Kikelomo Atanda-Owo is a Management Consultant, Leadership Development and On-Air-Personality. After working behind the scene for over a decade, she is making a rebound with her TV show, RealTalkWithKike on Silverbird Television.
In this interview with OLAITAN GANIU, the screen goddess speaks about her transition from radio present to TV host, Gender equality as well as life experience.
Gender equality is a hot topic, what are your thoughts about it?
World at large is male-dominated and favours male more (I stand to be corrected).
The challenge today is that people are not paying attention to the male child. The attention is on the female (girl) child because of the negative attachments in terms of abuses in the female child. However, the society seems to forget that the male child that is thought to be independent is abandoned and the less training given to him causes the backlog and backlash of inappropriate treatment and misdemeanour the women face from men in marriages, office environment or in the society at large. Even as at then, the fault is cornered on the female and the society is quick to castigate her on the doings and misdoings of the male.
No doubt, the general education plays a training role, but is found to be insufficient and have its shortcomings in terms of character and behaviour mounding on children.
In a nutshell, there should be equality for both genders in training and societal accountability.
It’s a New Year; tell us about your new project?
RealTalkWithKike is a fresh concept of a talk show that is set to influence and change institutions. The show will be airing on Silverbird Television and it a franchise from the corporate body Z-Edge Consulting Limited which I am currently the Managing Consultant. RealTalkWithKike is an extension of my radio live program but the difference is I decided to hold other sisters/brother’s hands to fly together. It will be inviting stakeholders of institutions, decision-makers of relevant industries and government principal officers to address and proffer solutions to burning local and international issues that affect Nigerians.
As a chief host of the show, I will be joining my co-host including popular OAP and comedian Omotunde Adebowale-David aka Lolo 1, Damilola Banire, Efo and Marshall Anthoni Ononye to discuss at a robust level, these topical issues. The vision is to deliver expert journalism at world-class hierarchy while leveraging on the mission of working professionally in the field of journalism.
Tell us the idea behind your transition from Radio presenter to TV host?
The cradle of my media career started from Television 18years ago hence TV is not new to me. The initial idea was to be on TV right from the start. Radio was new to me but my girlfriend Bimbola convinced me to start from the radio. However, I liked the training as it is more rigorous than TV in terms of the conviction you give the audience as we know that voice training and communication are integral aspects of radio. RealTalkWithKike on TV has my name and it is a legacy for me. My team and I are consistently working assiduously to be at top-notch delivery capacity.
What has been the experience working in the media?
Growing up, I’ve always wanted to be on screen. Like I said earlier, I started with TV and print media. However, my career drifted into cooperation organizations; consultancy, training and event management which initiated collaborations and synergies with state governments, telecom industry, oil and gas and corporate organizations. Coming back to media, I see a lot of differences and swift developments because when I joined media almost 2 decades ago, social media was not at play, technological input was high but low in comparison with what we have today. At every point, there will have to be acclimatization to inventions and innovations.
Now, almost everyone in the media space even when not qualified or trained to be one. For instance, we have self-made reporters, cameramen, producers etc. anyways it is fun and it keeps us on our toes and differentiates quality that the professionals in it deliver. The pros and the cons, all make it all beautiful for me.
What would you consider as the turning point in your career?
I have been in the corporate world for over a decade, worked with consulting firms, oil and gas, finance company, mobile technologies and different state government but last paid employment was with PPM under my awesome mentor, Pastor Ghandi Olaoye. The experience and the vast influence was key for me and it engendered me to starting up my own company. Hence, the birth of Z-Edge Consulting.
The turning point in my career was the perception of women working in media space. I have known and experienced women who actually abuse the media space due to lack of integrity and chaste values. Most people think that every woman in media should be loose or must have paid their way up their career with their body. I really want to be a part of those that change the narrative. Hence, one of my gallant return to media.
Who inspires the things you do?
