Mrs. Lara Owoeye-Wise thoroughly enjoyed her journalism as she transited from print to electronic media at various times in her illustrious career. She shares some of her experiences with SAM NWAOKO.
How did you begin your journey in journalism?
I can’t pinpoint the particular time but I know that growing up I loved to read, I loved to write and I loved to talk. Long before I could read, I would sit in front of my mother’s mirror with my father’s newspaper and mimic newscasters. Sometimes mum would sneak in on me and give me a knock for leaving the errand for the mirror but the next minute, I would be back at the mirror doing the same thing. As I grew up, I discovered that I expressed myself very well writing. I could write my thoughts – creative writing. In secondary school, it was very evident. My favourite subject was English Literature. I wanted to read law in the university but I eventually went in for Religion and Philosophy at the University of Jos. When I finished, I served in Maiduguri at an architectural firm. All that while, I was still creatively writing, talking and all that. I was also writing the church bulletin. As soon as I finished service, there was an opening at The Punch Newspapers for advertorial staff. I applied and got it. Even as an advertorial staff, I was helping the reporters to cover their beat. There was Godwin (I’ve forgotten his surname) that was covering Aviation; Tunde Aremu was covering Entertainment; Jude Arijaje and the others. When they are busy, I would beg them to allow me cover assignments for them. That was my first foray into journalism. After that, The News Magazine started. I was a pioneer staff of The News Magazine and I was there for 10 years. During that time, I wrote for The News, Tempo Newspaper, AM News and PM News – all on The News stable that time. That was when I built my journalism muscle. It was during the military regime so, we were toughened by force. Then we did a lot of investigative reporting and we imbibed all the nuances of journalism. It also included knowing how to protect yourself on the field, how to look for stories, knowing your angle and so on. I worked with a lot of incredible guys. I worked Lekan Otufodunrin, Osita Nwajah, Abimbola Adeoye, Dotun Adekanbi, Babafemi Ojudu, Bayo Onanuga, Kunle Ajibade, Dapo Olorunyomi, Ademola Adegbamigbe and other great guys. There was one Chima too who was fantastic I honed my skills with these great writers and we had a great team. All that while, I knew I was still going to end up on TV.
So, how did TV come in?
I remember Mr. Idowu Obasa, our GM at The News then. When he called the newsroom on the Intercom and I received the call, he would ask: “Hello, who is this?” I would say “My name is Lara Owoeye-Wise.” The hilarious man he is, he would jocularly say “you this girl, you have TV voice o!” People always told me that I spoke well and that I have the diction. Maybe it’s also because my father was very finicky about your pronunciation and your writing because he was raised by Britons. My mum too was raised by British missionaries but my father was finicky about what you said, how you said it; what you wrote and how you wrote it. When I was at The Punch, my father once scolded me for something that I wrote. He also had a diploma in journalism through correspondence course. He also polished me in a way. I was doing master of ceremonies for free thereby polished myself. Suddenly, I heard that Silverbird TV was going to open and they were looking for workers. People were invited to apply at their office in Yaba. I went there dressed as the tomboy I used to be – in my jeans, T-shirt and a backpack. I walked in and there were all these A-graded girls with their wigs, make-up and so on. I walked in there in my faded jeans and T-shirt. When it was my turn to meet the recruiting officer, she asked if I had ever worked in a TV station before. I said no. she asked “then what are you doing here?” I said “I’m here because I know I can work in a TV station and I will help.” She asked for my CV and she saw names she knew, those I had worked with who were my referees. “Oh, you know Dapo Olorunyomi?” Oh, you know this person? Then her face lightened up. Then I said ‘excuse me Ma, do not employ me based on my referees; do not employ me because of the people I know I beg you. Employ me on merit, let me prove myself. If I don’t merit it, please throw me out.” She looked at me and dropped her red pen. In a squint, she said “this is the first time in this country I am meeting somebody who wants to be employed on merit. This is the first time somebody would walk into my office with such confidence and want to be employed on merit.” That was it. I was the first to be employed after the pioneer staff, Ogochukwu Onyejie and some of those who were first employed.
