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Reveals What She Passed Through In Life
Few days back, TV personality Morayo Afolabi Brown launched her book. It was part of her 10 years on TV. The book is called Becoming the Queen of Talktv. It was an event where the Governor of Lagos State was represented by his Deputy, Dr Olufemi Hamzat. Many other dignitaries were also present at the book launch. The grand launcher of the book was Eleganza Chairman, Alhaji Rasak Okoya. The elegantly dressed TV host was joined by her husband, Femi Afolabi Brown who stood solidly behind her. The event took place on Saturday, 17 June, 2023 at Harbour Point, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Many came to support the author who has been described as a strong, beautiful, kind and a compassionate woman who through her show had given women in the country a voice had exhibited from her childhood great leadership skills, intelligence and compassion which had made her what she is today.
Morayo Afolabi-Brown is one of the successful female journalists in Nigeria today. She is a TV host and daughter of the late Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) President, Chief Alao Aka-Bashorun. She was the Deputy Director of Programmes at TVC until she resigned in May 2019. She co-hosts Your View, the popular breakfast show with other ladies.
After she returned to Nigeria from the US where she spent most part of her life, Morayo joined TVC Communications as Deputy Director of Programs and pioneered a new women-centered and women-focused talk show. She has since then hosted this current affair daily show for 10 years and presided over two thousand three hundred episodes making her the Nigerian queen of talk.
This book chronicles her life story and meteoric rise to success. Born into the privileged Aka-Bashorun family to a renowned lawyer father and a socialite businesswoman mother, Morayo was raised to be responsible and impactful in her environment, local communities and society.
She attended the best schools in Nigeria and the United States, which built her character and honed her voice, making her the force for change she is today as she shares her voice with the different audiences she inspires and impacts daily.
This book is an inspiring account of Morayo’s life, truthful, poignant and motivating. It is a clarion call for women to be their best, never give up and be resourceful in proffering solutions for their challenges.
While giving her Opening remarks at the book launch, she opened up on her many ordeals, all what she passed through in life and her down moment when she thought of committing suicide. She said the reason why I had to make my remarks is because I wanted to tell why this book is important to me, because a lot of queens have gone ahead of me, queens like, Abike Dabiri, Adesuwa Onyenokwe, Funmi Iyanda and all, with myself and other ladies who are just behind them following their footprints.”
“But the beauty of writing this book was important, I practically stripped myself, like my husband said, my upbringing, many do not know the kind of upbringing I had, many do not know the kind of struggle I went through as a young child, you will read about my soujourn when I travelled to the US, you will hear about my car accident when God saved my life when I could not work for 10 months, I have a hole on my thighs, a full strip on my thighs, I have 2 screws on my thigh, 2 screws on my knees and ankles, I have a skull fracture from my cheek up to my head, I have 2 blisters all over my body, I was in coma for days, it took months of therapy,I was asking God, pls let me walk again, when I walked, I started praying for the scar on my face to go away, it took a long time before that scar went away, but it eventually did and you see, that is the process, when I came back to Nigeria, getting a job was crazy and eventually, God helped. To a point where I travelled to the US and got arrested, I stayed in jail, it is in the book, I was in jail, I came back, I was depressed for about some months after that thing happened and came back to Nigeria, I was deported, and it was my former boss, Toyin Subair that I called and he said to me, congratulations Morayo, this only happen to people that will be great in life. I will never forget that sentence. That whatever greatness that has made me go through this stage, I want to see it then unto TVC and here we are, you see all this story sharing is important for us to learn, it is your unique story that you shared that people will remember. Because Nigerians need role models to take a lead from. So that people can take from it. That is what my book is all about, there is nothing else anybody can say. I have said it all in the book. So that is what I want you to leave this place with, that your real stories, real experiences is what young Nigerians needs to share. I thank everybody once again”.
Let us also take you through some of the excerpts from her major interviews where she revealed this ordeals and how she also opened up for the first time in her 40th birthday. She once spoke to this medium when she turned 40, when asked how she has always remain the simple Morayo that she is and how easy has that been for her , she said, very easy, I don’t let all the influence from outside affect who I am. I am true to who I am. I do tell people that I have lived a bit of life, I have partied, I have done fashion, I have done the bad things, I have had alcohol. I have lived the best of life back in the US as a person and I came home: I wanted to settle down as a wife and a mother, and I think that is the role I am in now and I am playing that role well. I am a very simple person to the core”.
