Q: Please tell us about yourself
Ooh, um, um, jeez, where do I start from? I was born in Ibadan, where my my dad was I think he was resident doctor at that time. My father's Cameroonian, so my mom, something brought her there. My mom is a English, a French and English major in school, that's how they met, um, you know, in the course of the one year foreign studying and then, yeah. So, I grew up in in, huh, I grew up in two parts, actually. I grew up in Calabar, Cross River State because my mom is from, um, Calabar, Cross River State. And then, of course, because growing up there means I was going, you know, growing up in Calabar, Nigeria and in Cameroon, in Yaoundé, Cameroon. So, that's why I paused when you say, 'How did you grow up? Where did you grow up?' But it was a balance. So, because of that, because of the fact that my father was Cameroonian, we're always exposed to family, the French-speaking family side. And so, French kind of stayed with us in the family. My parents speak fluent French. My siblings speak fluent French. So, there's always been the language, you know, the dalliance of the languages. And I went to school in Nigeria because it was easy. My mom was in education. She was working in the University of Technology there. She was head of department, so it was easy to just follow. So, it's just been, you know, growing up in Nigeria and growing up in Cameroon, um, throughout my life. And it was it was okay. It was an it was a it was a normal childhood. Um, we grow up, children are always prone to being adventurous, so when we're in Cameroon, we do things differently. When we're here, we do things differently. So, I think it was also nice to be able to balance the two countries where you're from. So, I grew up without my childhood was without incidents. I can proudly say so.
Q: What are your biggest strengths and what are your biggest weaknesses
Um, guy. Biggest strengths, man, I don't know. Yo, what, biggest strengths? What I say adaptability, being able to adapt, um, being able to I mean, there's been a lot of challenges in life, but somehow, I think my determination, doggedness, just tunnel-visioned, if I set out to do something, I can be tired along the way. I can be exhausted, can be frustrating, but in the end, I I I think, yeah, I think I would say that, doggedness, determination, which is I would have I would say I get that from family, from my parents. And then, um, my weakness would be that I'm very It's easy for me to trust to trust Bye, darling. It's easy for me to trust. If I trust someone, and then I make a lot of I've learned to not make business decisions from emotions
Q: What is your typical day like now
Hm. It depends. I'm not a morning person. Anybody that knows me knows I'm not a morning person. Unfortunately, I have to do the job. So, first, if I had a day, that would be I would take as an off day during the week, it would be Monday, without a doubt. Mondays, some people are the exact opposite. Mondays are the days that they get up and go, go, go. They’re like that. For me, it's the complete opposite. I like to get up and go, go, go on a Friday, rather than on Monday. Monday just I think it's because everybody's just everybody's just angry on the streets of Lagos. The cars are, It's as if people just came out with vex, as we say in street palace. “Everybody no dey gree”. So, on Mondays, everybody's blood is hot. Like, people are so quick to be upset. So, it's a frenzy on Lagos roads on Mondays. And I, frankly, that's I would pick Monday as my day off. But my typical day would be, um, I would just get up grudgingly and get ready, do what I know how to do best. Um, it's between radio, television, sometimes recording, sometimes reportages, being on the street. Sometimes it's pre-scheduled interviews, sometimes it's actually writing, sometimes it's just doing the, um How would I call it? Doing the mental work of scripting, of coming up with programs ideas, of consulting, um, for people who want to navigate the media space. So, sometimes it depends. It can be a mélange of everything at the same time. I say my Tuesdays are the busiest days for me because it's crazy. I do a little bit of everything. So, normally, you wake up in the morning, you come you come to I come to television, to News Central here. And then from News Central, maybe if I have radio, because it allows me to be flexible, I can now go to radio. If I don't have radio, I'll have a recording. I'm I'm recording for clients or, you know, consulting for clients. So, it's really just this. It's really fun times. It is.
Q: How did you start your day when you first started at work
