden, Taylor Momsen and inductee Matt Cameron of Soundgarden perform onstage during the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Peacock Theater on November 08, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.

(Amy Sussman/WireImage)

To bring Cornell’s vocals to life at the Peacock Theater, Soundgarden turned to a pair of younger powerhouses. Brandi Carlile and the Pretty Reckless frontwoman Taylor Momsen. Both are tried and true Soundgarden fans and represent the group’s impact on the next generation of musicians that followed in their wake. It’s something they are particularly proud about.

“It’s still surprising, but it is something that was probably on our wishlist as something we would hope to expect,” Thayil said. “If we’re honest with ourselves and we’re honest with what we’re creating and honest in how we communicate together, then this should happen. But it’s still a surprise and still heartwarming.”

“It is sort of nice to be able to contribute to that continuum of music and have younger generations hopefully be inspired by what we were grooving on with the band, which was you know, self-expression and collaboration and trusting your own instincts and things like that,” Cameron said. “I think is a nice thing to impart on other young musicians.”

As for who they think should follow Soundgarden into the Hall next, Thayil has some thoughts. “Alice in Chains is the first thing that comes to mind, of course,” he said. “I’m surprised to learn that these six people aren’t in the Hall of Fame: Sonic Youth, Motorhead, Iron Maiden, the Pixies, the New York Dolls and the Black Crows.”

“And the Melvins!” Cameron added.