As a producer and presenter on Africa Independent Television (AIT), Nancy Illoh has anchored and produced a lot of TV shows including the popular The Money Show. In this chat withHazeez Balogun she speaks on her life on TV and what makes her tick
How did broadcasting begin for you?
Nancy Illoh
I have been on TV for like 13 years now. My romance with TV started when I was much younger, in my teens. While I was in the university, I started with Delta State Television; I was going from my university to Asaba to present programmes. I started anchoring and producing different programmes, not business though but ran across different kinds of programmes, breakfast show, personality programmes, youth programmes and all of that. So at the end of the day, The Money Showcame in, I was part of the team ofThe Money Show after my national service. I served with the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) in Ebonyi State. I was there for like a year and some months. They didn’t want me to go but I left.
I came back to Lagos where I was born and brought up,The Money Show came up and I was part of the team. The first day I spoke with my executive producer, Salome Eferemo, as it concerns the show, she explained that this is what we want to achieve, do you really want to be part of the team because it was a sharp departure from what I was used to. But I just took it as a challenge and why I took it as a challenge was that financial literacy or financial education in the country was quite low.
We just needed to bridge the gap and we needed to start from somewhere. For stations like CMBC, Bloomberg and others, why can’t we have such in Nigeria? So we said let’s have a money show as a test reportage of a business programme, not just seeing it as headlines, hearing it as network news in the night but going beyond the headlines; going further to analyse what each policy means in terms of any policy that the government puts forward or government agencies or whosoever is putting that policy forward. So I actually took it as a challenge. I remember I just went for it and was like ‘Nancy, are you ready to take up this challenge’ and I think so far so good God has helped me. I was part of the team that started it in 2007 and of course some members of my team went further, they moved to probably do some other things and the baton was passed to me to anchor the show. Because we were three presenters when we started the show, the baton was handed over to me and to God be the glory I think God has actually been my source since I started anchoring the show.
What are your motivations?
I would say constantly seeking knowledge, which is fundamental for every journalist. I use to tell my other colleagues that you can’t write or talk on anything that you are not confident about. Before I even come on air, the challenge for me is I ask myself which nobody sees while I am on air. Before I go on air, while I am home or in the office, I ask myself, ‘Nancy, how prepared are you to run the show? How prepared are you to come on in two parts; how prepared are you to run the show as a producer’. The producer is the person that packages the whole thing you get to see.
As a money person, can you break down the way wealth is spread amongst Nigerians; will you agree it is one sided?
I don’t really want to put a figure to it. When I see the disparities amongst the two arms of government; the executive and the legislature, I don’t really want to put a figure to it. Be it 66 percent, be it is 21 percent, be it 39 percent or whatever it is. I still feel that our budget performance is still below average. However you want to look at it, what is the impact of a Nigerian budget on an average Nigerian? That is what I am interested in so you could actually put a figure to it, all well and good.
How does the budget impact on the woman selling in the market, how does the budget impact on a contractor, how does it impact the housing sector for example. Where you know that there is a cluster of jobs that can be created. How does it impact on the different sector of the economy and at the end of the day we all come to a meeting point. For me that is what I think; the two arms of government should go beyond the acrimony because what they are trying to say is that the relationship is breaking. But I think it is also good for democracy, it is good for democracy in the sense that the executive is not seen as not doing anything in terms of budget performance, so the legislature which is the nearest to the people is trying to hold them accountable and say, ‘you guys need to do more’.
But at the end of the day, let’s come back to the truth and say how do we make this country better, how do we drive the economy, how should 167 million people live. What are the different things that the government should be doing to drive the economy. What is the government doing on electricity for example? And we do know that if we have electricity, it will push economic development. Not just economy development and not just economic growth. I think we should begin to chase more fundamental things. The budget of any country is the true economic growth and development.
Between being the producer and the presenter, which one do you think is more tasking?
I would say the production part of it because I’m the producer. If I were not to be, all I will do is just to come in the morning and do the talking. The production part of it is challenging because I have to look at the colouration of the programme in terms of even the graphics, the kind of guests that I want, credible guests of course, people that would talk and you have one or two things to learn. And there is also the coordination; it is not just about me and my team. It is also about me and even those in the studio. My cameramen my director, my audio person, the VCR person and all that. So, I think the production part is more challenging because there are times that I may not like what I see at the end of the show and I just have to call a meeting and I am like, ‘what happened? Can we get it better? What are the challenges, can we sort them out and all of that. So the production aspect is difficult because not everybody that can be a producer can as well be the presenter.