I think it was easier. I started working at 16. I really did start working at 16. And I've always understood the reason behind working. I've always liked to be independent. I'm the only girl in the family, so I've always wanted to earn, wanted to go out and do something and then earn your money and then spend your money. It's such a nice feeling because it's what you've earned. So, before now, it it's been on different levels. But the recent before now would be the same thing. It's mornings. I don't like mornings, but I mean, sadly, I have to get up and get myself together in the morning to come to work. So, I think it's basically the same thing because my life has revolved around media for so long. It's It has all- almost always been the same routine for me. When I was in radio, I was mining the 10:00 a.m. shift, so I would have to be out. Before the 10:00 a.m. shift, I was doing school runs, so I would have to leave the house early, settle the kids in for school runs, and so it it's still the same routine, yes.
Q: How was your early life growing up, your days as a teenager
Oh, la, la. That was fun because, um, yeah, you're a teenager. Life is just, you know, you wake up with sunshine and roses. You're just thinking that there's nothing that can make you feel any which way. You were a child, you were product of both of two, I don't know, two countries. So, it was always fun. And the dilemma would be more pronounced when there's a football game between Cameroon and Nigeria. So, at home, my family in Cameroon is supporting Cameroon. Here, supporting Nigeria. If I'm watching a game, or my siblings and I watching a game in Cameroon, um, we sort of want to, uh, um, vote for the underdogs, which would be Nigeria. If we're in Nigeria watching a game between Nigeria and Cameroon, who would support Cameroonians? Because everybody seems to just be supporting Nigeria. So, any which way, we wouldn't we would win. If Cameroon won, all well and good. If Nigeria won, all well and good. So, we're always doing that because my dad said, 'Since we're in Nigeria, studying in Nigeria,' he didn't want us to lose the mother tongue. He didn't want us to lose the ability to be able to interact and communicate with our cousins on that side. So, every holiday, while we're here, every holiday, I didn't care I don't care whether it was 2 weeks holiday, 1 week holiday, we're in Cameroon.
Q: What made you choose to be in the career you are in today
Oh, God. I didn't choose it, hey. I'm serious, I didn't choose it. Because I studied Accountancy, Accounting, that's what I read in school, and I was the youngest in my class, so they used to tease me and call me Piglet. That's, you know, an aside. But I studied accounting because I would have studied Mass Com, but my mom was the director at the school there, and I didn't want to be parented at home by my mom, and then in the same class as my mom. You understand what I mean? She was a fantastic, um, lecturer because I took one elective and it took was the one she taught. So, as a lecturer, we've always spoken well in the family, and that's thanks to my mother. She was smoothly transitioning between languages. So, it was easy for my mom to correct us, and she taught... when we were writing WAEC, she taught all of us oral English and, you know, written English. Lexis and structure, comprehension, and summary. She taught us that. She taught us that well. So, now when I was... I had, you know, with accounting, you have the year where you... stagiaire... stage, internship. Yeah, that's it, internship. So, we had a year to do internship. And so, I went to the then Cross River Broadcasting Corporation in Calabar. And I just wanted to work in their accounting department. I just wanted an accounting department. I didn't want to traditionally work in a bank. Then it was the Metropolitan Banks and all those names that were there. I didn't want to, so I just walked into... I don't know what even took me there, sha. But I walked in there and I said I wanted to, um, intern. And so, I started interning. So, one day, the Director of Programs then, the late Eno Young, um, he called me to his office. And I was so nervous, because I said, 'Oh, nothing...' You know, 'What is...?' And I was as tiny as that. So, I... I said that I would just go and see what... I was curious, and I was scared at the same time. So, he gave me... I can't forget, he gave me a newspaper. The newspaper in Calabar then was called The Nigerian Chronicle. So, he gave me the newspaper to read. And he said, 'Oh, just read it.' I said, 'Okay.' So, I read it. I finished reading the first page, so I kept looking at him to... and he just kept nodding, 'You know, continue.' And I read the entire newspaper. And that's when he told me that, 'Oh, I had a fantastic voice, the timbre, the this, the tonal quality of my voice.' 'Have I ever thought of, you know, being in the media?' He didn't even say media. 'Have I ever thought of being on radio? He would like to put me on radio,' and all of that. Ah! There I was, shocked. I was 16. You know, so he was saying, 'Oh, if I'm ready, he would actually get them at the radio station to give me a lesson. I can do an audition.' And honestly, that's how I... I started media. So, I was going to school and doing radio at the weekends.


