Equinoxe TV’s ‘Ambassador’ receives 13th award as Best Pidgin English Newscaster

Smart Gabriel Njikang, also known as Ambassador, has won the award for Best Pidgin English TV Newscaster in Cameroon for the umpteenth time.

The publishers of The Voice Media Group recently held an award event, and the Douala-based versatile broadcaster was summoned to the podium to accept a prestigious award.

‘Ambassador’ was one of several prominent Cameroonians who were honoured for their roles in the country’s development.

The Equinoxe TV star journalist used Pidgin English, the most widely spoken language in Cameroon, to create impact in his news presentations, earning him widespread acclaim.

Deserving!

When Ambassador’s name was revealed as the winner, cheers erupted. People who watch a lot of television said they weren’t surprised by his achievement.

When it comes to Cameroonian television, Ambassador is a household name.

Since September 2016, the University of Buea alumnus has been reporting the news for Equinoxe TV.

Since then, he has hosted the Pidgin newscast on one of Cameroon’s most popular private television and radio stations, Equinoxe TV and Radio.

Ambassador’s meteoric rise to fame as a journalist over the past seven years may be attributed to his keen eye for local news, an uncanny ability to get to the truth, and the desire to do a good job in Pidgin English.

He has an editorial zeal for news that will have an impact on the common man.

His “Pidgin News” segment on the morning show “Cadence Matinale” on Equinoxe TV and the afternoon show “Expanded News” prove that he is a news expert in concise form and in-depth.

From Monday through Wednesday, Ambassador co-hosts “Make We Tok,” a call-in segment of the Pidgin News on Equinox Radio 93.0 FM.

On Thursdays at 2:00 p.m. and Fridays at 2:30 p.m., he hosts “Inside We Family” and “Wetin dey Sweet You, Wetin Dey Hot You,” respectively.

Ambassador has received several honours and acclaim. The PANAFES Excellence Award for 2020 went to him.

The Victoria International Media Awards named him Best Pidgin News Presenter that same year.

Both the Golden Awards in 2020 for Best Pidgin TV Presenter and the Lifetime Achievement Awards for Best Pidgin News Presenter in General were bestowed upon him.

The WatchDog Tribune National Press Award for Peace Heroes and Champions of National Unity was shared by Ambassador and the Most Creative Journalist in TV Pidgin News.

Ambassador, originally from the South West Region’s Kupe Muanenguba Division and now serving as Vice President of the Douala Chapter of the

CAMASEJ-D, the Cameroon Association of English-language Journalists.

CAMASEJ-D, together with his other executive members, has kept the chapter’s momentum going in terms of member empowerment and growth.

He has accomplished this by regularly attending businesses and holding seminars for professionals on the first Sunday of every month (the meeting day).

In addition to his networking and match-organizing prowess, he is well-known for his role in fostering a culture of peace and unity within CAMASEJ-D.

Who is Ambassador?

Smart Njikang Gabriel is arguably Cameroon’s most celebrated pidgin newsreader, popularly referred to as the Ambassador. The graduate of the University of Buea’s Journalism and Mass Communications Department picked up his current job in September 2016 as a presenter of pidgin news on one of Cameroon’s most watched and listened to private television and radio channels, Equinoxe TV and Radio, with base in the country’s Economic Capital, Douala.

Ambassador has shot to journalistic prominence over the last 7 years thanks to his nose for proximity news, his knack for truth, and his passion for a job well done in his working language, Pidgin English. His editorial flair is what drives him to seek out information that either directly or indirectly affects the average man on the street. This is evident through his news-in-brief slot, “pidgin news,” On Equinoxe TV’s morning show, “Cadence Matinale” and the expanded news programme at 1:00 pm on Equinoxe TV on weekdays.

Ambassador went through the professional mould of Cameroon’s finest all-time pidgin newscaster, Kolle George Nkume, considered the Father of pidgin News in the anglophone media Landscape of the country. Dr Kolle George groomed him on Crtv’s Mount Cameroon FM and made him ready for the world.

Today, Ambassador is blazing the trail in the pidgin English news sector. Proof of this: in less than three years, he has bagged home not less than 13 awards. The inexhaustive list of his recognitions includes:

01-PANAFES Excellence Award 2020 – Best Reporter

02- Victoria International Media Awards 2020 – Best Pidgin News Presenter

03-Golden Awards 2020 – Best Pidgin TV Presenter

04 – Lifetime Achievement Awards – Prix d’excellence 2020/2021-Golden Category – All-Round Best Pidgin News Presenter
05 – WatchDog Tribune National Press Award for Peace Heroes and Champions of National Unity 2020/2021 – Most Creative Journalist in Tv Pidgin News and Best Tv Pidgin Presenter of the Year

06 – PANAFES EXCELLENCE AWARD 2021 – Best Pidgin News Journalist

07 – Lois Foundation Award 2021 – Most Influential TV Pidgin News Presenter in Cameroon

08 – Golden Awards 2021 – Best TV Pidgin News Presenter

09 – CAMASEJ DOUALA – Award for the Recognition of Proximity News

10 – Equinox TV – Revelation of the Year Award 2021

11 – FECAFOOT SW – Recognition for Sports reporting in Pidgin – 2021

12 – Golden Awards 2022 – Best Pidgin News Presenter

13 – The Voice Awards 2023 – Best Cameroon Pidgin English Newscaster Award.

Smart is also Vice President of the Douala Chapter of the Cameroon Association of English-Speaking Journalists, CAMASEJ-D.
Together with his co-executive members, Camasej-D has maintained sustainable momentum in empowering and swelling its membership. This is achieved through professional workshops held every meeting day on the first Sunday of each month as well as visits to companies.

He is also reputed for consolidating peace and Unity within CAMASEJ-D through networking and friendly matches with several academic and professional partner organisations to this branch of the nation’s Journalism Association.

Ambassador is married and has been blessed with two kids.

Some elements of this piece were obtained from the Guardian Post Newspaper