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Morning Star · Jul 3, 2013

Nigerian woman launches entertainment TV network

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — A woman who could be considered Africa's Oprah Winfrey is launching an entertainment network that will be beamed into nearly every country on the continent with programs showcasing its burgeoning middle class.

Mosunmola "Mo" Abudu wants EbonyLife TV to inspire Africans and the rest of the world, and change how viewers perceive the continent. The network's programming tackles women's daily life subjects — everything from sex tips to skin bleaching.

"Not every African woman has a pile of wood on her head and a baby strapped to her back!" the glamorous 48-year-old told The Associated Press from a hotel's penthouse floor against a backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean and high-rise buildings flanked by palm and almond trees.
"We watch Hollywood as if all of America is Hollywood," she said. "In that same vein we need to start selling the good bits of Africa."
Months of work to provide original content includes the flagship program "Sistaz!" about two Greek-Nigerian sisters and a British-born Nigerian friend who check into the Eko Hotel for a holiday reunion and rediscover the passion of sisterhood and the vibrant city of Lagos.

"It helps show that you can go to Africa for a holiday, you can go to Nigeria on holiday, you can go to Lagos" and enjoy a vacation, Abudu said of the much-maligned Nigerian financial capital that is much improved since the country transitioned from military dictatorship to civilian rule in 1999.

The characters are as cosmopolitan as Abudu, a tall and elegant woman with sculpted cheekbones. She was born in London, came to Nigeria when she was a youngster and returned to Britain after her father died when she was 12. She returned to settle when she married a Nigerian at age 28.

Once her children were in their teens, Abudu, a former executive with the oil giant Exxon-Mobil, abandoned a 20-year career in human resources in 2006 to become a self-taught television talk show host. "Moments with Mo" became the first syndicated daily talk show on African regional TV and also is aired in Britain on a Sky TV channel.

She has interviewed celebrities from Hillary Rodham Clinton, former African presidents F. W. de Klerk of South Africa and John Kufuor of Ghana, former England soccer skipper Rio Ferdinand, musician R. Kelly and American fashion icon Diane Von Furstenberg.

A telling moment for Abudu came she was standing at London's Marble Arch and decided, on a whim, to ask people what came to their minds when they heard the word Africa.

The answers ranged from Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's dictatorial ruler of 33 years, the British charity Oxfam and famine to babies with flies on their faces. "The nicest thing I heard was 'sunshine,'" said an appalled Abudu.
Years later, she is setting out to transform that vision by shining a bright light on the so-called "dark continent's" riches — its super-talented young entrepreneurs, fabulous art scene, up-and-coming fashion designers, provocative authors and sassy musicians.

One program is hosted by rhythm and blues artist Banky W and singer-songwriter Tiwa Savage. Their first program discusses why more and more Nigerian women are bleaching their skins and whether men prefer lighter-skinned black women.

So the network will not ignore some of the darker sides of Africa's realities, though Abudu promises "a different reality."

It will feature a specially commissioned movie, "New Horizons," from award-winning filmmaker Tope Oshin Ogun that bares the plight of women across the continent subjected to domestic abuse, a prevalent crime that is not often addressed.

And radio host Oreka Godis stars in "Love Lounge," where she will ask the cheeky questions for which she is known of sexologists, life coaches and psychotherapists.

While Nollywood movies also are notorious for often poor quality, though this is improving, Abudu aims for the highest quality in a network she hopes will eventually be broadcast beyond Africa to the millions in the diaspora.
"What we say is 'Everything you think you know about Africa is about to change,'" Abudu said.
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My Take

For any Westerners with poor, preconceived notions of Africa, perhaps this woman can give you some better insight that the entire continent isn't based on living on huts or tribal warfare. It's more logical to suggests that for anyone eradicate any level of ignorance we may have about the many African countries, take the time to watch some entertainment from Africa. Talk shows, movies, TV programs...you name it, they'll deliver.

Gorath · Jul 4, 2013

Morning Star said: ↑

Nigerian woman launches entertainment TV network

My Take

For any Westerners with poor, preconceived notions of Africa, perhaps this woman can give you some better insight that the entire continent isn't based on living on huts or tribal warfare. It's more logical to suggests that for anyone eradicate any level of ignorance we may have about the many African countries, take the time to watch some entertainment from Africa. Talk shows, movies, TV programs...you name it, they'll deliver.
Click to expand...

I remember seeing the DVD of the film The Constant Gardener with Ralph Feinnes and Rachel Weisz. It was filmed in South Africa. Ralp and Rachel spent a lot of time in the poor village they were shooting in. They and everyone in the crew agreed that no studio lot could ever copy or fake what they had seen while filming in South Africa. It is interesting that the two sequels to From Dusk Till Dawn(From Dusk Till Dawn 2:Texas Blood Money and From Dusk Till Dawn 3:The Hangman's Daughter) was filmed there because according to Robert Rodriguez, the terrain resembled Mexico. Wesley Snipes' Gallows Walker Trilogy was filmed there. Ask The Dust(a film starring Colin Farrell and Salma Hayek) was filmed there. District 9, Safe House and many more. Like the Czech Republic, South Africa and perhaps other parts of Africa , as well is of interest to film makers and television producers. And this goes way beyond Tarzan, Sheena and Alan Quatermain.

APPIAH · Jul 10, 2013

Morning Star said: ↑

Nigerian woman launches entertainment TV network

My Take

For any Westerners with poor, preconceived notions of Africa, perhaps this woman can give you some better insight that the entire continent isn't based on living on huts or tribal warfare. It's more logical to suggests that for anyone eradicate any level of ignorance we may have about the many African countries, take the time to watch some entertainment from Africa. Talk shows, movies, TV programs...you name it, they'll deliver.
Click to expand...

Those preconceived notions wont change anytime soon cus International networks will always show the side of Africa they want to portray. If Africa wants to portray its positive side it must tell its own story cus no one tells their story better than themselves. Until Al Jazeera English version came, i had a perception of the middle east and now i have realised that's not the case at all. There are people in Africa who think everyone in America looks like George Clooney or Angelina Jolie riding in fancy cars drinking champagne all the time. The first time i saw potholes in America i was in such a state of shock a fly could have entered my wide open mouth. Its all about portraying the good side all the time to the outside world.

Morning Star · Jul 10, 2013

You do bring up a valid point here. But I get this feeling that no matter how much African countries or international shows give the audience the GOOD SIDES of the country, the woefully ignorant bunch will continue to believe that the majority of the continent will remain just a place with tents and huts and eating dirt.

APPIAH said: ↑

Those preconceived notions wont change anytime soon cus International networks will always show the side of Africa they want to portray. If Africa wants to portray its positive side it must tell its own story cus no one tells their story better than themselves. Until Al Jazeera English version came, i had a perception of the middle east and now i have realised that's not the case at all. There are people in Africa who think everyone in America looks like George Clooney or Angelina Jolie riding in fancy cars drinking champagne all the time. The first time i saw potholes in America i was in such a state of shock a fly could have entered my wide open mouth. Its all about portraying the good side all the time to the outside world.
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