Q: What made you choose to be in the career you are in today
Oh, God. I didn't choose it, hey. I'm serious, I didn't choose it. Because I studied Accountancy, Accounting, that's what I read in school, and I was the youngest in my class, so they used to tease me and call me Piglet. That's, you know, an aside. But I studied accounting because I would have studied Mass Com, but my mom was the director at the school there, and I didn't want to be parented at home by my mom, and then in the same class as my mom. You understand what I mean? She was a fantastic, um, lecturer because I took one elective and it took was the one she taught. So, as a lecturer, we've always spoken well in the family, and that's thanks to my mother. She was smoothly transitioning between languages. So, it was easy for my mom to correct us, and she taught... when we were writing WAEC, she taught all of us oral English and, you know, written English. Lexis and structure, comprehension, and summary. She taught us that. She taught us that well. So, now when I was... I had, you know, with accounting, you have the year where you... stagiaire... stage, internship. Yeah, that's it, internship. So, we had a year to do internship. And so, I went to the then Cross River Broadcasting Corporation in Calabar. And I just wanted to work in their accounting department. I just wanted an accounting department. I didn't want to traditionally work in a bank. Then it was the Metropolitan Banks and all those names that were there. I didn't want to, so I just walked into... I don't know what even took me there, sha. But I walked in there and I said I wanted to, um, intern. And so, I started interning. So, one day, the Director of Programs then, the late Eno Young, um, he called me to his office. And I was so nervous, because I said, 'Oh, nothing...' You know, 'What is...?' And I was as tiny as that. So, I... I said that I would just go and see what... I was curious, and I was scared at the same time. So, he gave me... I can't forget, he gave me a newspaper. The newspaper in Calabar then was called The Nigerian Chronicle. So, he gave me the newspaper to read. And he said, 'Oh, just read it.' I said, 'Okay.' So, I read it. I finished reading the first page, so I kept looking at him to... and he just kept nodding, 'You know, continue.' And I read the entire newspaper. And that's when he told me that, 'Oh, I had a fantastic voice, the timbre, the this, the tonal quality of my voice.' 'Have I ever thought of, you know, being in the media?' He didn't even say media. 'Have I ever thought of being on radio? He would like to put me on radio,' and all of that. Ah! There I was, shocked. I was 16. You know, so he was saying, 'Oh, if I'm ready, he would actually get them at the radio station to give me a lesson. I can do an audition.' And honestly, that's how I... I started media. So, I was going to school and doing radio at the weekends.

