Call her the face of M-net Africa and you are not wrong. Tall, pretty, and fashionable, Abiola Alabi, the company's Managing Director, remains an inspiration to millions of young women.
The brain behind some of the content on the paid TV channels, she demurs at flaunting her intimidating resume. "I won't take the credit for anything," she says kicking off this interview , which held in South Africa.
"I am proud of our achievements as a team and won't ever say that it's me. We always get the best team we can get our hands on. We have people who are creative and the whole idea is partnering with them to create the best content in the world. It is about celebrating this wonderful team and also creating opportunities for other people who want to work for us."
Married to Makanjuola Alabi, she relocated to from her New York base, where she served as the Director of International Strategy on the popular children's programme, Sesame Street.
Alabi would passionately tell you what she stands for. Hear her: "I think one of my strong attributes is that I am very passionate about what I do. I love the media and the power of the media, the fact that the media has an immense opportunity to shape the way people think, behave or live."
Her job automatically positions her as a role model for other women. "In Africa, when you have an opportunity as a woman to be able to do this kind of job, you inherently become a feminist and an activist," she says smiling.
"I love what I do and the fact that it gives me the opportunity to interact with women across the continent is fulfilling. It has been a platform for me to encourage more young women and to engage young men on how to provide opportunities for women. It is not just about women, it is also about bringing men along and helping improve the role of women in the society. It has been a great job. A lot of women tell me that they are interested in the entertainment and media business and I try to make them understand that there are different elements to the business. It is not just about being in front of the camera," she adds.
Having recently celebrated 1000th episodes of Tinsel, a television series she helped create in 2008, she says the time is ripe for the station to branch out of Nollywood into other African countries. According to her, stories from other African countries deserve a channel through which people can also connect to these countries.
"It is important that there is a universality in our stories, which is the reason why people relate to the African stories that are coming out of Nigeria. An example is Ghana. Though a small country, they produce very prolific and high quality movies and there are tons of movies coming out of the country every year. M-net is already working on some Tele novella for some African countries which would start airing from next year," She states.
She is a pan-African to the core too. Strongly advocating a dismantling of barriers that prevent Africans from gaining free access into other African countries, she proffers: "Africans should be able to travel across Africa freely without visas. We don't need visas but an African passport and African citizenship— this is our continent, and we should be able to go anywhere. We need to break those walls because we are a continent that is on the move and we want to encourage people to move from country to country.
"That is the message we are preaching with the Big Brother Africa show – to promote the unity of Africans and be focused on bringing Africans from many countries together. It is very rare for you to see so many young people in a house, interacting, sharing their culture and sharing the things that make us different. This year, we deliberately excluded foreign artistes from the show and made it an African all-star opening night, to lay emphasis on the unity we all believe in as Africans."
A native of Akure, Ondo State, she is a Lagosian by marriage. Recalling her growing up years, she reveals television has always been a passion. "When I was young, every parent expected that, ‘their children would be doctors, engineers or lawyers.’ Nigerian parents have a few number of professions that they are interested in and so my parents became worried I was not towing that path, but now, I think we are all happy and excited about what the future holds," she says.
Her advice to young women? "It is very important for women that as they are search for partners, they should search for someone who is willing to support their success and also be a part of that success. The men in their lives should understand how the women create value, especially in things that mean anything to humanity. Let us help them understand the difference we make with our jobs," she adds.
According to her, her job schedule puts her on the move always. Before M-net could host the eighth edition of the Big Brother Africa show, she confesses to have travelled to 14 countries to be part of the selection of 28 representatives!
So, how does her husband cope with all these?
She smiles and replies: "What is really important in life is to make sure that your partner understands what you are trying to do and he is also a supportive partner. I have the most amazing and supportive partner in the world. My husband is one of my biggest cheerleaders and he believes in what I am doing. He knows that we are making a difference in the way we are promoting African entertainment as well as the opportunities we are providing for African talents."
Veering away from her job to the issue of her enduring good looks, she provides insight into the secret of beauty including her personal routine. "It is important for women to take care of themselves especially when their job entails much travels. One of the things I have done is try to eat the right food at the right time and really manage my food intake. I am also physically active. I am in the gym for 25 to 30 minutes, four days a week.
"In fact, one condition I always give before hotel booking is that there must be a gym in the hotel. It is not every time I travel that I have the time to exercise but I do make it a priority when I can," she says.
For her, style means three things: "It has to be simple, clean and not complicated."
Obviously, she knows what time it is in the fashion world, with the way she adorns her dresses and accessories. Ask what her best accessories are and she responds, "I will have to say shoes. Shoes are probably my biggest."
Her taste for clothes is 'normal' as long as it is classic. "I wear clothes, as long as it is professional and classic. I like to buy things that I can wear for a while," she staes.
Don't assume she is a label freak, rather, she is into indigenous haute couture. Of this, she says, "I have couple of tailors that make my clothes for me. Lanre Da Silva has made stuff in the past for me. I have bought stuff from Tiffany Amber. I have tailors that do my iro and buba and my aso ebi for my social events because I am Nigerian and I have to go to people’s weddings."
