Long before she was crowned the Elegant Stallion of Nigerian music, and decades before she became a Nollywood Icon, Onyeka Onwenu was a woman defined by a different kind of microphone. In the early 1980s, she was not just a singer; she was a world-class investigative journalist.

From the archives this week, The Guardian tells a story of a woman who was unafraid to challenge power. In these early photographs, we do not see the sequins of a stage performer. Instead, we see a focused professional, often wearing bold glasses and a determined look, ready to ask the difficult questions that many others avoided. This was Onyeka Onwenu at her most incisive.

Her 1984 documentary, Nigeria; A Squandering of Riches. Produced in collaboration with the BBC, this film remains one of the most significant pieces of investigative journalism in West African history. In it, Onwenu traveled across the country to document how Nigeria’s vast oil wealth was being wasted through corruption and poor management.

While the modern generation might be more familiar with her glamorous persona, these archive photos capture the grit before the glitter. They show a reporter who stood in the middle of environmental degradation and urban poverty, using her voice to demand accountability. She was a pioneer for women in the newsroom, Onwenu proved that a female journalist could handle the toughest assignments in a male-dominated industry.

Onwenu had an impressive background. She had worked for the United Nations in New York before returning to Nigeria to join the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA). Her transition from the NTA newsroom to the music charts was not a departure from her values, but simply a change of medium. Even in her most popular songs, the themes of social justice and national unity remained at the core.

Before she was a superstar, she was a worker. She was a reporter who did the legwork, conducted the interviews, and stood by her facts.

These archive images serve as a blueprint. They remind us that journalism is about presence and persistence.

Onyeka Onwenu’s life teaches us that one person can be both a mirror to society’s problems and a light for its hopes. As we look at these old pictures today, we should remember the brave journalist who first stood in front of the camera to tell the truth about her country. Her legacy is one of “One Love,” but it began with a relentless search for the truth.