Q: What was it like getting your first salary pay cheque
A: Oh la la! I can't even remember, you know. Yo! I can't remember, but they were paying me, oh! And it was... I was... It was a thing of pride. I can't remember. It was a thing of pride. I'm serious. It was so cool! And I remember I had to sign for it and collect the cash. I had to sign for it and collect the cash. But I remember it was so nice. But before I first started, I spent... I must have spent weeks before being able to confidently open up the mic to speak. And when I first started, I used to script... I used to script my speech bands because I didn't want to be nervous and go 'um, um, mm, okay,' and then just go off. So, I used to script. And then the... the much older, um, presenters were... were nice to me. They were kind. And they kept encouraging me, 'Oh no, you can do it.' I said, 'Okay.' 'No, no, put it on and go on there.' But I was so terribly shy. I said, 'He, what if I put on the mic and...' You know. So, in the end, you know, I just said, 'You know what? It's either you fly or you don't.' And that's how I opened up the mic, and I realized that scripting helped me pace myself and grow my confidence on radio.
Q: What was it like getting your first salary pay cheque
A: Oh la la! I can't even remember, you know. Yo! I can't remember, but they were paying me, oh! And it was... I was... It was a thing of pride. I can't remember. It was a thing of pride.
Q: Did you have a mentor in your early days at work
A: Hm... Not necessarily, eh. Yeah, you look... There are people you... you admired, but like the late, you know, Eno Young, I admired him because that was my first point of entry. He showed me, you know, basically gave me the platform to... But after that, I don't think I really did have... I had people I admired from afar, but not that I would go close to ask questions about. So, I did more of the observing from afar and emulating based on what I saw, yeah.
Q: What is your current or your last job
A: Ah! I'm a TV anchor, I'm a radio... In Nigeria, they know you do one thing now. I'm a... I'm a TV anchor, I'm a... a radio anchor as well. I'm a media consultant, I'm an actor when I find the time and the correct script, um, I'm a translator, you know, and then, um, sometimes when I have the... when I have the time, I teach elocution, yeah, and all. So, it's still media. How do you say... So, what would that my work be now? Exactly. So, I don't... So, it's, um... So, I... I consult. So, I... I, um...It's a lot. You can't put...Do you understand? So, that's why it's all under media. Like... because I do everything apart from, well, you know, being an actor, which is not, um, which is not media-related. But anything media-related, that's where I am.
Q: How do your balance your work and your life
A: Oh, my sister! 'Work now, and... and you rest in the afterlife.' That's what people say. They say, 'What's the point? Work... Let me work now. When I die is when I have peace.' That's why they say people rest in peace. But, ah, I think it's a question we should ask every Nigerian, actually. I don't think we have a healthy work-life balance. I don't think we do. I... I now intentionally try to have a work-life balance. And work-life balance sometimes.....it's a struggle. But it's intentionality that makes the difference. So, for me, I'm learning how to be intentional with balancing... balancing work-life, balancing life with work. Because you... you... you drop your work or you close your laptop, you're kind of feeling like, 'Am I missing out? What... what am I doing with my time when I should be working?' Whatever work there is, 'Let me stay relevant, let me stay current, let me stay...' You understand? So, you're there thinking, that's why I say it's an intentionality now. It's... it's an intentional movement to step back. And... and I think we all should do it as well, so that you don't land in the hospital. Because there's so much the body can take, oh. And when I say the body, it can be mental, it can be... There's so much the body can take. So, we must be able to start that awareness or that practice now to be intentional. If not, our bodies will pay for it. I really believe that strongly.
Q: How do you manage stress
A: No, I think for me, it's like having... I make sure I have a closing time, even if I work from home. I enjoy working from home. It gives me the creativity, especially if I'm thinking of how to, um, approach a certain idea. I have the capacity to walk around, talk to myself, create a vision board, you know. I can be crazy, doing the crazy in my space. So, I... That's why I enjoy working from home, and I think it's one of the things, uh, I took away quite strongly from the lockdown, when people started working from home and all. And I... I do it when I can, when I can. Um, unless it's absolutely necessary, that's when I do a physical meeting. If not, we can do Zoom, and we're good, yeah. So, I try as much as possible to... to balance it, to balance it out. So... So, I relax. I would watch movies, I would listen to music, and I love to clean. Cleaning is therapy. And then I... I... I nurture, I grow plants. So, that's why you see me, you know, I'm talking to the plants, I'm cleaning the plants. They laugh at me at... News Central, 'Oh, Kathy and her plants.' Yeah, but it helps me. Make person no go craze for... for Nigeria.
Q: How do you manage stress
A: No, I think for me, it's like having... I make sure I have a closing time, even if I work from home. I enjoy working from home. It gives me the creativity, especially if I'm thinking of how to, um, approach a certain idea. I have the capacity to walk around, talk to myself, create a vision board, you know. I can be crazy, doing the crazy in my space. So, I... That's why I enjoy working from home, and I think it's one of the things, uh, I took away quite strongly from the lockdown, when people started working from home and all. And I... I do it when I can, when I can. Um, unless it's absolutely necessary, that's when I do a physical meeting. If not, we can do Zoom, and we're good, yeah. So, I try as much as possible to... to balance it, to balance it out. So... So, I relax. I would watch movies, I would listen to music, and I love to clean. Cleaning is therapy. And then I... I... I nurture, I grow plants. So, that's why you see me, you know, I'm talking to the plants, I'm cleaning the plants. They laugh at me at... News Central, 'Oh, Kathy and her plants.' Yeah, but it helps me. Make person no go craze for... for Nigeria.