We started and in a few months, my name was everywhere. The bulletin would have three of my reports. I could do three reports in one day with one camera and my stories were issues, human interest stories and crises that people could relate with. We put the station on the map as it were because Silverbird was very popular at that time. We had a great working relationship with the Murray-Bruce brothers and we did some earth-shaking stories for Silverbird. I broke the Ilado pipeline fire story which eventually won me a national award. I also broke the Ikoyi prison break story; I also broke the story of the clash between soldiers and policemen at Ojuelegba. It was the visuals I clandestinely recorded that the Federal Government at that time used to set up an inquiry panel to look into what really happened because I got exclusive shots. I was the only Nigerian journalist who was in Sierra Leone for the trial of Charles Taylor. I did all of that for Silverbird.
From Silverbird TV, I went to Minaj Broadcast International and the job then was to revive the dying TV station. The same person who recruited for Silverbird, Stella, was there for the same job. Stella brought me into Minaj and we worked together with Gboyega Akosile (currently working with Governor babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State); Kanmi Olatoye (who worked with Dr Fayemi in Ekiti State) and Siju Alabi among others. We worked with a CEO who is crazy, Pastor Tony Icheku alias PTI and in one year, we did the unthinkable. In one year, we took Minaj Broadcast International which was moribund to winning the Station of the Year Award. We took it from Channels Television that had been winning it back to back. I won the TV Reporter of the Year award. MBI was a household name that year. PTI started a TV station now called LN24/7 and they just got a network license. When they started the Abuja office, they took me to Abuja and that was how I became an Abuja resident. I left the station afterwards.
From MBI, Oga Ladi Lawal of blessed memory wanted me at AIT. After my initial resistance, I joined the Africa Independent Television (AIT) where I spent 10 years.
Post-AIT, how has it been with you?
It’s been great. I have a lot of great people and friends there. Gbenga Aruleba, Jiire Kuforiji, Raymond Elamah, Kunle Adewale… my people they are. I also worked with Kelly Elijah, Adebayo Bodunrin and of course my boss and friend, Tosin Dokpesi, who was recently bereaved. I had a great team. I was producer, editor, news anchor, deputy head of presentation and, of course reporter. I’m a reporter for life. Exactly 10 years after, I got a political appointment.
When you compare journalism, which you practised in both the print and electronic and the work as a politician’s aide, what are some marked differences you noticed and what can we learn from them?
For me, the difference is that as a journalist, you have your freedom to say what you want to say. You can pick on any issue and delve into it and go the whole yard. You can give expression to your story and stand by your report because you have absolute freedom. It doesn’t work like that on the other side; that freedom is not there. You have to be careful what you say, how you say it, where and when you say it. You must know when to restrain and when not to restrain yourself. You are serving the interest of your principal, you are his image make and you are there to sell your principal. That is your job. That limitation is there because you cannot just write anything. That is the number one marked difference.
It was a whole different game there and your principal’s interest is your major priority. But while there, I didn’t lose touch with my profession; I didn’t lose touch with the newsroom. I always went there at my free time to AIT newsroom. I was still in touch with my base and I was also improving myself. I still read scripts to myself in front of the mirror and improving myself. I hone my skill, improving my diction and phonetics, picking up new words; consulting my Daniel Jones on words I didn’t know how to pronounce. I was improving myself, I didn’t lose touch with my professional realities. I was doing all of that because I knew that one day, my tenure as the media aide would be over and I would be back to my profession somehow. I first worked with Honourable Lasun Yusuf, a former Deputy Speaker before Senator Ovie Omo-Agege. While with Senator Omo-Agege, I went for M.Sc. in management from the College Du Paris in France because I know that my boss was finicky about people improving themselves, especially women. So, I didn’t lose touch at all.
If you got a call to return to TV, how would you react?
I’ve really missed TV; I’ve missed working with the news anchoring, programmes anchoring. I’ve missed all of that. Like I said, I would record myself anchoring programmes. I do all of that just to keep abreast. It’s not as if I’m not getting calls already but I will weigh my options. I have options as I speak, so I will weigh them. “The path of the just man must shine brighter”, so I will weigh my options and see what God will have me do next.
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