Ebiras, though a minority tribe from the North Central region of Nigeria, are reknown for their excellence in whatever profession they belong. A common attribute of an average Ebira son or daughter is creativity; creativity that transcends all bounds. Such we have found in Oyiza Adaba.Who is Oyiza Adaba [View her Gallery here]
Oyiza grew up in Jos, Nigeria with her 3 brothers and 3 sisters. She had the benefit of being raised in a successful family environment unlike the hardship that many in her county of a150 million people experience. With her mother being an administrative officer in Nigeria’s national broadcast television station and her father being one of Nigeria’s most successful TV personalities and later head of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Oyiza’s chosen career path came as no surprise.
‘I was born to be in media’, says Oyiza, who at an early age became fascinated with seeing her father anchoring the 7 o’clock news on Nigeria’s most popular television station. She recalls her father’s daily trips to the television station, and her anxious desire to accompany him. That desire was finally satisfied when she began accompanying her father to the studio on a regular basis. The desire became a passion when she was selected to along with her brother, to appear on a children’s television program - Children’s Time. Her first on-camera appearance was so impressive that she soon became a regular on the show.
Her next significant television experience came when she appeared alongside the late well-known Nigerian actor/producer Matt Dadzie as the character ‘Hadiza’ in the television drama Moment of Truth.
Throughout her early school years, she appeared on stage in several plays and productions. The highlight of her early performances came when she was chosen to play the lead role in a special presentation for the president of Nigeria - who at that time was Shehu Shagari. By this time Oyiza was certain of a future in the media/arts. She pursued that destiny by enrolling in the Theatre Arts & Media Studies at the University of Jos. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree.
Oyiza and former U.S President, Bill Clinton
She moved from Jos to Lagos and joined the cable/satellite television network MultiChoice Nigeria in marketing and public relations. She held the position as DSTV Sales Coordinator helping to pioneer a new wave of Satellite TV in Nigeria. She later transferred to Johannesburg South Africa to work for the parent company MutliChoice Africa supervising key subscription accounts across Sub-Sahara Africa. While in Johannesburg, Oyiza left MultiChoice Africa to do contact work for CNN through their Africa advertising representative. Her personality and determination led to more contracts with TV Africa. Shortly after, she was deployed back to Lagos Nigeria to head their West African regional office.
In 2000, she left TV Africa to work as a consultant for Africa Independent Television (AIT) – an established TV network that was planning a major thrust into the international television market. With a strong will and a quest for fulfillment, Oyiza’s journalism career really kicked off when AIT launched in the U.S market in 2002. This led to Oyiza’s well-planned entrance onto the international media scene, and a world where few African women have been before and sustained.
The professionalism reflected in both her on-and-off camera works have led to ground-breaking interviews with notables such as the late Nigerian first Lady Stella Obasanjo, Nobel Peace Price winner Wangari Matai, Ambassador Andrew Young and many more.
She currently produces Sana’a - a 30-minute human-interest program for AIT, and also writes and contributes to various online magazines on Africa-related issues. Oyiza lives & works in New York City and is a member of the United Nations Press, U.S Foreign Press Center and the NY City Press.
She thinks of herself as a combination of the simplicity of her mother Tessy and the strive for excellence of dad Tom. Her drive song is Bon Jovi’s ‘It’s my Life’
Culled from www.oyiza.com
its great news that we have somebody like 'Lady Oyiza' as an international media icon.Ebiraview should collaborate with her to boost its service to the people.
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