*@Tell me about your plants*@@
No, it's... No! The children have given up on me. They say, 'Mummy, you and your plants.' I say, 'Yes, they go nowhere.' I will change the soil when I can, I will change... You know, I have the mother... mother-in-law tongue, the mother... yeah. And I have... I have a lot of greens, not the flowers, flowers... Not the flower, flowers, but... And then I have the lilies. I have lilies, I have, um... So, sometimes when I see them, when I don't have time to attend to them and I see them bloom, I say, 'Oh, you must really love your owner,' 'cause I don't have the time to actually... See, the children will think I'm talking to a human being. But I just talk, you know, like I just say that and I move in. But so, it helps me focus, I think. And then I play... It may shock you: Candy Crush Soda. [Laughter] And then I... I... I go on Duolingo, and then I... I play Cookie Jam. Those mindless games that just make me... I can play them, but I'm thinking. I'm... I can process, I can think. So, I would prefer that to going on social media, actually. Yes, I prefer that to... Yeah.

*@You're not big on social media*@@
Nah, I'm... not... I... I have my social media time, but yo, not all the time. People spend 4 hours, 5 hours, I wish them well. Except it's market you are selling. I wish them well. People are consuming things that...Too much information, Ah, I can't. So, I'm very intentional. I try to be intentional.
Q: What are your hobbies
A: Yeah, I write. Uh... I write a lot. Whatever idea that comes in, I write. I really do. I write a lot. I swim. Um... That's it. Pretty good.
Q: What is your ideal vacation
A: Ideal vacation. Ah! Ideal vacation. Ye! Anywhere. I love to travel. I love to travel. I would love to go to Bali. I would love to go to the Seychelles, Maldives, anything that has the beach or the... That's why I love, um, the Bahamas, because... ah, the beaches are so clean and blue. So, anywhere there is peace, anywhere there is... it's calm. I'm all about nature, anywhere there is calm. But travel, any... Anywhere can be my favorite travel destination. In so far as, let's travel somewhere. I always have a travel bag, a go-bag. I'm serious, I really do love travel. It's just that now everything comes with, um, priorities. You have to plan a lot, you have to... so. But I really do love travel. Bora Bora is also there
Q: Your favorite food, dessert and Snack
A: Yo! If you ask my colleagues here, people will tell you that, 'Oh, um... anything sweet and savory.' Oh, that's me. Apple crumble, ice cream... I know it's not very healthy, but you know, those are my sweet indulgences. You asked me, so I'm answering. So, anything, yeah, um, apple crumble, brownies. My... my colleague... my friend makes amazing brownies. Oh god, when Tolu makes brownies, ah, you can't say no. It messes with your whatever diet... diet plan that... Oh yo, her... her brownies are sinful.
Q: Your favorite place in the world outside Nigeria
A: It has to be Bali. It has to be Bali, man. And then, maybe... Yes, Bali is my... Yes, Bali is my favorite. Oh, yeah. Yes.
Q: Did any of them follow in your footsteps, career wise
A: Um, probably my son, but not the girls. Well, my daughter has... um, my daughter writes. So, I think there's a sprinkle of all of that in them. My first daughter, Stephanie, she writes, and she... she can be creative. And she told me recently, 'Oh mom, I think I need to enroll in acting classes.' You know, but she didn't say that as though she was convinced she wanted to do that. That's why I say all of them have a sprinkle. But my son is... is very vocal, he's very charismatic, he's very, um... He's very confident, and he speaks well. He's... So, that's why I say for him, and because he's into music, he's an... he's an artist. So, he can... that expression, and he's studying Mass Comm as well. So, you see that's why I said he's the one closest to... Yeah, he's got that.
Q: What do you think of people that force their children to do what they want
A: No, no, no. I... I didn't... I almost wanted to, but I realized that I was a victim of that. I wanted to study Theatre Arts, but my mother said... You know parents then, my mother said, 'So, I don't understand. You finish studying, you go and jump around and be dancing? What's your work?' You know, and you don't blame them. Parents at that time, they wanted a career that you could stand on and you could earn money and you can advance in. My mother saw, um, Theatre Arts as, 'You are not serious, you are jumping and dancing from stage to stage to stage. Where is the future in that?' And so, when I... I had to pick accountancy, and she was happy to, because accounting, ah, I can, before you know it, before you know it. But I've never practiced accounting a day in my life! And I ended up, you know, that's how I... I entered media just, path... per... um, by coincidence. Just, I didn't see it coming, I just walked straight into it, and I've been here since, because it comes naturally to me. So, I don't force... So, I would have wanted my son to be a lawyer because of, I told you, his confidence, he's erudite, he's, um... He's smooth, he talks, he can express himself easy. But I didn't... He didn't... I didn't... He didn't key into that. He kept saying he would feel so straitjacketed and so this and so that. So, I... I then... That's when the idea died, actually. I told him and said, 'Anything you want to do, do.' And then I asked his sisters, 'Where do you see... What do you find yourself leaning towards?' And that's how everybody found what they wanted to do. I never forced them. And I think parents should actually leave kids. Let them go naturally into, because in the end, what you study versus the skills you're going to acquire on the way is going to help the child, not you as a parent. You can't say what a child wants to do or a child... a child wants... The era of, 'Oh, I want to be a... a doctor or an engineer... I need you to be an engineer, lawyer,' because standard families, you must... There must be one engineer, there must be one lawyer, there must be one doctor. You understand? So, but now I think it's opening up. Parents are not really that... except you have, um, family members who have businesses who want children to take on the family business, then you see them saying, 'Go and study Business Management, go and do this, go and do that.'
