Adesuwa Onyenokwe: Women are naturally good managers

Publisher of Today’s Woman(TW) Magazine, Adesuwa Onyenokwe is a woman of many parts. She is not only a combination of beauty and brains but a clear example of a strong, fulfilled woman, who can have it all. She has proven that you can excel both in the home front and career. 

'Aunty Adesuwa', as she is fondly called, studied Drama at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile- Ife. Initially, her father wanted her to be a lawyer, even though he believed that children should have freewill to make career choices. After bagging her first degree at OAU, she went further to obtain a Master’s degree in Language Arts at the prestigious University of Ibadan. It was during her first degree programme that she was among the lucky ones under the tutelage of Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka.

She started her journey in broadcasting at NTA Sokoto during her youth service in 1983. From there she took on several responsibilities and roles. She was a regular face on  Newsline – the NTA popular Sunday Magazine Show, where she was popular for reporting news relating to social ills facing Nigeria at that time.

This mother of six is happily married to an Engineer.At some point, it was pretty tasking as a young mother and broadcaster mixing broadcasting, raising her children and taking care of her family. As a result, she sought early retirement after working for about 15 years so that her family aspect would not suffer.

Upon retirement, she had realized that women were relegated to the background. They did not have a voice in societal affairs. Noticing this gap, she decided to run her own show on Television. For her, the gap was due to lack of adequate understanding of the woman’s psyche so she went on to create her programme to project their virtues and qualities. Hence her television show – ‘Todays Woman’.

The programme was also meant to convince the viewers of every woman's  worth, their value and roles.It grew that attracted enoughbrands and the creme de la creme of the society to be part of it. Standing as a notable brand, Adesuwa was able to invite to her show top women personalities. She didn’t only chat with these women, they provided mentorship platforms for the younger generations. 

However, the programme was rested after 10 years of its creation. And then, a magazine that she titled TW (Today’s Woman), which primarily aims at feeding women with information and stories that inspire while helping them improve their body, mind and soul, was birthed in its place. Today, with the help of TW, several lives have been impacted positively.

Adesuwa Onyenokwe has won several awards including serving as VLISCO Woman of the Year 2014. According to her, "women are good managers because by nature they manage two roles: motherhood and wifehood”.

photo credit: @adesuwaonyenokwe