My passion and burning desire for TV is a fundamental inspiration for the things I do. Secondly, I am consistently inspired by the host of female TV stars including Oprah Winfrey, Amanpour, Mo Abudu , Linda Ikeji Mrs Omotosho and even male giants in the African journalism like industry including my Egbon’s like Reuben Abati, Dele Momodu, Soni Irabor, Yinka Adebayo, Sesan Rufai…
Non-TV stars like Ngozi Iweala, Bola Adesola, Omowunmi Lakanu, Tomi Sowefun , Funmi Anikulapo Kuti , Temilolu Ogundipe and most importantly, my late grandmother Abibat Atanda-Owo. She was a foundational pillar in who I have become today. She taught me that there’s nothing as good as a woman who is self-independent. Basically, people tell her she should have come as a woman just as some people tell me today. I am using this medium to commend and revere all hardworking women who have created a space for us to grow and expanded the frontiers for us to explore. These are the real MVPs I admire a great deal.
What are some of the business challenges?
All my businesses have constantly geared me to meeting people from different works of life with different ways of life. People are the most difficult component in life. Dealing with people of different traits sometimes make you have different adaptations.
Trying to facilitate resource personnel is a mammoth challenge for media players like us especially when a topic is treading. This is also pivotal when your niche market is contingent upon bringing about influence from the point of public opinions to key stakeholders and leaders that can wield change in our society. Researching on contents for public consumption is another crux as you want to be careful and accountable for the information you want to disseminate to the public.
At the training sphere of my business, training older people with rigid mindsets is another challenge for me as they are used to outdated knowledge and system. (A lot of unlearning and learning ) takes place.
Finance is a general constraint for most entrepreneurs. For the record, I’ve never used banks to finance any of my projects because of the conditions and the prevailing economic circumstances which sometimes make many businesses go bankrupt. However, my father Olatunde Atanda-Owo and two other mentors in my life step in all the time. May they live long, they have always been a backbone financial and moral support for my career.
Do you feel like quitting at any point?
Yes, a number of times. Sometimes when challenges are overwhelming, I feel like quitting. Challenges in arrange have been the most overwhelming for me. I don’t succumb to business and career pressure but when it comes to another human being that induces pressure on me and I find it incorrigible, I tend to quit or shutdown. When my marriages zapped all my energy and became too much too handle, I had to quit and exit the marriage. I think I have the same attitude for friendship too.
For RealTalkWithKike on TV, A few challenges came before the transition just like relocation of homes, relocation of offices, fraud experience, the decision to step down from a well-paid appointment was tough, new schools for my three kids, divorce etc all happening back-to-back but they were all surmountable . When I remembered the drive and the vision, I realize they are necessary to pivot me to my destination and success.
Tell us about some of the memorable moments.
When ‘RealTalkWithKike’ turned 1year anniversary. That was the most memorable time for seeing my media business grow into another stage and finding that my hard work, consistency and sacrifices are paying off eventually.
What are some of the other things that occupy your time?
My children get a better part of my time. Very close-knit family members and some extremely close friends also share from my time. My time with my creator is also special to me, I regularly take time out to communicate deeply with my God.
What are you looking forward to in the next few years?
I’m hoping to own a TV/Radio station in the next few years while my company Zedge will have grown to global recognition. I also crave to have a foundation for widowers and single mother’s that will be a legacy where I get to impact the community and of course less-privileged in the society.
What is lesson life has taught you?
Smiles..hmmm… Life has taught me a lot. Most importantly to take things at face value, especially with human behaviours. You definitely have to trust someone but with caution. Secondly, nothing is permanent. Life is fragile and lastly, love each day like it’s the last and be happy.
As a woman of style, what defines your fashion?
1. Comfort. Fashion for me is to be comfortable and pleasurable. Fashion does not necessarily mean forgoing these attributes because of trend or vogue.
2. Loose fitting. Perhaps me trying to hide my small tummy (lol) after three beautiful children.
3. Black dress, my bifocal lenses to complement my eyesight., pumps and sneakers really does it for me depending on the occasion. I don’t believe in heels all the time. I like to feel light and bounce around sometimes. I don’t do baggy jeans.
4. Gold jewellery, this is a must-have for me and since my childhood, my grandma has always lavished gold ornaments on me. I grew up having gold as most of my jewellery. They come in handy for two purposes.
Fashion- they speak fashion for especially when it is best used to complement outfits and accessorize black dresses.
Secondly; Investment- they are an investment that comes in handy when I desperately need funds and am low in cash or perhaps my accountant in my office is keeping me in check of my outflows or spending then I replenish them back to save funds. I mean I sell them.