Q: What do you think of people that force their children to do what they want
A: No, no, no. I... I didn't... I almost wanted to, but I realized that I was a victim of that. I wanted to study Theatre Arts, but my mother said... You know parents then, my mother said, 'So, I don't understand. You finish studying, you go and jump around and be dancing? What's your work?' You know, and you don't blame them. Parents at that time, they wanted a career that you could stand on and you could earn money and you can advance in. My mother saw, um, Theatre Arts as, 'You are not serious, you are jumping and dancing from stage to stage to stage. Where is the future in that?' And so, when I... I had to pick accountancy, and she was happy to, because accounting, ah, I can, before you know it, before you know it. But I've never practiced accounting a day in my life! And I ended up, you know, that's how I... I entered media just, path... per... um, by coincidence. Just, I didn't see it coming, I just walked straight into it, and I've been here since, because it comes naturally to me. So, I don't force... So, I would have wanted my son to be a lawyer because of, I told you, his confidence, he's erudite, he's, um... He's smooth, he talks, he can express himself easy. But I didn't... He didn't... I didn't... He didn't key into that. He kept saying he would feel so straitjacketed and so this and so that. So, I... I then... That's when the idea died, actually. I told him and said, 'Anything you want to do, do.' And then I asked his sisters, 'Where do you see... What do you find yourself leaning towards?' And that's how everybody found what they wanted to do. I never forced them. And I think parents should actually leave kids. Let them go naturally into, because in the end, what you study versus the skills you're going to acquire on the way is going to help the child, not you as a parent. You can't say what a child wants to do or a child... a child wants... The era of, 'Oh, I want to be a... a doctor or an engineer... I need you to be an engineer, lawyer,' because standard families, you must... There must be one engineer, there must be one lawyer, there must be one doctor. You understand? So, but now I think it's opening up. Parents are not really that... except you have, um, family members who have businesses who want children to take on the family business, then you see them saying, 'Go and study Business Management, go and do this, go and do that.'
Q: What is your favorite time of the day
A: Night
Q: What experiences have you had in your life that you’d say have shaped you to be the person you are today
A: I mean, all sorts: loss, disappointment, um, letdowns, setbacks. All of us can start this life with being as positive as the most positive person on Earth and in the heavens. But somehow, life throws you curveballs, and it's... it's on you now how to respond to them. So, I think everyone has had their fair share of what life has thrown at... at them. It will probably just be on how you recover from that. And how you recover, you don't need... It has to be, I think it's a personal journey. It's something you... Nobody can walk your path for you. Nobody can... can get... No, your destiny, your destiny's like the... the lines on our... on our palms are different for everybody. They're not the same. The lines... You cannot... This, whether it's a picture of my life, cannot be your life because that's not you. So, I think everybody has had their fair share of probably loss, disappointment, but... I think a lot of disappointment, um, betrayal, um, setbacks, um... It... It can be a lot. So, but I think it's... it's the approach, how you rise from it, and then take the lessons from it and keep moving. I think that's it, yeah.
Q: What one thing do wish you could go back in time and do all over again
A: Ah! Never thought go that far, um... Well, maybe not to be born a Nigerian or not to be born in Africa, my sister. Go back again in time and not to be born, you know, in... But I don't know, um... I don't know. I don't think there... Cause if it doesn't come to mind, that means there hasn't... No.
Q: What one thing do wish you could go back in time and do all over again
A: Ah! Never thought go that far, um... Well, maybe not to be born a Nigerian or not to be born in Africa, my sister. Go back again in time and not to be born, you know, in... But I don't know, um... I don't know. I don't think there... Cause if it doesn't come to mind, that means there hasn't... No.
Q: What are the best qualities you look for in people
A: Honesty, being honest and... Be honest and be true to your word. Don't be... Be a genuine person. I think for me that's... just be an honest person, a genuine person, a kind person. And when you are kind like that, don't look for anything in return. Just be who God says you are. Be who you are. And then leave... Then, okay, like they say, 'All other things shall be added unto you.' I live for people like that. Have a sense of humor. Don't be... I don't like people... I don't like complainers. I don't like bitter people. That's why I say be genuine, be honest, and have a sense of humor along the way.
Q: How is your relationship with God
A: My relationship with God, I mean, I believe in God and I believe... And it has been... God and I are in a personal relationship, don't know if it makes sense. And it's, um... He's always been at the center of all I do. Somehow He's at the center. I may not be the traditional churchgoing... uh, uh, uh, mission... you know, in... in... How do you say? You have different clubs you join in, you know, like I'm a worker in church, I join different departments. It's beyond that. Because I think even the ones who do that, everyone serves God with different fervors. You... Everybody is serving God the best way they know how to. Some people, it's through music some people, it's through their voice some people, it's through the instrumentation some people, it's just... So, people... People serve God, people worship God in the different ways that they can. But I think for me, God has been that invisible hand in my life that has just been guiding and covering. That's it.
Q: If you could pick 3 people to have a conversation with either living or dead, who would they be
A: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, It would be Aniko Dangote, and it would be Barack Obama.

