Lamide Akintobi, TV presenter and daughter of ace producer, Laolu Akins, tells ’Nonye Ben-Nwankwo why she returned to Nigeria from the United States to take up a job at home
Why I left Channels TV
I had to leave Channels Television because I wanted to study for a master’s degree abroad. I’m through with it anyway. I went to the United Kingdom for my master’s in International Journalism. Now I am back. Initially, I worked on several projects. I ran an independent channel on the HiTV platform. But after what happened last year, I had to disengage from HiTV. I am working on a documentary in the mean time. Also, I’m doing some freelance jobs. I write and I’m thinking of new things to do to. I have a contract with TV Continental. I read news for them two times in a week.
My plans for the future
I won’t say I don’t want to go into full time broadcasting, just like I did before. But I would say I am exploring every option at the moment. TV Continental approached me sometime last year and asked me to come on board. At that time, I was doing so many other things. I couldn’t commit to news casting all the time. I wanted to be able to work on other things as well.
Being Laolu Akins’ daughter
It wasn’t as if I didn’t explore the fact that my father was a music producer. I enjoy singing. My siblings and I have pleasant voices. We can all hold a tune. But even as our dad was a producer, none of us thought of going into music. We had different talents and strengths. I like to sing, but I don’t think I would have made it as a pop singer. If I had been a singer, I probably wouldn’t have wanted my father to be my producer. But it is interesting to have Laolu Akins as my dad. To a lot of people, he is a legend. When I was young, I didn’t understand the whole thing. I just knew that all the music stars were coming to our house. You would find the likes of Shina Peters, Adewale Ayuba and Onyeka Onwenu in our house. To me, they were just ‘aunties’ and ‘uncles.’ I didn’t see it as a big deal. Now that I am older, I have come to appreciate what he did in the music scene and the impact he made.
Comparing the past and present
I don’t think you can compare my father’s time and the producers of today. In his time, a particular style and people were considered the best in music production. He was one of those people. Now, the music industry is so different. Back in the 1990s, you wouldn’t have had somebody like a Banky W or MI. They would not have been popular then. Music has gone to another level all over the world, not only in Nigeria. What my father did in those days may not have been suitable for the music scene today.
Why I chose broadcasting
I studied inthe United States. Interestingly, when I got to the university, I started as a pre-law student. I actually wanted to be a lawyer. My father said I was very troublesome and I could argue a lot. So he wanted me to be a lawyer. So I went to school and got into pre-law department. But I found that I didn’t like it at all. It happened that in that semester, you could pick some courses that were not related to your main course. I picked a radio course and I found out that I liked it a lot. I called my parents and told them about it and that I liked broadcasting and I wanted to explore it. My parents were understanding, but they told me not to waste their money and be choosing different courses at random. They told me if I wanted to settle for broadcasting, I should focus on it and make sure I excelled. I took more classes in broadcasting and I found out I had a flair for it.
Coming back home
I worked for awhile in the US, but I wasn’t comfortable with the kind of work I was doing. I discussed with my parents and they agreed there was no point in staying on. I am a Nigerian. I am not American. They told me to come back home, do my National Youth Service, and see what I could do here, since this is my home. That was why I returned. I think it was the right thing to do. I wouldn’t say I regret coming home. Everybody knows that living and working in Nigeria is not easy, but I still don’t regret coming home.
My choice of broadcast medium
I wanted to be an on-air-personality. But somehow, I stumbled on TV and I became a presenter. When I returned to Nigeria, I tried to get a job in a radio station, but it didn’t work out. I went to Channels TV and Mr. John Momoh asked me if I could do TV. I told him I wouldn’t mind trying. They did a screen test for me and I passed. They tried me on stock market news and that was how it started. I started reading business news, main news and all other kind of stuff. I learnt a bit of everything. It was a good learning ground.
My first day in front of a camera
It was interesting. I was very nervous and my voice shook. I think I did about 10 or 12 takes of the same stuff until I finally got it right. But as I progressed, I got better and better. I have been embarrassed many times in front of a camera. Once, I was reading the news and when I turned my eyes and I saw something creeping on my body. It was like a bug. I was reading the news and at the same time, I was trying to brush the bug off. Before then, they were showing a clip of something and I didn’t even know the camera was back to me. I was still brushing off the bug and everybody of course, noticed what I was doing. I got into so much trouble that day. I got off the set and my boss called me into his office and screamed at me. Things like that happen. I had coughed on air once. I coughed to the extent they had to remove the part. I coughed for about 30 seconds non-stop. People still ‘diss’ me because of that.
Life as a celebrity
I don’t see myself as a celebrity. But I still don’t cope very well with the attention I get from the public. I am not a shy person, but people recognise me a lot and I get nervous. Some people recognise me as a known face and perhaps, think of where they could have seen me. I usually tell the person that maybe we attend the same church. I don’t tell them that I am a TV personality. My dad tells me to tell such people the truth when they come to me, but I see it as boasting. I don’t like to face a camera when I am not working. It can be very funny when people ‘rush’ at me like a star.
My accent
It is so funny. I am actually very good with accents. It is very easy to switch to my British or American accent since I studied in both countries. But it is very proper to connect to the people you are talking to. My Nigerian accent never disappeared, though I studied abroad. When you talk to somebody, you have to connect to the person. You don’t have to be pretentious. I speak the way I speak. If I am talking to my friends in London, then I can switch to my British accent. If I am talking to my friends in the US, I switch to my American accent. I don’t have to roll my tongue and speak through my nose when I have Nigerians as my audience.
Relationship
What is there to talk about my relationship? Well, in God’s time, all will be revealed. There are plenty of young men in Lagos. They will always admire beautiful ladies. I don’t think I’m different. I can’t say I’m taking my time when it comes to settling down. I think everything will work out in due time. It could be that God is taking His time. I’m not telling you anything more.
Personal aspiration
In the nearest future, I want to get deeper into journalism and maybe, work in an international organisation. I would love to report for CNN or BBC. I would want to do more on production. I was working on a documentary recently. I would want to do more on that.
My stature
My father is always saying that I should eat so that I can add some flesh. He keeps forgetting that he too is slender. I am not a model. I hope I remain like this because I don’t think I will like to work out in a gym.
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