Hard work, grace behind my success story –Nike Oshinowo

For former beauty queen, seasoned entrepreneur and TV host, Adenike Asabi Oshinowo, looking
beautiful, fresh and ageless is no big deal. She says  rather than adopt the scientific approach, method or solutions, the  right attitude is key. “The best things in life are closest to nature; stay close to it” she says. Oshinowo, who was mentored by former Miss Nigeria, Helen Prest-Davies and became the first Yoruba to win the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MBGN) pageant in 1990, is also credited with producing the first celebrity fitness DVD – a workout video entitled, Fit, Forty and Fabulous.
The former Face of Venus range of products, who now runs a popular weekly TV talk show, Late Night with Nike Oshinowo  on African Independent Television, AIT, spoke to  Sunday Sun on various issues in this interview. Excerpts:
You have recorded several firsts in Nigeria. You are the first Yoruba woman to win the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria pageant; first to do a celebrity fitness DVD and owned the first perfume, Asabi, among others. Do you see yourself as a special breed?
Hmm… I just had goose bumps. You know, that question you asked, in itself is a privilege. So, whether or not I see myself that way is not the point. All those firsts that you mentioned are true. And the fact that one human being, in  a country of close to 200 million, is allowed the opportunity to achieve even more than you stated is beautiful and humbling. So, I’m blessed and I’m so grateful for that.
What helps you to succeed as a team leader?
First of all, I am lucky to have a good team. We hardly trust one another in this country, but I have to trust my team because I don’t work with people I don’t trust. I also choose projects very carefully. I choose those that I am passionate about. Every Monday when we have our  meeting, I always tell my team not to say yes to whatever project idea that I bring up. So, we usually vote and defend our votes as well, after which the majority vote is adopted on any project. Nigerians don’t like working in a situation where there is a boss. They prefer to work in  a team, so, in my team, each person has a different role. My role is to conceptualize a project and find the money for it. Each person has  roles and we work as a team. Therefore, when these projects come, we sit as a team and vote on them and stick to the outcome of our voting.
You still look ravishingly beautiful, young and good to go, decades after you reigned as Nigeria’s beauty queen and Face of Venus range of products. What’s the secret?
Oh my goodness, yes, Venus! In those days, it was… em… my Venus to my Looks – commercials and billboards in Nigeria. They were epic and I was very proud of them. You know, I had a project, I think it was Miss Nigeria pageant that I was doing and PZ came on board as the sponsor. But when I presented the set to the head, the first thing he said was that if they were to choose a girl that would do it, it would be me… you know, it’s humbling. It’s nice to have been around for so long, and it’s nice when I meet people who remember that; and it feels nice to be appreciated. As for my ageless looks, as you put it, I can only say thanks for the compliment. But it’s not about secrets. I sleep. Nigerians don’t sleep! I drink water too. I leave whatever that is on my mind on my bed time table, sleep and wake up the next morning. I live my life in as healthy manner as possible. So, it’s not about secrets. The best things in life for you are closest to nature. We are supposed to be as close to nature as possible, rather than looking for the scientific methods, approaches or solutions. Just be as natural as possible.
What’s your late night TV show, Late Night with Nike Oshinowo all about?
The talk show serves as a platform for industry leaders, politicians, celebrities, artists, actors and musicians alike to connect directly to the people of Nigeria through engaging, candid interviews. The show airs on AIT at 11pm every Thursday and we have hosted the likes of Tuface Idibia, Dolapo Oni, Dakore Akande, Femi Gbajabiamila, Ice Prince, Folake Coker and Kelechi Amadi-Obi among others. The season one of the show premiered on November 27, 2014, and we are now running the second season, with growing viewers and sponsorship.
While conceptualizing the show, did you have any inkling that it would record such wide acceptability?
You can only have an idea; you can only hope that people will like what you have done. That’s just the truth. I remember  when the idea came up, I talked to a few people for a guide and I also remember being told that it would take two seasons for Nigerians to get used to the programme. But actually, after a few episodes of season one, people liked it. People say  we have been lucky. It has not been luck, but sheer unadulterated hard work. Our team – production , PR and others – put in a lot of work and publicity into the project. That’s why I think it became a success  and I am genuinely humbled by how soon people have keyed into it. I’m grateful for the opportunity to share something I am so passionate about with the public. Usually, the platforms I am given are Nigerian platforms and African platforms, but this is a global platform and it’s amazing that you go on Google and just type ‘Late Night…’ and the rest … ‘With Nike Oshinowo’ immediately appears severally for you. For me, that is a sign of  wide acceptability.