*@ Why Barack Obama? *@@
Because I'm very curious about his, he has a modern-way kind of thinking that I think the world should, I don't know, either it should be a template or it should be... That's a very intelligent man

And he has a way of going through life. Someone would see Barack Obama and think that he hasn't had his fair share of life's challenges and hurdles. And that's because he's a very jovial person.

He has a sense of humour. But it doesn't take away the things life has shown him and what he has had to power through or learn from. So I think people like that usually have stories to tell.

They usually do. But people just assume that, oh, they're always nice. Oh, you're so nice, you're so funny.

But you forget that before the person arrived there, there's a story, there's a history. So I'm very interested in that.


Q: What are your 3 greatest achievements thus far
A: Man, I don't take myself that seriously. Achievements, man. Maybe the kids. The kids.


Q: What are your 3 greatest achievements thus far
A: Man, I don't take myself that seriously. Achievements, man. Maybe the kids. The kids.

The kids. Because we have been like this since. The kids.

So we are strong as a family, the kids and I. It must be the kids. And when I say the kids, you know, how God has helped me raise them. And, um... I don't know what else we do.

What are my achievements? Well, myself also. Because I don't take myself seriously. I've never really sat down to weigh achievements, what I've achieved.

And some people say, oh, Cathy, I haven't seen you in a while. Or sometimes you hear that. Oh, you haven't changed much.

And I say, well, I really don't. I'm not being coy. I'm not being, oh, stop it.

No, I'm just being honest. I don't take myself that seriously enough. But when you look at it sometimes, when you see where you were, where you're coming from, and where you are now, you're like, as clichéd as it sounds, it can only be God.

That's the truth. It's clichéd. People say it all the time.

But when you look at it, you only say your life in itself is a testimony. C'est ça. I think that's, I think, those two achievements.



Q: What are your 3 greatest achievements thus far
A: Man, I don't take myself that seriously. Achievements, man. Maybe the kids. The kids.

The kids. Because we have been like this since. The kids.

So we are strong as a family, the kids and I. It must be the kids. And when I say the kids, you know, how God has helped me raise them. And, um... I don't know what else we do.

What are my achievements? Well, myself also. Because I don't take myself seriously. I've never really sat down to weigh achievements, what I've achieved.

