Having worked on all editions of MTV Shuga Naija, filmmaker Tope Oshin is making her debut as producer of the youth-targeted enlightenment show. In this interview with JOE AGBRO JR, Oshin, who is also one of the three directors and show runner of MTV Shuga speaks on why she considers working on the project as a blessing. Excerpts
HOW did you get to be the producer of MTV Shuga?
I have been a part of the Shuga, right from Season one. I’ve worked in different capacities. Initially, I was casting it, you know, putting the characters together and getting appropriate actors for it. And then last season, I was called to direct the stories. I received a call sometime in May last year to consider producing the show, which meant that my company became the official production company for the show.
I guess it’s a follow-up of my relationship with the show over the years – following the story, developing the story, directing the stories. So, it pleased them to say, “okay it’s a good thing. We’re able to take a step further working with Tope and her company to produce the upcoming season.” I guess it’s a welcome progression which for me is a good thing because Shuga is an awesome project. I’m very excited to be a part of whatever changes the world and whatever changes the youth of tomorrow.
To what extent has the show been able to change the society?
MTV Shuga Naija and MTV Franchise in general has been known to be high messaging show, even though it’s the most entertaining show that we have presently that connects with the youth which is a big factor for it as well – the ability to connect well with young people, the ability to listen to its target audience, mirror their lives and speak back to them in the language they understand. This has contributed to the great success of MTV Shuga and why it’s still going on. We’re currently in the fourth season in Nigeria. And this is the eighth season in general. It keeps going on strong, sponsors keep coming on board, just because of the efficacy of the message, the ability to be able to combine successfully entertainment and messaging for social change. This is the biggest thing about Shuga and that is why it’s celebrated so much in the world.
What are some of the messages that have been passed so far?
Some of the messages are as you know, from the beginning, was prevention of HIV and AIDS. This season, we’re going even further into safe sex, we’re going into teenage pregnancy, changing attitudes towards victim of gender-based violence, we’re going into personal responsibility, education of the girl-child, women empowerment. These are just a few of some of the messages that we have. We’re also going into attitude towards persons with disability inclusion. So, the messages are broad and wide as they affect young people between the ages of 14 to 24 and particularly in Nigeria and Africa.
There’s been a lot of sex-related theme on Shuga. Do you think Nigerians are talking enough about sex?
I think Nigeria today is getting to a very interesting point where we’re beginning to have this conversations that matter. Conversations regarding our sex, regarding our sexuality, regarding sexually transmitted infections. You know, all of these things are real. Some of these things are deadly, some of these things affect society in a negative way. And we’re beginning to have these conversations. In the media, you will find that we’re talking about rape, we’re talking about people speaking up, gender-based violence and all of that. So, I believe that MTV Shuga started this even before this conversation began in Nigeria. The time is now for a show like MTV Shuga Naija to keep going on with all these messages. Talking about sex is not what we’re used to in Nigeria or in Africa because we believe this happens behind closed doors.
But this is very important to young people growing up. They need to be educated, not only about how to be safe, they also need to know that it’s okay to wait, that it’s okay to choose to be safe. It’s okay to use a condom because you’re protecting yourself. It is okay to educate them on how to use the condoms, how to prevent getting HIV and AIDS. We started this messaging from telling people how not to get HIV and AIDS. So, we’re moving now. For those of you that have already contracted the virus, it’s not the end of the world. Here are ways to stay alive. You can take your ARVs, you can still live a normal life. All of these are very important thing that we need to know to keep young people alive, to keep them wise and make better decisions towards tomorrow because youths are the future of tomorrow. But they are the leaders of today as well, so they need to be equipped and empowered and that’s what we’re doing on Shuga.
What’s in store for Nigerian youths that cannot access the show on television?
The reach of MTV Shuga is very wide and as much as possible, MTV Staying Alive Foundation and Viacomm are doing everything to ensure that the reach is wide. So, the show always premieres on MTV Base and then eventually it goes to YouTube which a lot of young people go to. For people who don’t want to watch TV, they can catch it on YouTube and it’s free of charge. And from YouTube, it’s also syndicated freely across local channels in Nigeria. It is syndicated across all the stations in Africa. So they keep on looking for all sorts of channels. They’re also comic book versions. We have the radio drama versions. So, the reach is wide and research is ongoing to continue to increase the spread to ensure that everybody gets the message of MTV Shuga wherever they are.
Having been involved with the production of MTV Shuga, what’s been the biggest feedback you’ve got?
The biggest feedback for me having worked with MTV Shuga as a director and then producer and even a teller of the story is how much lives are changed. If you go on to the MTV Shuga Naija page on YouTube and you go through the comments, you just realise how much this is necessary, young people asking necessary questions, how do I do this? How do I prevent HIV? People would say I want to remain anonymous, I have HIV already, how do I continue to be healthy? For me, these are the most important things we’re here to do as entertainers to change the world, to affect a life, not just make people laugh but also to talk about those issues that concern us in our lives – the one wey dey pain us for bodi. Do you understand? And that is why for me, it is a special project out of every job, every film, every TV drama that I have worked on. MTV Shuga is very dear to me because it has that ability to touch lives, to change lives, to save lives. That’s the journey between someone wanting to give up and staying on.
We’ve gotten so many testimonials of people saying I watched MTV Shuga and I decide not to take my life. I watched MTV Shuga and it saved me from dying from HIV and AIDS. All of these are very, very important and it’s a blessing to me as a filmmaker to put my name to MTV Shuga to work on the project.
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