Kay Ovia is the CEO of Quantum Markets and initiator of the Star Rising Talent Hunt for children and young people. In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, she talks about the project, planning for a better future for the young ones and life married to Jim Ovia, erstwhile Zenith Bank boss.
WHAT is the vision behind Star Rising Talent Hunt? This is a long-term thing and not just the one-off thing where only prizes are given. We plan to make the children arm themselves with adequate knowledge to restore what some of the children have lost as well as make them believe in themselves.
Most talent hunt projects attract a fee but this one is free. It is not to make money; so the entry and audition is totally free. It is an opportunity to come and have an enabling environment to showcase your talent. We are here to mentor, coach them and at the end of the day they would become great patriots for the nation.
We also have an academic and mental exercise for students of the senior secondary school bracket. Contestants would be quizzed on subjects such as mathematics, english, general knowledge, current global affairs and the sciences. We are going to discover, hone and nurture God-given talents. This would be done through free counselling and mentoring programmes for children within the age bracket 7 to 17 years. Sadly, a number of projects people have for children are actually for teenagers.
It would not just be about singing and dancing alone but developing talents in different areas. The team would therefore be providing talent development classes. We would also provide a well-equipped modern library. The mastermind is for the teenagers, especially those in upper secondary schools. To make our selections, we did not go to schools for the rich and famous. There are lots of children that do not have the opportunity that needs to be reached. These are our targets and that is why we are going to government schools and the orphanages. You would be amazed at the raw talents that we found in these schools and I know that the judges would select the best.
Where do you intend to take this passion to?
I intend to take it as far as possible. It is a passion that I have had over the years. I actually found out that through this passion I can help children. I have been helping some by paying school fees and mentoring those who come to me. I do have a lot of children on my sponsorship list. I learnt that from my husband; he has the Jim Ovia Foundation.
However, I realised that I could do my own, reaching out to a different group to make a difference. At the beginning, I began to ask myself how to do this and that was how things began to fall in place. It is a life at a time and if you try to touch lives, it goes from there. By the time we have one centre opened, we intend to take about 200 people and attend to these children on the basis of first come, first served. The centre would be filled with activity. We are also going to have a studio, a library and we would have resource persons from abroad who would coach them in the areas of singing and dancing. In addition, we would also be working with celebrities in Nigeria and it would give us a total package.
We have people like Zuriel Oduwole and Malala making waves all over the world. Where do you want to take the young talents that you are projecting?
You can see that Malala and Zuriel are making a difference in their world today. Malala is not a singer, she is not a dancer but she stands out. She is an orator, she talks and people listen; adult listen to her. If I have a child like that I know I would push that child far. Here I am not talking about my biological children. Of course, I have children who can speak very well for themselves.
I strongly believe that every child needs to be able to speak what is on their mind; they should be able to talk and express themselves. They need to be able to say this is my talent; I want to show the world, this is my dream. Not just five minutes of glory or fifteen minutes of fame. They should say to themselves, ‘I also want to see, what the rest of the world wants to see.’
What were your personal dreams while you were growing up?
I was a tomboy as a child. I was always climbing trees and I know that on one or two occasions my mother had to pull my ears and sit me down. For my dream as a young girl, I wanted to be a lawyer because my father was a lawyer. However, I was someone that liked to take something on and the easy thing for me was to do the mathematics and get it over. That was how I chose Finance.
Having a reality show for children is a great idea but it also comes with a number of complex issues that include the welfare and security of these children. How do you intend to handle this?
All those who are working with us are vetted. We would as much as possible go through a proper process. By the time we interview people who would work with us, they must be people others can vouch for. You can only do so much but I know that God would do the rest. We would get people to monitor the process and avoid the risk; that is something we would not tolerate at all. If you have a CCTV there, it would caution people especially if they have any bad intention or anything like that. All those measures would be taken care of. If I cannot leave my child with just anyone, then I won’t leave other people’s children with just anyone, so all those details would be taken care of.
In Nigeria, one other talent that children, especially boys, would like to develop is football. Are you doing something in this area?
Yes, somebody did mention football, but I don’t have people with that skill on board at the moment. Maybe, if we get introduced to a couple of footballers, then we can take them on and by next year we could add football to our list. It would therefore be easy to take such children on and ask them to mentor them.
It would be easier for them to give the children the head shot, show them the way and that is the only way people can learn. We would also provide the fund and if they need to be flown abroad, we would get a sponsor for this. I am going to put in my best for these children, not just in terms of fund but getting the right mentors; mentors who would be able to discover those talents that are in them. We already have a number of fantastic talents out there and we would be going to them to mentor these children to be like them.
What is the secret to your good looks?
There is really not much to it. Believe it or not I am over 50 years. Sometimes, you wake up in the morning and the bones are not working, but you ask God to give you the grace to move on.
Tell us about your beauty regimen
No, I won’t tell you that. It is nothing really. If you are diligent with your hygiene then you would be beautiful. Hygiene, they say, is next to godliness. Then you have to be good on the inside, have the word of God in you and then everything would be great. That is one thing I have told my children. You don’t have to be beautiful for the sake of being beautiful or want to be like the next Miss World. The truth is that beauty comes from within. It includes your eating healthy, good hygiene and you just doing the right thing.
How would you describe your husband and how he has influenced you?
He is a very wonderful person to be with. I would also say that my husband is very romantic. He doesn’t miss my birthday or any other important date. Even when I am abroad you can be sure that he is coming with a massive bunch of roses. Women need to teach their men how to be romantic. A man may not be naturally romantic but you can guide him. You need to step up the game.
