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| Jovita Anosike |
Amiable TV programme producer and presenter, Jovita
Shola Ugochi Anosike, in this interview with ADA DIKE, speaks on why she loves touching
people’s lives through her TV programme, New Era Show.
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Can you tell us about your TV progamme, New Era
Show?
A popular variety show on Nta2 Channel 5 and NTA Channel 10, New Era Show, which
began in 1996, specializes in discovering children’s talents, celebrating
women, and projecting the image of schools and corporate bodies. Our aim is to
catch them young and also help to discover their talents.
I’ve had my show on Silver Bird. But the
regular station I air my programmes is on NTA and this is the twelfth year
we’ve been running it concurrently. We observe the New Year Day, Valentine’s
Day which is February, 14, Mothers’ Day, Easter, run the Kiddies Easter Show
and do Anniversary shows as well.
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| Jovita Anosike |
We observe The African Child Show in every
July. We also observe Talent Hunt. We catch them young on this show and project
the gift that God almighty has given individuals. We also do cat-walk, trying
to show how the children should do their thing in the right way as budding
professionals and do drama with the kids.
We have discussed on this show the importance
of breast feeding, the value it has for a child who is being reared by his or
her real mother, what it does in a child morally, among others.
We have had talks on HIV/AIDS on the show. We
are also into Sports. We have live sports on New Era Show. We’ve done that with
the support of a big company. We observe Christmas Kiddies Show, Inter-House
Sports. We also observe and nurture youths who have talents.
When I was in DBN, I was a marketing executive.
We were into sports marketing and installation of dish. Then the idea came up
from Mr. Friday Mgbodi, my direct boss.
He advised me to solicit for sponsorship from
banks and other corporate bodies. That was when many banks were springing up.
He said that I could go round and ask those banks to sponsor the show. That was
when the show was purely about business development focus and I was presenting
it for DBN on NTA2 Channel 5.
So I
started that slot on the album of DBN and won the employee of the month twice with
extra-money in my salary.
In 1996, I left to DBN to start this company
known as; The New Era Communication and Entertainment Company which gave birth
to The New Era Show on NTA. It is an independent programme on NTA.
Can you tell us some of the challenges you face while producing
and presenting your show?
Sponsorship is my major challenge. It is not
easy to convince corporate organizations as well as manufacturing companies to
shoulder the financial burden of this programme. This show supposed to be on
air every week or twice in a week if I have these companies coming out with
finance and paying our bills.
I hereby
invite them to watch us within a quarter and see what we have. Some of our
sponsors don’t want to shoulder all the cost but would want to be sharing it
with other corporate bodies. They believe in paying sixty or seventy percent of
the total cost. They should pay huge amount of money to make sure that the
programme is running every week on NTA bearing in mind that the organizers
which comprises the producer, presenter, assistant producers the camera crew have responsibilities and
domestic bills to settle.
Lack of
finance affects the packaging and presentation of the show on TV because
television is a glamorous thing.
We are looking forward to meeting sponsors who
will really sponsor the programme to enable us discover and showcase talented
children in our society because these youths are gifted so we need to project
their image.
Can you tell us the best one in all the shows you
have organized so far?
It is on the Children’s Day 2008 where we had
Romeo and Juliet. It was very challenging. Over 450 kids were in attendance.
That was the first time the money I paid to NTA came from the gate fees. We did
not touch any sponsor’s money but used the money from the gate to offset the
bill.
Why do you have soft spot for children?
I am a mother. I have a son. Secondly, Right
from my childhood as a second girl in the family, everybody sees me as the
mother. Even my mother listens to me. My father of blessed memory said he
wished I was his mother when somebody asked him what his regret in life was.
When you
approach me, you would think that I am harsh but when you come closer, you will
see me as a different person. But I hate people who tell lies.
What is your perception about the Nigerian
child?
Majority of the Nigerian child who are
suffering are from poor background. They are not being taken care of at all.
Each time I see them along the street or under the bridge, I feel like crying.
I went to the Bar Beach sometime ago for a show
with the Living Fountain Orphanage home, Lekki and discovered that some kids in
that beach had no parents. They are being abused sexually by hoodlums on
regular basis.
We interviewed an eight-year-old girl who revealed
that some guys always touch her private part and give her money. It is a pity
that a child of that age is being exposed to such life. I couldn’t hold back
tears but wept because that child is going to become a mother tomorrow. If she
continues living that kind of life, she may end up dying or contracting
ailments or diseases.
For us on the New Era Show, if we see somebody
that would help or assist us financially, we would call these children, put
them in a normal home and ensure that they are well taken care of. It will
really upgrade their standard of living.
Do you have a new project?
My new project which has been running for some
time now is called ‘Health and You’. One of the topics we have treated include,
‘Living with ailment at old age’. Every adult has one ailment or the other when
they are advancing in age. So we want to start projecting what every adult
should look into and start treating it before it catches up with them. That is
why we are coming up with ‘Health and You’ on Television.
Every woman has a soft-spot for fashion, what
is your?
I like clothing. I like dressing. I like
looking good. I like going with fashion as well as the new trend. I like
updating myself with what is happening around me. I observe every fashion show,
everything that is in vogue and I like to flow with it.
I am a costume jewellery person.
Do you have any regret?
The deaths of my father and my sister gave me a
big blow.
Do you have any treasured possession?
My treasured possession is my son.
Do you hope to have more kids in future?
As a
mother, I love children.
What are the qualities of your ideal man?
I need a man who is honest, God fearing and
loving. I don’t want a pretender. I want a person who loves me that would
really show me that he loves me. And I believe in communication. We’ve come to
realize that what breaks every home is when they lack communication.
What if
a younger man comes?
It depends on the person’s quality. If he‘s
honest and sincere, I would accept him.
How do you unwind?
I love listening to good music with good
lyrics. By nature, it touches me.
I also like swimming, though; I have not done
it for sometime now. I like meeting friends, cooling off, and hanging out with
friends.
Can you give us an insight to your background?
I am from Uzoagba in Ikeduru L.G.A.
Imo State.
I am the second child in a family of seven- six females and one male.
In
terms of education, all I know is that I’ve been to school. I have been a
teacher. I taught for four years before I proceeded to University of Ibadan
where I read Theatre Arts. But I am feeding with broadcasting which is a course
under Theatre Arts taught me by Dr. Martins Umukoro. I am supposed to be acting
but I am managing life through broadcasting but do my acting in the church.
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