You sometimes say it as it is on your show, do you get harassed for your bluntness?
Yes, I have had such experience. But when such experiences come, they come as compliments to me. I don’t see it as criticism or attack. Some of them are like I come on Nancy’s show and she finished me or sometimes when I go to the Central Bank, some of the deputy governors are like you are the one talking to our governor or even the governor himself saying, ‘Nancy, you ask me hard questions.’ Because I see it as one of the things we need to do to move the country forward, I don’t see myself shy in asking any question. I tell my people when I’m sitting there, I am in charge; after the show, anything can happen. When I am on the show, I try as much as possible to make it as professional as possible which I think we lack in this part of the country, especially journalists. We get compromised easily here for one reason or the other and try to put professionalism aside. I try to deviate from that. So for some of the government officials, I have had on the show, I see their criticism as complimentary. And for some people they are like if you want to go to Nancy’s show, you must be prepared. I see that as a compliment too; I don’t see it like they are attacking me.
How do you use your show to improve businesses in Nigeria and Africa?
It is an area to explore; there is still room for improvement. Inasmuch as I am promoting Nigerian business, Nigeria’s economy, I am also aware that our economies are interconnected; economies around the world are interconnected. What happened in 2008 in America has showed us that our economies are interconnected. But there are still room for me to bring in expatriates or managers of other economies to come talk about our economy. I have had a few of them on the show; I have also talked with international partners from World Bank, IMF, international world agencies that work with agencies around the globe. There is always room for improvement. You will realise that it is an everyday show and you still have a lot to tap from the government so you decide which to follow. But I know there is a lot for me to do in that area which I’m still harnessing.
For me there is still more to cover. In as much as the audience is wide, that still wants to watch The Money Show. I wantThe Money Show to be one of the programmes on the lips of Nigerians, when you talk about business programme or even when you talk about programmes generally. Because when you talk about the quality of the programmme, the penetration of The Money Showcomes to your mind, the content you are given and also the quality of questions, the quality of what you are watching on air in terms of pictures, I think there is much more room for us to grow. I think it is a learning curve for me. Each day is a lesson, each day is an experience.
And along with all you do, many are wondering when the wedding bells will toll for you.
That is very private. In as much as you are a public person, your life is out there for people to see; you go to places where people recognise you. But of course, I am not married yet and my name is still Nancy Illoh.
Tell us about your life, education wise
I was born in Lagos. I went to school in Yaba, Our lady of Apostles Primary School in Yaba. Of course the school is still existing, a Catholic Missionary school. From there I proceeded to Regan Memorial Baptist School also in Yaba. Then Nnamdi Azikwe University. That is part of me some people don’t know. Many think she probably studied abroad. I didn’t study abroad; I was trained here from nursery to university level. I was born and brought up in Lagos. I didn’t go to a private university; I went to a federal university.
I went to Nnamdi Azikiwe University. After my secondary school I actually thought I would be in Benin. I thought if I wanted to be adventurous, my adventure should probably stop at the University of Benin. When my admission came, my dad was of the view that ‘you were born and bread here in Lagos, go out and look at what other parts of Nigeria look like’. That was actually what influenced my schooling in the East to know their culture and for me, it was a strong departure from things that I was used to.
I understand Yoruba very well but for Igbo I totally understand when they speak. I am from Delta State.
Did you know you will make a career on TV while growing up? And what other career would you have chosen?
While I was young and if I was asked what I wanted to be, I would say a teacher. Now of course I’m not teaching but I’m actually teaching, not in the classroom. It’s just that the platform for me is on the TV. Back in school, while in the sciences I noticed that I had the artistic tendencies that I could direct a movie, I could write plays, which I did in secondary school and won accolades for. If I wasn’t on TV doing presentation, I probably would be in the art world one way or the other but I don’t think I would have been a medical doctor.
The course you studied is far different from what you practice today.
I studied Parasitology and Entomology. I’m a disease expert. You shouldn’t be scared. Those are the kinds of people you find at the World Health Organisation.
Which moments would you regard as your high and the low ones?
Doing the show everyday is a high moment for me and having it at the back of my mind that people are hitching to see me at 11’ o’clock inspires me. It is a high moment for me whenever the show is on. I have had moments in my life too that really inspire me. Like when I started the show, it was a high moment for me. Some low moments are when you have probably set some things as targets that you want to achieve but you don’t achieve them. I just try to make sure that whatever happens, I don’t allow it to happen again. There are high and low moments for the show. And there was the time BBC London called me to get my view on the economy, I was like ‘wow’ when they said they do watch my show that was a high moment for me as well.
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