Biola Alabi is the founder and Managing Partner, Biola Alabi Media. She is a media expert with a career spanning over 20 years in the industry. “On the consulting side we develop concepts and strategies for them, manage and run projects, and help them seize opportunities available on the continent. We also consult for different people that are looking to sell content on the continent, and handle digital communication jobs for different companies and organizations of different sizes.
“At Biola Alabi Media, we believe in telling African stories and celebrating African heritage. Our first TV show, Bukas & Joints, is Nigeria’s number one food show, and we showcase the rich taste of African cuisine”.
She is also the founder of Grooming for Greatness, a leadership of development and mentorship programme for a new generation African leaders; former Managing Director, M-Net Africa. Biola Alabi who has found her voice in media has developed several TV programmes in the US, South Korea, Africa and other parts of the world. In this interview with Nosike Moses, she reveals how she always advocates equal opportunity for women considering their contribution in the home, society and nation building. Excerpts:
With your years of experience in media, consulting, what is your approach to women empowerment?
My approach has always been, giving women an opportunity to operate. I think one of the things women lack today is equal opportunity. Even in companies where I have worked, there were women with great talents but were not given an opportunity. Perhaps it is a function of the wrong conception that they would mismanage the role with their family life or because they are women. I believe in giving equal opportunity to both men and women.
Your reasons for women empowerment especially in this part of the world?
Women should have more opportunity and that empowers them more. The reason is, in terms of population women are up to 50% and if they are not empowered to participate economically, your economy can’t grow because you have 50% of your population who are not doing anything. Another reason we have to invest in women is because the contribution they would make in the country is unbelievable. We also know that when left hand and right hand wash each other makes them clean. So basically we have different talents and strengths we bring to the table and by the time it is combined, we achieve more.
Men have a different way of approaching likewise women and when we bring those intelligent together we would achieve much. Women should not be empowered in isolation, women should be integrated in a way with men so that we can develop our nation. Nation building and development is the most important thing to Nigeria and achieving high economic growth. GDP is what we need today.
What aspect of your lifestyle would you like the youth, especially femaless to emulate?
The most important thing is taking time to find your own voice and what you are passionate about. This is important because with passion you can go far. It doesn’t matter how little or much you are making but as long as passion is driving what you are doing, eventually you are going to succeed in life. Today in our society, everybody is looking for short-cuts, to me there is no short-cut.
How were you able to handle challenges all these years you worked in different countries and as Managing Director?
There will always be challenges, especially as a woman, some people are going to underestimate you because you are a woman. The key is for you to understand your value system and be prepared to be the best you can be. Continue learning about your trade and what you bring to the table.
As long as you are able to deliver value, different kinds of people with different intentions will approach you. But I always tell women, if someone crosses the line you have the right to say no. Nobody has the right to incite fear into you or your environment, neither can they violate you or sexually harass you at your place of work. Be firm to tell them no and continue to deliver value because every company needs people that can contribute to the bottomline.
Was this why you initiated ‘Grooming for Greatness’ programme?
Grooming for Greatness is a foundation I started based on my experience as a Yale Fellow. I finished the fellowship at Yale University about two years now. While I was there, I noticed some of the opportunities young people have to be mentored and taught how to develop themselves outside formal environment – leadership development, networking with business leaders.
So, every year, Grooming for Greatness works with 15 young people between 25-35 years. The programme lasts a whole year during which we take them through a comprehensive module centered on leadership and business. We are presently working with our second cohort of participants.
Have you experienced failure?
It is not impossible to experience failure. That is life. That is how we learn, if you don’t fail you can’t learn or grow. I have failed many times. I’ve had jobs that I wanted but I didn’t get it; Promotions I hoped for but I didn’t get. And when you don’t get such promotion it is very easy to believe that everybody doesn’t trust you. And you would also be having this feeling that what am I doing that is not meeting the target? There was a time I got a job and I did everything I know on the job to get promotion but I didn’t get it.
How can we build a creative economy?
We already have a creative economy in Nigeria. The biggest thing now is how do we harness a creative economy, how do we help it grow, how do we make sure that it contributing to national economy in a formal way? Right now, there are quite a number of informal companies, but that is an opportunity to moving a lot of these companies into the formal sector. So the biggest thing now to do is to build the right infrastructure to thrive. We need to have some sort of checks and balances and develop the industries. There is also need to collaborate with government on what to do. The government doesn’t actually understand creative economy. So, we as experts in the economy have to help the government and government has to be ready to work with us.
Your most recent project is a film called, ‘Banana Island Ghost’ (B.I.G), what is it all about?
Yes. Last year I had a conversation with two young men, BB Sasore and Derin Aderinokun, whom I had met in my previous role at Mnet. They had done some production work that did quite well and we were discussing next moves and one of them had just written a script for a feature film. Long story short, together we embarked on a film project and that was how Banana Island Ghost (B.I.G) was born.
Banana Island Ghost (B.I.G) is an action-comedy film about a ghost, played by Patrick Diabuah, that is scared to go to heaven because he doesn’t have a soulmate, so he convinces God to give him three days to fall in love. He is paired with the cantankerous firecracker – Ijeoma, played by Chioma ‘Chigul’ Omeruah – who will do anything to save her father’s house in Banana Island from the bank coming to reclaim it in three days.
The movie will be out in cinemas on August 4, 2017. The trailer is currently online on the ‘Sumtin BIG’ YouTube Channel.
The post If you don’t fail you can’t learn – Alabi appeared first on Vanguard News.
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