And some people say, oh, Cathy, I haven't seen you in a while. Or sometimes you hear that. Oh, you haven't changed much.

And I say, well, I really don't. I'm not being coy. I'm not being, oh, stop it.

No, I'm just being honest. I don't take myself that seriously enough. But when you look at it sometimes, when you see where you were, where you're coming from, and where you are now, you're like, as clichéd as it sounds, it can only be God.

That's the truth. It's clichéd. People say it all the time.

But when you look at it, you only say your life in itself is a testimony. C'est ça. I think that's, I think, those two achievements.

Q: Beef or Chicken or Fish
A: Beef
Q: Hot or Cold weather
A: Cold
Q: Morning, Afternoon or Night
A: Night!! Night
Q: Sweet or spicy foods
A: Sweet!
Q: Read, Watch TV or Listen to music to relax
A: Read
Q: Iphone or Android
A: Ha! What's the problem? Android.

I have an iPhone, but Android, Jesus. This iPhone be killing me slowly. I cannot.

Android, please.

Q: Native, Formal or Casual clothes
A: Native, formal, casual, casual.
Q: Window seat or aisle on a plane
A: Ah! Window, window, on the plane. Window, window.
Q: Europe, Asia or North America to visit
A: Europe, Asia or North America to visit? Or Africa. I like to add Africa.
Q: Europe, Asia or North America to visit
A: AHH,it's between Europe and Asia, though.
Q: Europe, Asia or North America to visit
A: AHH,it's between Europe and Asia, though. Not North America, uh-uh. North Africa, mm-mm. Asia.

Let me say Asia. I've been to Europe. Asia, yeah.


Q: Going out or staying home
A: I’m leaning towards staying home, but, yeah, but sometimes, you know, the going out, yeah, but it may not be like, say, if I say going out, this woman is always outside. So, stay, stay home.

Q: Please can you give us 3 people that we can interviews as well
A: Yes, I can
Q: Please can you give some advice to the young people coming behind you
A: Yo! These children wey no dey hear word what? Huh? Number one.

Be authentic, be yourself. Be authentic, be original, be yourself. You're in competition with nobody.

You have no... Stop feeling as if you're under pressure to represent, to be... Remove the pressure of marriage. Find life's fulfilment outside of marriage, outside of a man. We understand that marriage is lovely.

It's a beautiful thing, you know, when there are two people who come together with a committed mind that they want to do this. But marriage is also a choice. Two people chose each other.

You're not doing anybody a favour and all of that. And I think young people should focus more. Young people should read more.

Read more. I'm not saying electronic reading. Go out and buy a book.

Read more. Learn new skills. Don't sit in a place to be comfortable.

Comfort is a progress killer. Try at any level that you are. I tell my kids even all the time.

Anywhere you find yourself, find a way to stay hungry. Because when you stay hungry, you open yourself to learning new things. Learn new skills.

Get a certification. Whether we like it or not, master's, doctorate degrees are gradually, that's not the focus. The focus nowadays are on skill sets.

Skill sets, certification. You want to do something, you cannot just wake up and say, I want to do it today and I must see results today. You have to find delayed gratification.

You have to give yourself time. You have to give yourself, you have to plan and have a target and have a goal. In two years' time, this is what I want to do.

And stop thinking of making quick money. Not everybody can be content creators. Not everyone can be.

So they need to think way beyond what's in front of them. Which I think is what we struggle with now. Attention span is zero.

Attention span is in the minus even. So if young people learn, if they learn to adapt, they say, oh, the older generation, blend, it's a blend. Take a bit of the things that were positive in your mother and your parents' generation that you saw.

Add it to your own generation. But the generation now, they're moving quicker than lightning. And that's not always good.

It's not always progress. So I would tell young people, slow down a little bit. Discover yourself more.

Be kinder to yourself. Enjoy your life. Seek to add value, even to yourself.

The end goal is not marriage for men and for women. It's a continuous thing. You must keep improving yourself.

Improving yourself when the era of meta,of AI, of technology, you need to embody all of that as a young person. And see how it's going to add to you, improving the quality of your life and the quality of what you do.

I think that's it really. That's it. Okay. Okay..