TV presenter, Fati Shaibu-Ali was nearly raped four years ago when she went undercover as a prostitute in a bid to find out why young ladies go into prostitution yet the TV presenter of ETV Ghana says nothing will stop her from practicing journalism.
Talking about her ordeal, Fati who started her journalism career from Sky Power in Takoradi then to GBC and later Metro TV told Showbiz a taxi driver almost raped her in his car in Madina, Accra when she went undercover to do a story on why so many young girls go into prostitute.
“I dressed like a prostitute and had a taxi driver client who almost stripped my clothes off. He almost raped me but I escaped after struggling with him but trust me, it was a very bad experience” she said.
Asked why she is so keen on practising investigative journalism, Fati who is currently the news editor at Etv Ghana and admires investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, for his works said investigative journalism makes her different from her other female journalists.
“There is joy in putting out a story that causes a change in society than doing a normal story. Covering press conferences all the time does not make you a better journalist. Ghanaians want news they can relate to and not stories that would not have any impact in their lives” she said.
Explaining some of the impacts her stories have made, the award winning journalist said university students used her work on prostitution for their project work.
Also, one of her works she is proud of was when she did a story of a four-year-old boy who was sold into slavery for ¢Gh 40.00 by her parents.
Fati was awarded Best Female News Anchor in Radio and Television Awards (RTP) in 2013, Best Reporter in Education at Ghana Journalism Awards and Best Reporter in Business at Gold Awards organised by Institute of Financial and Economic journalist in 2013.
Away from her work, the 32 year old presenter said she is single at the moment but not in a rush to settle down with a man.
For her, getting closer to God and making sure she is at peace with everyone is the most important thing.
Asked to describe her ideal man when she becomes ready to settle down, Fati said she who would prefer a man 10 years older than her. “He should also be intelligent, loving and God- fearing”, she added.