TV Host & Mum, Agatha Amata, Speaks On Her Sustained Media Career And Her Candid View On Parenting
Nigerian media entrepreneur, talk show host, TV presenter, and mum, Agatha Amata who turned 50 yesterday November 4 has shared on her budding career and the passion that has sustained it in the past 21 years.
The mum-of-two who is best known for her talk show Inside Out with Agatha, was formerly married to the father of her children, actor, Fred Amata.
Despite her academic background in sciences, the eloquent mum who also runs RAVE TV as Chairman/CEO says she grew up being argumentative and that her love for talk shows is not unconnected to her love for stimulating conversations.
In the same interview where she spoke about her career, the single mum said her children are her priority in life even though she clearly understands that a parent cannot successfully ‘tie-down’ their child. She says building friendship with her kids work for her and that it’s best to come to terms with the fact that they will be exposed to other influences outside the home.
Read excerpts from the interview:
Q: When you started your television programme, did you dream of it going this far?
I am passionate about talk shows. I like things that stimulate the mind, things that can make you think. I think I just have a natural flair for talking.
I did grow up being argumentative, even though I ended up in the sciences; I have a degree in botany from the University of Jos. My parents couldn’t imagine what I would do in the arts with English and all that.
So I came out with a degree in botany but I don’t know anything about plant because it was not me. The broadcasting part came to me naturally. I didn’t have to be mentored; it is just something I believe is God-given. I just knew I wanted to have a talk show, a platform where people could just come and speak on what is bothering them.
I have got into trouble and stepped on a lot of toes along the way but all in all, when you persevere, people know you for who you are and what you stand for. It comes to me effortlessly, I don’t have to research, and all I need to do is see what is going on around me. It did not just happen overnight, it happened because I have been consistent.
Though I am getting the profits now, money was not the motivation initially. For eight years we were on air without advert placements! It was a period of sorrows tears and blood but we stuck with it and it is paying off now.
People don’t know where we are coming from; there were days when we recorded in a lecture theatre with a blue curtain for demarcation! People come now and see that we are comfortable with good cars but they don’t know the days we almost gave up. I had no idea where I was going but God has led me all the way.
READ ALSO: Fred Amata’s First Son, Oreva, Graduates With First Class From University Of Kent
Q: Are you just concentrating on issues only?
For me, the programme does not change. It’s about people, issues and what affects the common man. That is what brought me to this stage and I don’t think I am ever going to leave that winning formula.
I am not going to start a cooking programme on TV, I have got many suggestions to do so many things but that is not me. I have to stand for something.
Q: So, when do you have time for your children?
No. My children are not kids anymore, they are adults now. My son is 26 this year and has just graduated from Kent. My daughter is now 21 and is away schooling. Even when they were with me at home; I got home by 6 p.m.
My children are my greatest priority in life, even as they are away from home now, we are in constant touch. My children are my friends.
Well, the programme I run on TV has so broadened my horizon that nothing shocks me again. My children can tell me almost anything.
We don’t relate as mother and children, we argue points and the winner takes the day. I have interacted with a lot of young people over the years and I have come to discover that you cannot tie anybody down.
Even if you lock the child in a room, unless you will not let the child go to school, they will interact with people. So, you must allow them to build themselves and get to a point where they can make their own decisions, irrespective of whether you are present or not.