Morayo Afolabi-Brown is the deputy director programmes at Television Continental (TVC). In this interview with REPORTER, Lukmon Akintola, the down-to-earth lady spoke about her job, fashion and her family.
What motivated your breakfast show?
Morayo Afolabi Brown
Living in America, I saw a very popular programme called The Views. It was done by a journalist called Barbara Walters. Coming back home I decided to do the Nigerian version and one of the things I looked out for was that I wanted the opportunity to re-orientate people especially women, because they are easily influenced by movies, television, what they watch on Nollywood and all that. So, what I wanted was a television programme that could actually bring women together and see things from my own perspective.
A programme where women come together and we ensure that we read the newspapers, we are interested in what is going on in the country, politics and also talk about women stuffs also. Basically, the programme is to tell people that we also exist and we matter in the whole picture.
How has it been so far?
So far it’s been excellent; people have been calling us, everybody likes the show. We’ve had different people like singles, widows, divorced and they see things from different perspective which the show is all about.
At what point did you decide to bring Yeni Kuti onboard and what motivated the decision?
Honestly we didn’t bring Yeni Kuti into the show because she is a celebrity; we just wanted someone who is blunt, who is bold and who can be herself. We didn’t want to make it a celebrity panel because we knew that if we do that each celeb would be trying to protect their own image as a star. So, we tried very hard not to bring in celebrities. Yeni is different. She doesn’t have any form of complex; she is just herself. We wanted someone who is daring, someone who could take the bull by the horn when the occasion demands.
The programme can get noisy at times don’t you agree?
The thing is that there are different kinds of women and everyone of us try to represent as many women as possible. We have the old, the young, the married and that is why we don’t bring the same set of people every day. We schedule people so that we can get different angles time.
For me the show is a replica of the American version.
What is that extra thing that you have added?
I won’t say that the concept is totally ours. The flavour that we’ve added is that we have given the Nigerian woman the freedom to bear her mind. Nobody is scripting us; no one is coaching us to say one thing or the other, we just say it as we feel. My own job as a moderator however is to ensure that no matter how our views go, we work within certain rules of the broadcasting corporation and we don’t insult anybody. I always like to caution people, but generally they are allowed to express themselves.
The programme also seems to have a gossip angle We try very hard not to do gossip. For the newspaper review we stick to what is in the papers.
We talk about issues that affect the life of people. Mondays we discuss political issues, Tuesday we do health issues, Wednesday we discuss business related issues. On Thursday we do women, marriage and children, while on Friday we do celebrity. So, we try not to do gossip.
How did you get the scar on your head?
In 1998, I had a car accident in America. The car skidded four times and hung on a tree. I had a skull fracture; I lost six inches of my femur and my lungs collapsed. I was in coma for four days. After the accident, I was on crotches for about four months and then wheel chair for another four months. Later, I had eight months of therapy before I could walk again. It was a crazy experience. It was after that experience that I realized that I did not come to this world to just get married and have children.
The Morayo we know on television can be firm at times.
Who is the real you?
I am just somebody who wants to make a difference. All my life I have had leadership roles; I have always been a leader in one thing or the other. I identified the media as a tool, which I can use to re-orientate Nigerians, knowing that a lot of women are influenced by television.
What would you describe as the peak of your relaxation?
That would be playing with my daughter. I love playing with her, we go through the i-Pad together; we read her alphabets together, and at times, my husband obliges me and takes me out for dinner. Apart from that, on Sundays I am always with my mum. Nothing big. I am just a family person. From my house I go to the office and back home again.
What is your fashion sense like?
Any jewelry you see on me was supplied by my mother. She is the fashionista; she supplies earrings and chains. Whenever I go to her house, all I hear is she has this set of jewelry for me. I am not into fashion at all. We have a wardrobe department that takes care of our costumes for the show. But after that, I am just a regular jean and t-shirt person.
Which designer are you attracted to?
I don’t do designers. I don’t want such kind of thing to get into my system. I don’t do labels; absolutely not. It is too much of a hassle. If I want clothes, I buy from my friends who bring stuffs when they travel. But if they are too expensive, I tell them and I leave it. Once in a while I go to Idumota market to pick what I need.
So, it won’t be wrong to call you a fashion blind lady?
Totally and completely true; I don’t even know how to combine colours.
All women have the dream of getting married to their fantasy husband, did you marry him?
I wanted a tall, dark and handsome man, but my husband is fair in complexion. He is tall and handsome. But before we started dating, I told myself that I would never marry a fair man under no circumstance. I had always dated dark-skinned guys. But I have never looked at the direction of any fair skinned man. Even when my mother told me that my husband is a light skinned man, I told her to forget it. When he now showed up, I wasn’t even interested, but my mother reminded me of her earlier prediction. She advised me to consider him. And that was why I considered him.
So, you married your husband because of your mother’s advice?
No, there were other factors. I fell in love with him. He is a good man and he had a good and fantastic foundation. I like a man who has a good pedigree and by that, I mean that his father and mother are still together because I come from a polygamous family. As a child, I always craved that nuclear family setting because I never had it. I had this neighbour who had that and I always admired them. I knew I never wanted a polygamous family; I knew I wanted a man who has a good foundation because that would help me and the person. His parent had that; they have always been together, they reside in University of Ife campus. They don’t like trouble unlike me who is a Lagosian; my family is drama galore. But these people are peaceful. So, I decided that that is just the kind of family that I want; my family is too full of drama.
Do you watch football?
I don’t really like it, but whenever Nigeria is playing, I get to watch. I watched the Nigeria Ethiopia game.
So you only watch for national pride?
Yes, to support Nigeria. But after that, forget it.
How do you celebrate when the national team wins?
The last time we watched a match which Nigeria won, we celebrated with pepper soup with friends of my husband.