What’s this thing about you that makes whatever you lay your hands on a success? Is it the God factor as it is usually said in this clime?
Each individual has what is known as the X-factor. Some people die with their X-factor and were buried along with it. When your X-factor is allowed to come into the fore and it blossoms into success, I think it has been combined with unmerited favour – grace. So, as a Christian, yes, you have to attribute that to God, but we must not forget the role of serious, unadulterated hard work. It’s nice when you turn on your TV to  see Nike Oshinowo with a  pretty face, nice hair… My goodness! But to make that happen, we have a huge dedicated team. So, it’s not luck. For instance, anytime we are taken off air to accommodate political rallies before the last elections, we were inundated in  mails as to why we were off air. That shows that people are watching  and that we have wide acceptability.
Your guests on the show, usually celebrities are seen by youngsters as role models, but many of them complain that the show airs late at night when their parents deny them access to TV. Are youngsters not part of your target audience?
I wanted to be able to talk to Nigerians and Africans about everything and anything  without restrictions. I wanted to talk about the issue of drug abuse, alcoholism, sexual abuse, politics and everything and  to celebrate African musicians and great achievers. I wanted to talk about everything devoid of being straight-jacketed.  So, if you were on the show and we are talking about marriage and you wanted to talk about a certain aspect of your marriage that is problematic, maybe the sexual part, I wouldn’t be able to talk about it – I can’t until after 10 pm. Moreover, you know we use the word, “Youngsters” loosely in Nigeria. So, we did a research to determine who we are targeting. We are not targeting anyone under the age of 18. We do not expect the 14 or 15-year olds to stay up at 11pm to be able to watch the show. And anyway, the show is on Google and YouTube. Those you call youngsters know how to go on YouTube by 12 noon and watch whatever thing that was on late night. But really, our target audience are adults of 18 all the way to 65 – the mothers, fathers and young adults. Are children up at 11pm? I didn’t know they were. But the numbers now rightly prove they are.
How do you secure such big figures to feature on the show?
I think it’s a combination of several factors. One is that I have been around for a long time, so I think that and my industry experience  has helped us. Having been celebrated for 25 years means that whether you are in government, in entertainment, in the corporate world or you are a celebrity, you get a letter from me that this is what I am doing and that I would like you to be on my show.  I feel  when I come knocking on your door, you would open for me even if it’s out of curiosity. Mine is, when that door is opened and I enter, I’m to sell whatever I have as comfortably and professionally as possible. My team and I do that really well.
How would you rate your experience  as TV show host?
I like to view my experience from two fronts. The feedback from the viewers is that they love my show. I have actually been waiting to see if there are certain things they would like to change so that I can incorporate them  in season three, but there has not been any. They love it as it is. But I still have my ears on the ground. On another front, the experience on my side is like when you till the ground, plant a seed and then see it grow. It’s fulfilling and  beautiful to watch that beautiful seed I planted, Late Night with Nike Oshinowo, blossom into this show that people love. And it’s so wonderful that we have only just started conceptualizing  season three, yet companies are already coming on board to indicate their interest to partake in the sponsorship. That’s acceptance.
There have been pockets of complaints that you interject too frequently during the show thereby depriving your guests ample time to make all their points. Why do you do so?
You know we like to talk in this country. If you give a typical Nigerian the microphone, you know what would happen. The show runs for only 30 minutes, out of which five minutes goes to all the commercials. So, literally, we have just 25 minutes airtime. And if you try to overshoot the allotted time, you would be cut of automatically by AIT because the time had already been coded. So, once my guest makes his point, I move him along to the next step. It is my duty to ensure that the morale of every episode comes out within the allotted time.
With more sponsorship, would you consider extending the programme to say, 45 minutes?
I had actually wanted an hour show but my team do not buy the idea. They thought that 1 hour might become too long and boring. So, they opted for 30 minutes and I agreed. But see now, we have noticed that 30 minutes is rather too short for the programme. So, yes, we will explore the possibility of  extending it.
By CHUKS EZE