On her accident, it was a very terrible time for me. It was when I was at the university in the US. I remember that I was even supposed to go and meet my dad at the airport but I did not. I was a passenger in a car and the driver lost control and the car flipped four times on a major road called Route 1. People called 911 and a helicopter came to take me to the hospital, they could not use an ambulance because of the severity of the accident. They tried to revive me twice in the helicopter before I got to the hospital. I was in a coma for about five days. When I came out of the coma, the doctor told me that I would lose my memory for a while so I did not really remember much of what happened for some time. I had a skull fracture, my lungs collapsed and they were not sure I was going to walk again, the doctor gave me a 50/50 chance. It was very tough and I was on the wheelchair for about four months; then I used clutches and orthopaedic boots. It took a long time for me to start walking. I had to do therapy daily before it turned to a monthly routine. I was taught to get my speech pattern back. It was really tough at the time and my prayer then was that God should let me have a normal life because I was scared I would not walk again, also I had so many scars even on my face.
She once also spoke about how she lost part of her memory and had to go through speech therapy to speak again 23 years on her 40th birthday. She shared her x-ray photos where she revealed singer and celebrity photographer, TY Bello, inspired her to share them.
“Twenty-one years ago, I got in a car accident on my way to see my Dad in the US. The car flipped 4 times on Route 1 and hung on a tree. They got a chopper to cut me loose and fly me to Rutgers University Teaching Hospital, New Jersey. I was in coma for 4 days. My mother, immediately flew in to sit by my hospital bed. I was discharged after 2 weeks of recovery in the hospital. Then, therapy started. I lost part of my memory. I had to go through speech therapy to speak again. I lost 6 inches of my right thigh. They had to insert a 12 inch rod (still in my thigh) and four long screws, 2 in my hips and 2 in my knee. My ankle also crushed. I was confined to a wheel chair, later crutches and then booths for 8 months before I could finally walk. I was deformed and defaced with scars. I also had a skull fracture that left my head split. Didn’t think I would walk again or finish my education. I didn’t even think anyone would marry me with all these scars. I was a Christian and people started praying for me. Churches came from all over my local county to pray for me because the news made the local papers. My mother couldn’t believe the free love and support from the church during that time. It moved her to become a Christian when she returned to Nigeria. My Dad also converted when he got home. God saved me and gave me another chance of life. Today, I celebrate my scars, as I turn 40 yrs. @tybello for insisting I share testimony again. These are my real x-ray photos. The metals are never going to be removed. Please help me to praise Jesus for saving my life”.
Yes, Morayo went through all, but today she is bouncing and breaking the ceilings.
Morayo is a seasoned Media Content Creator with 15 years experience in the industry and arguably one of the leading TV hosts in Nigeria.Morayo is the convener, and anchor of the number one breakfast chat show on Nigerian television; Your View, in which she has hosted over 3000 episodes.
Morayo Afolabi-Brown studied Political Science at Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey. Growing up, she modelled herself after her mother before she was inspired by the books.Afolabi-Brown began her career in the media in 2005 as a Client Service Manager at CMC Connect (a PR Company), before she moved to CUE Media, a content development company as the Head of Content and Development, and later became a Senior Executive, Marketing and Research. She is behind many concepts like Girlfriends (TV drama series), Changing Lives (Talk Show), and Shop Easy. She once worked as a Business Development Manager and later became Head of Content and Channels Acquisition at HiTV, Nigeria’s first indigenous cable station provider before she was hired as Deputy Director of Programmes at TVC. In 2020, Afolabi-Brown was named as one of the 25 most powerful women in journalism in Nigeria, where she ranked 18th on the list compiled by Women in Journalism Africa.
She developed a script (The Room), which won the New Directions pitch for M-Net on May 4, 2007. She also worked as Producer on a consumer education TV production for MTN Director – Dotun Seweje. She developed a TV reality show concept – Make A Joyful Noise. Then she worked on United Bank for Africa (UBA), documentary as a Producer.
She is really on top of her career as she keeps her viewers glued to the screen each time she presents her breakfast show Your View on Television Continental (TVC). The brilliant TV host, who wears series of caps as Content Creator, Efficient Project Manager, Astute Media Practitioner and Media Consultant, among others is the current Chief Media Consultant of Kabiti Media House Limited, offering integrated marketing communications solutions and stakeholder engagement.
-TAYO OYEDIJI
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